What Is Hip Hop ?

What is Hip-Hop? Throughout recent history, many scholars, philosophers, writers, and other prevalent scholars have attempted to define Hip Hop as well as what it means to be Hip-Hop. Google defines Hip-Hop as a “style of popular music of US black and Hispanic origin, featuring rap with an electronic backing”. Although, Google has provided this definition I believe that it is overly general and inaccurate to the roots of what create what we know as Hip-Hop. Through research and multiple interviews i have discovered that Hip Hop is more of a culture that cannot be accurately defined by one simple sentence. Hip-hop has many facets; it can be fashion, poetry, and or art, because to put it plainly, Hip Hop is heritage. It is all these things. In this essay, I will analyze and identify what exactly Hip Hop means as well as give an example of who best embodies the representation of what is means to be Hip-Hop.

In order to give a good description of what Hip Hop means, as well as who provides a good example of what Hip Hop represents, it is important to first inform you on how Hip Hop was created. Hip-Hop was a cultural phenomenon that started in 1979. According to an article by Alan Light called “Hip-Hop Music and Cultural Movement”, Hip Hop is a “musical style incorporating rhythmic and/or rhyming speech that became the movement’s most lasting and influential art form”. The musical style known as Hip-Hop is attributed to a creation of African American culture, struggle and passion. What we know today as Hip Hop was originated in Bronx, New York and is often misunderstood to have the same meaning as rap (Abbie Fentress Swanson). Yet people from Hip-Hop culture argue that there is a significant difference in between both Rap and Hip Hop although both forms of heritage are intertwined. Personally, I was able to discover the difference between Hip Hop and Rap and the best metaphor I could come up with after doing my research is the concept of an onion. To explain, an onion has many layers inside of it, hip-hop itself represents the entire onion while rap, fashion, graffiti, and other themes serve the inner layers of Hip-hop (the onion). Hip Hop consists of two original parts; the first part is called “Emceeing” in which an artist expresses himself in a lyrical form through a microphone to entice and or control the crowd. The second is" Dj’ing", which is one of the most original forms of the craft. A Dj would play two different vinyl tracks simultaneously which at the time usually during the time of hip hops inception consisted of popular disco music that would loop and mix two records. The mixture of emceeing and Dj'ing became extremely popular and became a gravitational form of entertainment and therapy for struggling communities. So what made Hip-Hop as popular as it is today?

There are various other themes that helped Hip-Hop become as popular in the past, as it is today. For example, Hip Hop would not be as prevalent today if it was not for graffiti and breakdancing. Graffiti is a form of street art and break dancing is basically a rhythmic dance that matches both the beat played by the Dj and the rhymes said by the MC (emcee). The break-dancers were usually labeled as B-boys. Alan Light says, “Graffiti and break dancing are the aspects of the culture that first caught public attention” (Hip Hop Musical and Cultural Movement).

Now that I have explained the origin of hip hop I can analyze what it means to be hip hop. According to information based on an interview done on one of the originators of Hip Hop, Grandmaster Caz the term Hip Hop was first used as a derogatory term. To explain, people who performed hip-hop songs were ridiculed by people who danced disco because of the way they “hip-hopped around” (Grandmaster Caz interview). The Mc’s and B-Boy’s that originated Hip Hop did not have a general title for what they did, but the more the term was used the more popular it became. Eventually, the term Hip Hop was used to label the groups of people that made music over disco like songs being played on a turntable as a form of expression. Overtime minorities used hip-hop as a platform to express their slang and life struggles in a rhythmic form. Throughout history, many different variations of hip-hop were formulated from the original template listed above. Some variations include lyrical rap, trap rap, r & b, and many more. Many rappers used hip-hop as a platform to express the frustration and problems that many minorities face in America. An example of this is when 90s rap group “NWA” (niggas with attitude) performed one of the most iconic songs in hip-hop culture “fuck the police”. According to rap genius, this song was created to inform minorities of the dangers of being a minority in Compton at a time where police brutality was at an all-time high (RapGenius). Although, Hip Hop first started as a language, or a way for Mc’s, and Dj’s to express themselves in an original form, Hip-hop is a culture. Hip Hop encompasses movements made in music, fashion, art and language. In the fashion aspect rappers used to wear baggy clothes, and bandanas, probably to represent their street life. Guns and drugs became very prevalent in hip-hop culture. I believe that this is because as a minority it was and still is very hard to attain a decent job, so most members of the hip-hop community decided to sell drugs and then use it as a concept within their music. Fast money and quick relationships also became a huge theme in hip-hop and to this day it still dominates rap culture. Yet drugs, women, and nice cars do not define what it means to be hip-hop. These are just themes that have stuck around and have been associated with hip-hop. They are layers within the onion. The truth of the matter is that hip-hop is a culture that embodies many themes, some of which may be perceived as negative such as drugs and violence and other themes that are positive. Thus, what it means to “be hip-hop” is that you are cultured. In other words, you understand the movements made within the minority community and take part in expressing them and adding to the culture in your own way.

Hip hop was first a discrete culture shared only by blacks, Hispanics and other minorities that had two main thing in common; being oppressed and not having a voice. Over the year’s hip hop has transcended to the masse and is celebrated by all races and ethnicities. In the age of technology, we now have many different platforms in which convey hip hop culture. The most efficient example of a hip hop platform is B.E.T which stands for Black Entertainment Television. On this channel, you can find updates on music, news from the streets, videos, upcoming artists and dancers as well as much more information. The reason I bring this up is to show just how much hip hop has grown since when it was just a small movement from the Bronx.

Choosing who gives a good representation of what it means to be Hip Hop was very hard at first because there are so many people who spend their lives attempting to uplift the hip hop community. At first, I wanted to choose one of the founders of Hip Hop like Grandmaster flash, or another urban Dj. Eventually, I had to choose my favorite musical artist Kanye Omari West. Although Kanye has made many bad decisions and has been butchered by critics I believe that his persona best represents Hip Hop. The best way to describe why I believe Kanye represents hip hip is to break it down into certain themes. The first theme is music, which is how hip hop originated. Throughout Kanye’s musical career he has always pushed the boundaries on rap music. For instance, Kanye’s first album was called the Late registration which was a typical rap album that used college as a metaphor for his musical career. Like hip hop, Kanye West’s music continued to transcend as it grew. He pushed the boundary on what type of sound was included inside of rap music. In “808s and Heartbreak” Kanye used harmonies and auto-tune to deliver an album based on a romantic tragedy. At the time, which was the mid-2000’s rappers were not singing or harmonizing during their verses. Kanye West made it okay for rappers to sing and harmonies in their music as well as be vulnerable. Now I’m not saying he was the only rapper to do this at the time but he was a huge leader in helping hip-hop reach new limits through music. The next theme in which represents hip hop is fashion. Kanye West played a huge role in making it okay for rappers to dress however they wanted. At the time, most rappers wore baggy clothes and usually only wore Jordan’s and large chains around their necks, but Kanye West- leader of hip hop culture made a new fashion trend by wearing pink polos and designers like Ralph Lauren. He changed the entire look of hip hop by inviting a whole new fashion industry to the culture. He discusses this topic in his song “Barry Bonds” by saying “but im doing pretty good as far as geniuses go, and im doing pretty hood in my pink polo: (genius.com). The last theme that I would like to discuss is a bit abstract. I believe that representing hip hop involves attempting to uplift the minority community. Kanye has made many mistakes publically which many people despise, but I believe that it is an undeniable fact that Kanye West has made many strides through his music and personality to try to create a better environment for minorities. What I mean by this is that Kanye has always tried to encourage young black and Hispanic children to pursue their dreams, and work hard for whatever it is they believe in. His message has always been to disregard what people say and follow your heart, whether that means staying in school or attempting to make music. I believe that his goal in music and in overall life has always been to break the glass ceiling and other social barriers created by society that oppress the minority community. I believe that for all these reasons Kanye West best represents Hip hop.

As a result, hip hop can’t t be defined by one sentence. Hip hop is a language. It is a culture that has many dynamics to it. There is hip hip music, hip hop fashion, hip hop art and many more themes that help shape the minority community. It has come a long way from it’s creation in the Bronx in 1979. I believe that Kanye West best represents hip hop through his music and overall persona. He has always pushed the boundaries on what it means to be hip hop, and by doing so he has enriched the culture in which defines hip hop. Long live Hip Hop!