Kick back and relax because we are about to take a journey back in time. A time of transition, death and growth. A time that ultimately changed the cultural, political and artistic landscape of America and eventually the world.'We are about to embark on a lesson in history. But not HIStory, HERStory or even THEIRStory. This is OURStory. The story of the hip hop generation; how we came to be, why we’re still here and where we are going. It is a truth we need to explore to truly be of and about hip hop. To rediscover (or in some cases, discover) the five elements of hip hop and reconnect to a history that has always and will always be our own. Black, White, Yellow, Brown, Red, Pink, Blue, Old School or New School-if you eat, breathe and sleep hip hop (or just want to know why everyone else does), this is where you come from.
Hip hop was born in the ghettos and raised in the streets, although the birth came more as a natural evolution thanks to a series of events, rather than the traditional nine month gestation period. It was conceived from the melding of four basic elements: Graffiti art, Bboy dancing, DJing and Rapping. It wasn’t until 30 years after its initial dawning that knowledge, the fifth element, was added to educate new generations about hip hop’s bona fide origins.
Our story starts somewhere between 1965 and 1979 right here in the United States of Amerikkka. The American cultural landscape was about to change dramatically. Malcolm X had been to Mecca and anticipated his approaching death. Martin dreamed a big dream and was about to head to the mountain top. The 1968 Mexico City Olympics stood for more than just athletic pride thanks to a silent but phenomenally visible protest by two Black American medalists. Huey Newton and Bobby Seale wanted 10 things and their newly formed Black Panther Party had yet to fall victim both to internal conflicts and the FBI’s closet freak J. Edgar Hoover’s incessant, almost obsessive COINTELPRO investigations of all Black leaders.
Young men of all races were being sent in droves to Vietnam, some never to return and even some who did come home never really returned. Heroin and crack was zapping the vitality out of the nations poorest. Urban ghettos were ruled by gangs. Post civil rights generations were fleeing the cities for the ‘burbs in an attempt to move on up. Maya knew why the caged bird sang and Leroi Jones was becoming Amiri Baraka as American Black theatre was becoming further poignantly revolutionary. Disco was for the coke fiends and Motown was still the American soundtrack, regardless of what four White boys from Liverpool did.
However, during this same time, a different kind of insurrection was brewing, one no one, not even those who were unwittingly spearheading it, anticipated. In the South Bronx, the Black Spades were the governing body of the borough, lead at times by a young Kayan Aasim, or Afrika Bambaata as he would be later (and better) known. The felt tip pen was considered cutting edge technology and this mail carrier named Vic decided to use it to “tag” every bus and subway car he rode to keep track of every route his travels took him on. Dewitt Clinton High students began using the out of service subway cars in a nearby transit authority retirement yard as canvases, decorating them with aerosol spray paint and makers. James Brown and a still Black Michael J’s dances on TV shows like Soul Train intrigued groups of Latino and black kids in LA and NY who began mixing those moves with moves from old Kung Fu flicks and slowly these bboys developed breaking.
Clive Campbell moved from Jamaica to the Bronx, although most of us know him as DJ Kool Herc. From Kingston parties, he brought the Jamaican style of DJing with huge sound systems, DJ battles and the practice of “boasting” or rhyming over the beat using catch phrases like “and ya don’t stop” or “to the beat ya’ll” This kid Joe (you can call him Grandmaster Flash) had this other kid named Ted helping him carry vinyl. One day Ted was home playing with his turntables when his moms came in complaining about the volume. He held the record with one hand and accidentally Grand Wizard Theodore created scratching. Meanwhile, Flash perfected this technique thanks to his electrical engineering background, and was also bringing these five kids Keith (Cowboy), Melvin (Melle Mel), Nathaniel (Kidd Creole), Guy (Raheim), and Ed (Mr. Nes) would tag along. Cowboy would keep the crowd hype by telling them to “Throw your hands in the air and wave them like you just don’t care” or “somebody scream.”
Legendary crowd pleaser Lovebug Starski came up with a term: Hip Hop. Afrika Bambaata officially transformed the Black Spades into the Universal Zulu Nation on November 12 1973 changing its goals to focusing more on “peace, love, unity and having fun so that people could get away from the negativity that was plaguing our streets,” and began using the term hip hop to define the cultural movement. Across the bridge in Queens, Flash’s cousin Rahzel, and a number of others, was imitating the sounds of instruments with his mouth because he couldn’t afford actual instruments and beat boxing emerged. A shorty named James wasn’t even old enough to know what a radio was, but knew one day he would be unable to live without it. In a Manhattan jail cell, the man who would become a hero, legend and martyr to many, resided in his mother’s womb, the child of two revolutions, as his mother Afeni waited, accused of a bombing with 21 other Panthers. As the 70s drew to a close and the horizon held the debilitating disease of Reaganomics, a group of rotund brothas recorded a little jam that sounded something a little like this… “I said a hip hop the hippie the hippie to the hip hip a hop and ya don't stop….”
Hip Hop had taken a bite of the mainstream and was about to spend the next 30 years holding on with all its might; fighting for its life against a steady barrage of critics, politicians, and at times, itself, continually wining every battle and ultimately going on to cement itself as America’s most powerful, visible and influential culture, movement and art form.
In honor of Hip Hop History Month, we at 88hiphop.com are sharing the fifth element, knowledge, with our readers, blessing you with a little back in the day Hip Hop 101. Reminisce with us, or, if you’re too young to remember… learn something. We promise it won’t be too painful.
Written by Community Member Rebekah Lanae. Rebekah Lanae is a Music Business student and music promoter from Miami, FL. She is an award wining playwright and has written for 88HIPHOP.COM, Manhunt.com and the online Hip-Hop Newsletter. Send any comments you may have to:
rebekahlanae@hotmail.com