Overview of Hip Hop Music and Culture

Hip Hop Music Overview

• Hip hop originated in inner-city African-American communities in the early 1970s
• It draws from rap, funk, street sounds, and elements of melody and rhythm.
• Key elements include graffiti, breakdancing, DJ-ing, and rap music.

Brief History of Hip Hop

• The hip hop phenomenon began in the late 1960s.
• The hip hop generation is those born between 1965 and 1984.
• The hip-hop style can be divided into the "old school" (1970–1985) and "golden age" (1985–1993) eras.
• Afrika Bambaataa coined the term "hip hop."
• Kool Herc introduced hip hop at Bronx, NY.

Four Elements of Hip Hop

• Graffiti: Visual art form.
• Breakdancing: A dance style.
• DJ-ing: The use of turntables and other equipment to create music.
• Rap music: A spoken-word style of music.

Positive Effects of Hip Hop

• Allows people to express themselves.
• Rap songs offer relatable messages.
• Draws attention to social issues such as poverty, racism, and economic oppression.

Negative Effects of Hip Hop

• Promotes money.
• Promotes drug use.
• Rap songs contain degrading lyrics about sex.

Famous Hip Hop Artists

• 50 Cent
• B.I.G
• 2Pac
• Eminem

Types of Hip Hop Dance Styles

• Locking
• Popping
• Electric Boogie
• Breakdancing/B-Boying
• Uprock
• Funk
• Streetdance
• Tutting/Tetris
• Battle
• Liquid Dancing
• Boogaloo
• Ragga
• House Dance
• Lyrical
• Stepping
• Free running
• Punking
• Waacking
• Voguing

Locking

• A style of funk and street dance.
• Originated with Don Campbell in the late 1960s.
• Based on the concept of "locking," which involves freezing a fast movement, holding the position, and resuming the movement with the same speed as before.
• Characterized by sharp, distinct arm and hand movements and more relaxed hips and legs.

Popping

• A style of dance centered on isolating and snapping individual body parts to create a wave-like effect.
• The movements are abrupt and jerky.
• Emphasis on muscle control and timing.

Electric Boogie

Electric boogie is an extreme style of Popping, characterized by quick, jerky, and high-velocity moves. It involves micro wave moves, not seen in classic popping. The robot style and mime movements are prevalent.

Breakdance / B-Boying

• A dance style that evolved as part of hip hop culture in the South Bronx during the 1970s.
• Includes top rock, down rock, the freeze and power moves.

Uprock

• A soulful, competitive street dance style.
• Uses rhythms of Soul and Funk music, consisting of shuffles, spins, turns, jerks and burns.

Funk

• Originated in the West Coast US in the 1960s as a response to soul and disco.
• A dance form that combines sharp and fluid movements, popping and locking, and is often expressed with animated movements.

Streetdance

• A physical dance form incorporating movements from all over the world.
• Combines various dance styles with multicultural and funky tunes to create distinct and expressive forms.

Tutting/Tetris

• A dance style that mimics angular poses common in ancient Egyptian art.

Battle

• A freestyle dance competition where dancers showcase their skills without physical contact.
• Moves and styles are shown off in a show-down.

Liquid Dancing

• This is a form of gestural dance that sometimes involves pantomime.
• It is focused on flowing movements in body and limbs, with arms and hands as the main focal points.

Boogaloo

• A fluid dance style employing every part of the body and utilizing angles and graceful movements.
• Usually involves rolling of hips, knees and head.

Ragga

• A street dance style originating in the late 1970s by Afro-Jamaicans.
• It incorporates classical Reggae music with hip-hop influence, featuring a combination of hip-hop, Afro and Latin movements with a focus on sensuality.

House Dance

• A group of dance styles rooted in Chicago clubs during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
• Styles like Footwork, Jacking, and Lofting are common.
• Often improvisational in nature.

Lyrical

• A fluid and interpretive hip-hop style.
• Often performed to downtempo rap music or R&B music.
• Focuses on choreography, performance, and emotion rather than freestyles.

Stepping

• A percussive dance where participants use their entire bodies as instruments to produce complex rhythms and sounds.
• Usually uses footstep, spoken words, and hand claps.
• Is commonly performed by groups and often resembles military formations.

Free Running

• A form of urban acrobatics using parkour-like movements through city structures
• A physically impressive and aesthetic style that incorporates elements from parkour and tricking with the intent of being an aesthetically-pleasing way of moving.

Punking

• A dance style that originated in the 1970s on the West Coast of the US, particularly in Los Angeles' gay scene.
• Featured in clubs and eventually on television shows and became linked to various mainstream shows.

Waacking

• A dance style where dancers use hand, body, and arm movements to express themselves.
• In Soul Train, waacking was initially known as "punking."

Voguing

• A form of modern dance, inspired by photos of runway models from fashion magazines.
• Performed in fixed positions, usually in runway-fashion poses, but also including angular and precise body movements.
• Popularized in the Harlem Ballroom scene in the 1960s by African American and Latino American communities.