Hip Hop Flashcards
What is the reading?
The New York Connection by Dick Hebdige
What are the musical similarities for Rap and Reggae?
They both rely on pre-recorded sounds so have a very similar production. The MC’s for both rap, speak or sing the lines. The content of the raps for both genres is similar.
What is the culture of rap?
Rap is the music. Hip hop is the culture.
What is a big social similarity of Rap and Reggae?
Rap did for poor blacks in America in the 1980s what reggae had done for the suffered in Jamacia a decade earlier by getting them noticed again and forging a sense of identity and pride within the local community.
Where did Rap begin?
In the South Bronx of New York. It was the poorest, toughest neighbourhood in the whole of NYC.
Who was DJ Kool Herc?
He moved to the West Bronx, from Jamaica, in 1967. He began DJing at house parties and observed the music that people would dance to. They didn’t like the reggae that he was used to playing so he began playing just the ‘break’ parts from other songs.
What did DJ Kool Herc invent?
As well as this style of ‘breakbeats’ that he had invented, he is credited as starting the first MC dance team. When the music became too fast for him to switch between records and rap at the same time, he hired two MCs to rap for him and hype the crowd up. Other DJ’s began copying.
Who was the Theodor?
He invented a technique called scratching. You move the record back and forth very fast whilst the needle is in the groove. When handled carefully it can be a percussive technique which delays the beat slightly.
What did Afrika Bambaataa believe?
He tried to apply the zulu military system in a positive fashion. After being a part of the Black Spades (NYs biggest black gang in the 1960s) he had experienced how fights and drugs destroyed gangs and wanted to replace these with dance and hip hop. His dream is that a sense of community can be created within the community instead of being imposed by people coming from the outside.
How was the fashion influenced by dance?
At around this time, breakdancing had become popular to the music and the clothes needed to be comfortable and washable so they began wearing sportswear.
What influence did disco music have to hip hop?
Disco music was seen as the ‘official’ black music. The hip hop artists recorded the music off the radio and cut it up, especially drum loops. This was against the copyright law but their view was that no one owns a rhythm or a sound.
