Hip Hop Culture Research Paper

The Social Significance of Hip Hop Culture

Relating to African Americans Hip hop first emerged in the 1970s South Bronx, New York and has since established itself to an important African American and Afro Caribbean social movement. DJ Kool Herc, a Jamaican immigrant, brought the notorious ‘block parties’ to the Bronx, which represent the beginnings of hip hop. The four main elements have evolved out of the block parties and consist originally, according to Professor Derrick Alridge and Professor James Stewart, of “Disc jockeying (DJing), break dancing, graffiti art, and rapping (emceeing),” the latter is the most influential aspect. (190). Due to the development out of misery and poverty, an own unique way for expression in the urban city

In parts of the South Bronx, during the late 1960s until mid-1970s, where annihilation was most disastrous, vacancy rates were risen. Landlords sold property, the white population fled into northern parts of the Bronx, and storekeepers sold their shops and created business elsewhere (Rose 31). Due to the escape of the white population, the new “black and Hispanic residents in the South Bronx were left with few city resources, fragmented leadership, and limited political power” (33). In 1977, the South Bronx and New York were fixed “as national symbols of ruin and isolation” (33). Throughout the summer in the same year, a massive power blackout took place in New York City and many stores were robbed and damaged. The Bronx, where most robberies happened, was then called a ‘lawless zone’ (33). Due to the prevailing delinquencies and “the failure of economic and solitical tactics of the Civil Rights movement” (Price 62) in the boroughs, the white population has finally vanished and African Americans, along with Hispanics formed the majority of the

It is nowadays detectable that a fascination with African American culture is present. Taking a look at Jazz, or Blues shows that each has “large devoted white audience members […]” that try “to perfect a model of correct white hipness, coolness, and style by adopting the latest black style and image” (Rose 5). According to Dr. Lawrence Levine early oral contests called the Dozens were participated by young African Americans, where “symmetrical joking relationships in which two or more people were free to insult each other and others ancestors and relatives either directly or indirectly” (347) were used. The winner gained reputation “on the level of verbal facility, originality, ingenuity, and humor” (348). A famous practitioner is Muhammad Ali, who tried to use rhymes in order to malign opponents in the ring. Considering hip hop, the dozens developed to what is known today as rap battles, in which two emcees try to find out who has the better lyrics and stylistic