Hip Hop Books

ScalaQuaranta is an authority on the subject, I had saved a huge amount written by him ... I think it's in the pages, if he has any particular difficulties I will review it. To be clear that he is the author

His sources are unknown to me, but it was excellent work

... let's hope and thank you for the interest

I am quoting the message from ScalaQuaranta that he posted a few months ago on this topic and regarding a question I had asked

Perhaps it might be useful to you/all. What follows is an excerpt that I prepared a few years ago

(which served me to set up a series of educational activities at school, for music education hour).

I drew from about 4-5 texts regarding the subject, so it should therefore be quite reliable.

HISTORY OF HIP-HOP CULTURE

The term HIP-HOP refers to two expressions: HIP designates the slang of African-American ghettos, and derives from HEP, which in jargon means TO BE COOL (relaxed, in the sense of being easygoing), and TO HOP, to dance, which emphasizes, in the expression HIP-HOP, the preponderant role played by music.

In the '70s in NEW YORK, an urban renewal led to a "relocation" of a high number of people (African-American and Hispanic-Caribbean) coming from the most disparate areas of the Big Apple. The re-population, NOT GRADUAL, produced a social and economic tension that was impossible to manage:

• The neighborhoods of HARLEM, QUEENS, BROOKLYN, BRONX were neglected by city administrations;

• The Black community had to struggle with a system that discriminated against it and did not guarantee "equal" access to resources. The impossibility of participating in the CONSUMERIST system deeply affected the lives of these people, who ended up feeling even more marginalized than they actually were;

• The creation of GHETTOS: the concentration of the poorest communities in specific areas favored their marginalization and their control by institutional power. By concentrating poverty in certain areas, criminality was encouraged and an intensification of police control was justified;

• Young people lived in a constant educational void, due to family members who were often unable to take care of their children. The lack of "discipline" led to an attitude of rejection toward any imposition;

• The high cost of EDUCATION limited the possibilities of expanding opportunities for Black communities. American schools were conceived by whites for whites and were incapable of respecting cultures that caused "annoyance";

• A high rate of YOUTH INCARCERATION, which makes re-integration into society impossible. Being in jail, one learns more about crime and only waits for the moment to start again.

THE REACTION. All this went unnoticed until 1977, when a massive BLACKOUT upset all balances; this date is considered the beginning of the HIP-HOP Revolution. In the form of gangs, the young generations of the neglected neighborhoods began to organize for the REVOLUTION. In a landscape dominated by poverty, abandonment, violence, and drugs, SECURITY soon became lacking. It was necessary to affiliate with a GANG to survive; otherwise, one was exposed to robberies, beatings, and mistreatment.

Gangs did not only mean violence: in addition to offering defense to the TERRITORY, e.g., they collected money for community works and ensured that people could go to vote regularly. Together with other gangs, they engaged in the fight against drugs. However, getting rid of dealers created problems, as many had grown up in the community. It was then thought to have the "DIRTY WORK" carried out by members of other gangs. The possibility of "enlisting" mercenaries from other Projects meant that tension between various areas began to decrease.

Afterward, the "paramilitary" model of GANGS was replaced by *CREWS (groups of people who share interests and goals). The situation lived in a precarious balance, regulated by unwritten codes but capable of ensuring fundamental points of reference for survival. The problem arose when boundaries were crossed. The spread of STREET PARTIES made it unnecessary to move from one's own neighborhood and they became an occasion to bring together people from different areas under the banner of FUN.

*CREW. To select new members, actual initiation rites are established (e.g., putting the newcomer in a circle composed of 10-15 members and beating them). This price is paid willingly because it is nothing compared to isolation. Girls also gather in groups and for them it has even more value: indeed, girls are the ones most exposed to domestic violence. The crew has a hierarchy. Whoever is in charge has the task of coordinating its members. If a member harms themselves or the group, they are removed. The crew can promote initiatives in favor of the area and its population. CREW and GANG do not have the same meaning: gangs promote criminal activity; crews are familiar with violence to maintain a minimum of "social order." A crew is a point

...but at the same time holds one to the bottom and prevents one from moving away from the sludge in which one was born.

The places of decay became a cauldron of creativity that triggered the search for the antidote to an otherwise incurable disease. The antidote was called PARTYING. It was the era of DISCO MUSIC and people poured into clubs in search of music, sex, and drugs. The streets became the theater of a non-violent revolution fueled by young entertainers. A "crew" was creating a medicine that would save many lives: HIP-HOP. That "crew" will be remembered as the OLD SCHOOL: AFRIKA BAMBAATAA, DJ KOOL HERC, and GRANDMASTER FLASH.

DJ KOOL HERC. He is remembered for his use of the beats, the microphone, and the SOUND SYSTEM, based on the power of sound and the gestures of pantomime. His DJing technique consisted of extending the BREAKS of songs into an infinite and hypnotic collage (BREAK SPINNING). His skill lay in recombining, by recontextualizing them, different genres. He coined the terms B-BOY and FLY-GIRL (boys and girls who practice BREAKDANCE).

AFRIKA BAMBAATAA. He expanded the range of sounds and BREAKS. He founded the ZULU NATION on November 12, 1973.

GRANDMASTER FLASH. He contributed to refining SCRATCHING and CUTTING: moving the record back and forth, creating with the contact of the needle a sound effect that could contrast with or accompany the music playing on the other platter. To him is attributed the invention of PRE-LISTENING, intended to be introduced on all disco mixers to allow the DJ to listen to the track on the platter not being played in order to position it precisely.

Self-awareness, of one's own role and origins, are the fundamental parameters of Hip-Hop culture. From this arises that:

- GRAFFITI, an affirmation of the authors' existence, spread through the cities;

- The PUBLIC learned to "familiarize" themselves with their IDOL, to feel closer to them, to follow and respect them, beginning to respect themselves as well;

- The TRUE Hip-Hop ARTIST, aware of the importance of their FUNCTION, will operate with ALTRUISM, not for themselves but for the good of the group;

- The desire of young people to attract attention combined with their artistic aspirations: the NAME becomes a testimony of rebellion against marginalization. Identifying with a NAME (TAG) suggested doing something out of the ordinary, capable of changing their lives and those of others;

The moment of CONFRONTATION and DIALOGUE, in the Hip-Hop dimension, condenses into the JAM SESSION. It is above all here, and not in clubs, that CREWS meet, and breakers (b-boys and fly-girls), writers, MCs, and DJs face each other and are judged by the audience present. The figure of the ARTIST and the STAGE disappears; the distances (physical and mental) between those who create and those who enjoy are annulled to make way for a community that no longer needs to respect market rules, but which nonetheless manages to mobilize large crowds who have regained, after many years, the desire to SPEAK CLEARLY AND DIRECTLY. CREWS present themselves as OPEN GROUPS, in which the distance from the audience is diminished. The new concept of the ROTATING MICROPHONE is introduced, in which anyone can sing and express their ideas, in a sort of exchange between the audience and the musical group. With this expression, one refers to the endless collective improvisations, as happened in FREE JAZZ. The difference lies in the fact that here it is not so much instruments with their solos that intertwine, but rather words and phrases, which follow each other by skillfully interlocking, generating a form of ORAL POETRY defined as FREESTYLE, which triggers heated challenges among participants.

The defense of one's territory can become the main occupation for the youth of the neighborhood. When there is nothing to do but wander around, defending one's territory becomes exciting and can give meaning to the day. In the Projects, daily, things are seen that most people only see on television.

GOVERNMENT COUNTER-REACTION. In America, DRUGS are a plague rooted in the poorest population, and the communities that contributed to the birth and development of Hip-Hop constitute its core. The CIA had a role in the spread of drugs to sabotage the growing civil rights movement, as drugs numbed a mass of people who could have created much different problems. The tranquility with which young people approach it (DEALING and/or PERSONAL USE) is the result of short-sighted conduct by the government which, by exasperating prohibitions, ends up pushing youth toward transgression. In AMERICA there is a strong cult of money: the saying "I AM WHAT I HAVE" embodies the average American. Kids want to make money, and if it's money

fast, even better. Easy and fast: dealing is within everyone's reach.

ways in which Hip-Hop is articulated are:

1. RAP: MCing + DJing – MUSICAL dimension;

2. BREAKDANCE (B-BOY and FLY-GIRL) – CHOREOGRAPHIC dimension;

3. AEROSOL ART (or WRITerIng) – GRAPHIC dimension;

Remember that Hip-Hop culture is characterized by 4 fundamental disciplines: DJing, MCing, WRITing and BREAKing. To these, subsequently, AFRIKA BAMBAATAA (founder of the ZULU NATION, an interracial center where Hip-Hop expressive forms are promoted and practiced, with its headquarters in New York and countless satellite centers spread across various American and European cities, including Italy) added a fifth element, KNOWLEDGE (CONOSCENZA), witnessing it with the letter K within his name, “AFRIKA”.

Rap, although not linked to the media at its birth, was able to exist solely and exclusively by virtue of the record.

DIS RAP*: a formula referring to DISRESPECT RAP (IRREVERENT RAP) which, precisely because of its strongly obscene verbal content, brought back to the surface the stories of the ghetto, the poetic vulgarity of the DOZENS.

RAP

MUSICAL DIMENSION of the Hip-Hop Movement, traceable to poetic and expressive modes typical of African-American traditions. The word RAP (the art of speaking in rhyme over a rhythmic beat) was already in use in American slang: TAKE THE RAP (to take the blame); DON’T GIVE ME THIS RAP (don't give me that nonsense), etc. It is composed of two disciplines: MCing and DJing.

MCing: an MC (MASTER OF CEREMONY) is the figure who, in JAM SESSIONS* or at STREET PARTIES, makes people dance, animates the party, enhances the DJ's skills, conducts “battles” between rival crews while trying to ridicule the other MC (avoiding punches or bullets). A good MC must be able, over a musical beat, to improvise rhymes with imagination but always maintaining the thread of the discourse without saying absurdities or linguistic inconsistencies. The use of the microphone over beats was absorbed directly from Reggae (→ *TOASTING). The MC sings until their energy is exhausted and “raps… presents” the people they love or the stories they have lived, always in perfect metrical style. In this form of testimony, FREESTYLE stands out at the top, which consists of doing MCing on the spot, i.e., without preparation (perhaps over a beat often “pronounced” by a skilled vocal *Beat-Boy), which is based on two concepts:

• OPEN GROUP: every Hip-Hop group has no defined limits but is open to every type of promiscuity and artistic experimentation;

• ROTATING MICROPHONE: at STREET PARTIES, anyone participating has the opportunity to express their ideas, improvising in Rap style.

DJing: the DJ (DISC JOCKEY) provides the MC with the sonic-musical-effect base for rhymed singing. The first DJs made people dance at parties, on beaches, or anywhere they could perform, using two turntables and mixing beats. It is divided into two parts: TURNTABLISM and PRODUCING.

1. TURNTABLISM. It is the art of making TURNTABLES and a MIXER a true musical instrument. It includes various techniques, e.g., SCRATCHING (the DJ intervenes by manually stopping and releasing the record's movement) or CUTTING (using two identical records containing a break of only percussion and, moving from one record to another, giving the impression that this break is prolonged: here the breakers begin their dances) or MIXING (mixing);

Every DJ was characterized by their specific technique of approaching the record.

2. PRODUCING. Practical realization of the MUSICAL BEAT. Hip-Hop music is based on SAMPLING, a contradictory and fascinating aspect: the foundation of this culture is ORIGINALITY, while sampling is “stealing” pieces of music from others and re-presenting them in a highly elaborated musical beat. In reality, there is an abysmal difference between COPYING and SAMPLING, the same difference that exists between a photo and a portrait.

Rap manifests itself: in CONCERTS, at STREET PARTIES (also called BLOCK PARTIES) and in *JAM SESSIONS.

*JAM SESSION: (literally: HAMMERING SESSION): an informal meeting of comparison-dialogue-competition between Hip-Hop groups (crews). It is only thanks to the Jam Session that a true movement can exist, because it is above all here and not in clubs that crews meet. The Jam is an event where breakers, MCs, DJs, and writers face off and are judged by the audience present, outside of professional circuits.

The low cost of equipment and ease of use have spread the practice of DIY music throughout the globe. The first PRODUCERS put together beats with a cut-and-sew job, LOOP montages, overlays, and alternations of Rock, Soul, Jazz, and even Classical Music elements. This compositional practice disrupted the identity of

Global Pop, particularly in its DANCE declination. Among the immediate consequences: the advent of HOUSE* and TECHNO* which supplanted FUNKY and DISCO-MUSIC, which until then had been realized by skilled musicians.

*House: was played with sequencers and electronic drums upon which rappers and singers would improvise, danced in attics, on rooftops, or in basements. It is characterized by a continuous and driving electronic drum beat that essentially emphasizes the 4 beats; the musical themes, such as vocal and instrumental interventions, are simplified to the maximum. It is practically ambient music. A myriad of subgenres were born from house.

*Techno: It is the evolution of HOUSE, in speed and in rawness. Less melodic than house, it only sounds good at high volumes.

In the '80s, two essential styles of Rap can be distinguished:

THE EAST COAST (New York) produced a RAP faithful to the principles of Hip-Hop, detached from commerciality and musical careers (OLD SCHOOL):

- It rejected the image of the rapper weighed down by gold chains;

- It promoted the image of young Black people as enemies of the State;

- It encouraged Black nationalism and Afrocentrism, with berets, camouflage, and weapons in hand (→ PUBLIC ENEMY).

On the WEST COAST (Los Angeles), Rap was becoming immensely popular, endowed with a rawer and more violent style (GANGSTA RAP → NIGGERS WITH ATTITUDE – N.W.A.) and born in an environment dominated by gang warfare (which, unlike the East Coast, was still a current problem). The vulgar and provocative language pushed for a rebellion that involved federal and religious authorities.

In the '90s, Rap was seen as a way to escape reality, in search of fame and money. This awareness did not settle only within the African-American community but extended to the various ethnicities that populated the States. In this “NEW SCHOOL” style, new trends were established:

- MUSICAL DIMENSION: evolution of vocals, content, musical sampling, rhythms, etc.). A more “EASY” Rap was born;

- LOOK: oversized clothing in black and floral fabric, very short faded hair and sometimes, peace symbols sculpted on the hair;

- PHILOSOPHY: greater spirituality, a taste for the “ethnic,” languages, and the values of different cultural traditions mixed together, merging in total freedom.

THE ROOTS OF RAP LANGUAGE

• DOZENS: improvised verbal challenge based on complex rhetorical and metric rules, attacking the opponent's virility or his mother's “honor.”

• TOASTING: a poetic-musical genre of Jamaican origin, in which poems (in rhyme) in CREOLE DIALECT are recited over a reggae rhythmic base by DJs equipped with powerful sound systems: SOUND SYSTEMS. The performer-author repeats their own name several times, addresses those around them, claiming their dignity as an author and spokesperson for the community.

• JIVE: typical slang of the Black community that reinvented words and meanings (e.g., CAT = “man”; CHICK = “woman”; CRIB = “house”).

• TALK OVER: an invention of radio DJs. During the presentation of records, metropolitan storytellers (GRIOTS*) would praise Black pride with a SPOKEN-SUNG style over a vaguely jazz soundscape.

• MINSTREL SHOW: a spectacle that established itself in America in the 1800s. The performers, generally white, darkened their faces to stage a “parody of Black life.” END MEN, tambourine players, took their place on stage. The PRESENTER (who did not have a blackened face) exchanged rhyming jokes with the musicians, until one of them stood up and proposed an imitation of Black speech in their Black English dialect;

• BLUES: IRONY and the use of a MASK are tools of resistance used by Black people to confront the dominant culture. The rapper, like the bluesman, speaks in the first person, addresses everyone, tells experiences often common to the layers oppressed by capitalism, resorts to ANTIPHONY (in Blues between voice and instrument; in Rap between rapper and audience), to the use of self-sufficient stanzas, etc. In both genres, the success of a song also depends on public IMPROVISATION skills.

• SCAT: A style of vocal improvisation: words are replaced by onomatopoeic sounds; it allows singers to imitate the characteristics of certain instruments. Established in the '20s, Louis Armstrong is considered its inventor.

• VOCALESE: invented by Eddie Jefferson, derived from SCAT. Famous compositions were re-performed using only the voice, with absolute fidelity.

• JAMES BROWN: When he published SAY IT LOUD, I’M BLACK AND I’M PROUD (1968), that was the moment when the concept shifted from NEGRO to BLACK. The singer positions himself as

enlightened community guide, speaks not only for themselves but for everyone, spreads messages and recommendations.

• CHURCHES: key locations of the first Hip-Hop manifestations. The sermon is characterized by the intervention of the faithful (an ancient African belief that listening in silence is a rude act). Oratory in African-American religion was the basis of SOUL RAP, an archaic style of spoken song.

• GRIOTS: SPOKESPEOPLE of the tribal chiefs. Keepers of oratorical techniques, genealogical chants, and instrumental music, they were feared and at the same time despised. They still exist in many parts of Africa, in Mali, Guinea, etc.

The use of vulgar terminology implies a multi-dimensional reading: the value of the word, in Black oral tradition, is often SYMBOLIC. Words have a meaning that goes beyond the original one. Those who are not familiar with youth modes of expression or with a language to which they are not accustomed will have difficulty "deciphering" its "expressive code". E.g.

“C***o, NEGRO, QUESTA MERDA ME LO ‘GONFIA’!” i.e.: “WOW, FRIEND, ALL THIS IS FANTASTIC!”

An hostile press campaign created a climate of Inquisition around Rap, of which the stickers “PARENTAL ADVISORY: EXPLICIT LYRICS” are the visible consequence, in the '80s, on record covers.

Considering Hip-Hop to be an exclusive of the Black community is a common error. While much of Rap uses a language closely related to Black culture and describes the issues of Black people in American society, it does not limit itself to reaching only its own community. In almost 30 years of existence, the phenomenon has crossed the borders of the United States and spread throughout the entire world.

The majority of Rappers are Black, but the Breaker and Writer communities are dominated by Hispanics.

Hip-Hop has not only created a communication channel free from institutions, but it has also created an economic empire, a "Black" industry that privileges the employment of Black people and keeps wealth within the communities, promoting their economic and social growth and compensating for the shortcomings of the State. The study of Hip-Hop cannot be separated from a historical-sociological approach to Black and Latino culture, but it is even more important to let oneself be guided by its mutability, trying to "FEEL IT" rather than just understand it. One cannot understand Hip-Hop by reading an encyclopedia because it is something that is breathed in the air, capable of spreading everywhere. It would be wrong to think only of musical production since Hip-Hop has contaminated every field of American culture: publishing, television, cinema, language, fashion, and even social policies are deeply influenced by it.

EDUTAINMENT: (from EDUCATION and ENTERTAINMENT)

HISTORICAL LISTENING

1979: publication of the first two songs recorded on disc:

1. KING TIM III (PERSONALITY JOCK) by the FATBACK BAND;

2. RAPPER’S DELIGHT by the SUGARHILL GANG.

RAPPER’S DELIGHT marked the transition from the street to the disc, and most importantly, formalized the role of the rapper within the New York subculture, shifting the social group's attention from the DJ to the GOOD SPEAKER. With the advent of the disc, the expressive forms and language of rappers changed radically, and writing began to take on a fundamental role in composing more complex rap tracks, such as, for example, MESSAGE RAP, characterized by socially and politically committed lyrics, which could no longer be left to improvisation.

The record production that followed RAPPER’S DELIGHT was characterized by tracks similar to each other both from a thematic and musical point of view, so much so that shortly thereafter it was given the label of PARTY RAP. In these tracks, the rapper boasts, fills his rants with hyperboles, and speaks of himself in exalting terms. Furthermore, verses such as “NOW JUST THROW YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR, AND WAVE’ EM LIKE YOU JUST DON’T CARE” represent the formulaic reuse of expressions contained in so-called DANCE INSTRUCTION DISCS that the record industry commissioned from many former radio DJs in the '60s.

SPACE COWBOY (JONZUN CREW), an unlikely and daring assembly of rap processed with a VOCODER (a device that alters the human voice making it metallic like a robot's), added to electronic sequences and COUNTRY YODEL, is an example of the cosmic trend that would lead to excessive electronics and modern recording techniques (SAMPLING, sampling, programming, etc.).

SUCKER MC’S* (RUN-DMC): rap begins to deal with topics concerning the B-BOY, the street kid."},

The track is hard, rough, vulgar, almost without melody and the words are more like shouted: it is the beginning of DIS RAP* or INSULT RAP, which will have its most violent and feared manifestation in so-called GANGSTA RAP. It had assumed the function of a watershed between the first and second Hip-Hop generations, questioning the rules of rap and proposing a radicalization of the phenomenon from both a musical and textual point of view. The obscene content of the song returned rap to the ghetto, erasing the verbal cleanliness and the sense of community present in the texts of the previous generation and giving birth to DIS RAP, the new style, driven by invective, towards everything and everyone.

SUCKER MC’S*: literally this expression, which became popular in the language of rappers all over the world, means: LOSER MC, GROSS/DISGUSTING, and is often used to offend rivals.

DIS RAP*: a formula referring to DISRESPECT RAP (irreverent rap) which, precisely because of its strongly obscene verbal content, brought back to the surface the stories of the ghetto, the poetic vulgarity of the DOZENS. These are a verbal game widespread among the kids of the “INNER CITY”, the deep city: a fierce improvised verbal challenge based on complex and rigorous rhetorical and metric norms, with cruel attacks on the opponent's virility or his mother's “honor”.

YOU MUST LEARN (KRS-ONE): it lashes out at American teaching that shamefully neglects African-American roots.

UNITY (1984 – Duet Africa Bambaataa with James Brown).

3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AND 2 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF… (Arrested Development – 1992): it is one of the closest albums to BLUES that Hip-Hop has ever produced.

UNPLUGGED (Arrested Development – 1993): the first ACOUSTIC album in Rap history.

ROCK HARD and BEASTIE GROOVE (Beastie Boys – 1986): based on samples of AC/DC and LED ZEPPELIN respectively.

CHRISTMAS RAPPIN’ and THE BREAKS (Kurtis Blow – 1979): the author is one of the recognized pioneers of the Hip-Hop movement.

THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL (Lauryn Hill -1998): when the album comes out, the new mother Lauryn is already at the center of media attention due to the birth of her son ZION (grandson of Bob Marley). The presence of Carlos Santana's guitar in TO ZION seals respect for Hispanic culture, but SUPERSTAR also looks toward rock, sampling THE DOORS' LIGHT MY FIRE.

THE HISTORY OF RAP (Kurtis Blow – 1997): three CDs, corresponding to the 3 phases of the movement's discographic growth:

- VOL. 1: THE GENESIS: it is all dedicated to the Rhythm and Blues played in parks by Kool Herc and other DJs. It opens with James Brown and closes with the first rap recorded on disc, KING TIM III (Jock Personality) of the Fatback Band.

- VOL. 2: THE BIRTH OF THE RAP RECORD: analyzes the period 1979-1984;

- VOL. 3: THE GOLDEN AGE: features the generation of Run-DMC and Public Enemy. The essays accompanying each musical journey are excellent.

MANTRONIX (Mantronix – 1985): this album is considered a milestone of the electro-Hip-Hop trend.

THE LAST POETS (Last Poets – 1970): this trio is credited with the authorship of the concept of RAP. The song NIGGERS ARE SCARED OF REVOLUTION is the most famous and an anthem against drugs ante litteram, while WHEN THE REVOLUTION COMES sees political proselytism prevail.

T-LA ROCK (Lyrical King – 1987): it is a sort of sonic manual of Boogie Down Hip-Hop. Among the ten tracks, the piece THREE MINUTES OF BEATBOX based on LIP RHYTHM is significant.

COOLIN’ IN CALI (7A3 – 1988): this album goes down in history for being the first Hip-Hop album played completely with musical instruments.

THE DOO HOP LEGACY (Rappin’ is Fundamental - 1991): this album is a concentration of Doo-Wop and Hip-Hop. It aims to pay homage to that vocal style, born like Rap, on street corners. Tracks like I WONDER IF SHE THINKS OF ME, RAPPIN’ IS FUNDAMENTAL and SPEAK SOFTLY showcase vocal harmonies taken from Doo-Wop, while Rhythm and Blues prevails in the backing tracks.

BELLY OF THE BEAST (Lifers Group – 1991): the rappers are all life prisoners held in the Rahway State Penitentiary in New Jersey. The lyrics mostly aim to discourage the Gangster lifestyle among young people. The documentary value of the album exceeds its purely artistic value.

HE’S THE DJ, I’M THE RAPPER (DJ Jazzy Jeff – 1988): the single NIGHTMARE ON MY WAY is based on a sample from the soundtrack of the film A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. One of the rappers, Fresh Prince, is WILL SMITH.

RAPPER’S DELIGHT (Sugarhill Gang – 1979) and GOOD TIMES (Nile Rodgers – Bernard Edwars): first examples of rap tracks made with snippets of various pop songs. For example, the backing track for RAPPER’S DELIGHT was the song Good Times by Chic.

MY

ADIDAS (Run-DMC): rap about praising the famous sneakers; a test of the musical expansion of Hip-Hop culture.

ICE CUBE and ICE-T are identified by the press as the architects, through their lyrics, of an unprecedented wave of hatred. Not interventions to reduce social distress, but censorship campaigns, bans, and denied distributions are the consequent reaction.

BREAKDANCE

CHOREOGRAPHIC DIMENSION of the Hip-Hop Movement. It is an acrobatic dance used by gangs to challenge each other: COMPETITION was at the core of BREAKING (as with DJing and MCing) and this contributed to reducing violence in the streets. The "moves" (POWER MOVES) included acrobatics such as HEADSPIN, which made this type of dance unmistakable. The origin of the term breaking is quite logical: DJs had invented a particular technique called CUTTING, which consisted of using two identical records containing a break of only percussion and, by switching from one record to another, giving the impression that this break was prolonged. That was the moment when breakers began to dance.

The ROCK STEADY CREW is one of the most famous crews in the world, now having many "representatives" in other countries, and contributed greatly to the development of Breaking by introducing new and spectacular moves, including the Crazy Legs, which owes its name to its inventor.

They would arrange themselves in a circle within which, one by one, the DANCERS would perform, following a specific path:

1) ENTRY INTO THE CIRCLE;

2) FOOTWORK;

3) FREEZE;

4) EXIT FROM THE CIRCLE.

The FREEZE saw the DANCER "petrify" in poses that imitated animals, comic book characters, etc., and offered a theme for the next competitor to connect to.

During this period, a PBS documentary, "STYLE WARS," was released, along with three Hollywood films: "BEAT STREET," "BREAKIN'," and "BREAKIN' 2."

DJ KOOL HERC coined the terms B-BOY and FLY-GIRL to designate the boys and girls who spun around his station during BLOCK PARTIES. On the DJs' BREAKS, at the end of the '60s, an evolution occurred in the movements used until then for dancing RHYTHM 'N' BLUES, JAZZ, and BOOGIE. The first B-BOYS adapted self-defense movements learned in gyms, within gangs themselves, or from Bruce Lee films to their dance.

A New York perfected the "UPROCK" or "BROOKLYN ROCK" technique, while Los Angeles is credited with the primacy of "LOCKING," named after the head instructor Don Campbell Lock, founder of the LA LOCKERS. From the West Coast also comes "POPPING," characterized by smoother movements, which established itself as the most widespread Hip-Hop dance.

The two coasts exchanged dancers and innovations while maintaining specific characteristics. EAST COAST breakers recognized the contribution of their Los Angeles colleagues, while the latter learned the fundamentals of Hip-Hop from them. With the arrival of Rap in record stores (1979), Breakdance also moved out of the underground circuit and entered the entertainment industry.

In 1983, New York's Rock Steady Crew appeared in Adrian Lyne's FLASHDANCE: it was a passage of only a few seconds, but it became a sort of commercial that triggered an authentic worldwide Breakdance fever.

The spread of images, media overexposure, and the superficiality with which they treated the phenomenon (as if it were just another passing fad) had a boomerang effect on the scene, and in the mid-'80s, B-Boying seemed stuck in a creative crisis without an outlet. In the second half of the decade, there was a recovery, aided by the appearance of rappers and groups like Gang Starr, A Tribe Called Quest, and Jungle Brothers, who revived the original spirit of Hip-Hop. While OLD SCHOOL returned to fashion on a sonic level, B-Boying was reborn and found fertile ground for expansion in the new waves of Western Hip-Hop, which were already protagonists of the advent of POPPING.

The keyword of Hip-Hop is FREE STYLE, meaning the art of improvisation, not as a lack of rules, but as a subjective and original interpretation of the rules themselves.

CLOTHING: infinite variations arose from a base rule, a direct consequence of the Hip-Hop lifestyle: COMFORT. BASIC WEAR is represented by over-size pants, sailor hats, indestructible boots, athletic T-shirts, shoes, and tracksuits customized with writing, tags, and pops (typical designs of writing). All this is not just part of Hip-Hop fashion; every single garment has a very precise function. Every rapper worth their salt never uses their own name but a STREET NAME, to always maintain...

incognito among the people. The need to not be recognized stems from the role of the writer who, by painting illegally on walls, used to dress comfortably: loose clothing served to hide stolen spray paint cans; tracksuits and sneakers were useful (and still are) for running freely and easily when caught drawing on walls; dark glasses, very large, and hats worn low on the forehead, to avoid being recognized at night. In fact, it is precisely the night that accompanies the artists of the “metropolitan canvases”; when everyone sleeps, they go into action armed with spray paint and… imagination.

AEROSOL-ART

GRAPHIC DIMENSION of the Hip-Hop Movement. The most widespread term to indicate it is “GRAFFITI”, but the protagonists of the scene have snubbed it for some years. A graffiti is indeed a drawing on a wall TOUT COURT, whether it be a prehistoric relic, a protest slogan, or a work of art. The history of Hip-Hop mural graphics was born in the late '60s, at the hands of characters such as JULIO 204, TAKI 183, PHASE II, LEE 163d and COCO 144, who borrowed their new identity as artists from their own house numbers. The first tools to strike, along lines 2 and 5 of the New York subway, were gigantic markers, with which each person immortalizes their own TAG (a kind of trademark that guarantees its authenticity, a tangible sign of a present arriving from the past), namely the name written in New Style characters. The introduction of spray cans transforms WRITERS into BOMBERS and graffiti into a form of expression articulated into genres and trends.

Following the TAG is the THROW-UP, a sort of evolved signature, traced quickly on the outside of trains or on walls. A carriage can be entirely covered in writing and become a WHOLE CAR, but more prestigious is the covering work that transforms an entire convoy into a WHOLE TRAIN, like the historic FREEDOM TRAIN realized by CAINE, MAD 103 and FLAME ONE in July 1976. At the top of the value scale is the PIECE, the “PEZZO” in Italian writer slang. Subject pieces and lettering – elaborated with BUBBLE LETTERS, CRACKED LETTERS techniques, with the illegible hardcore fantasy of WILD STYLE or with refined 3D effects – create a front on which dialogue seems impossible: works of art for B-Boys and for the more uninhibited public, they are instead categorized by the established authority under the heading “VANDALISM”.

In Aerosol-Art, two fundamental virtues of Hip-Hop concentrate: VISIBILITY and PENETRATION. The proliferation of graffiti made visible the problems of the city, the desires, the anger, and the desire for redemption of the citizens. The pride of seeing one's own name everywhere in the neighborhood would have increased tenfold if they had managed to break out of those boundaries. The trains, passing through different neighborhoods, created an indirect communication between various communities and multiplied the awareness of a change that was underway and unstoppable. Graffiti became a “nightmare” for mayors, which however ended up producing an enormous interest in their production and they began to be considered “art”.

If B-Boying is an activity acceptable to the Establishment, the same cannot be said of Aerosol-art, guilty of filling the prevailing grayness on train carriages or along factory walls with colors sprayed from cans. Although today there is also a certain patronage (shops, nightclubs, and local administrations looking for “ornamental graffiti”), Aerosol-art expresses itself predominantly in CLANDESTINITY. Content varies from pacifist messages to self-celebration, up to the spread, in the '80s, of MEMORIALS, spectacular tributes to departed friends. From the Bronx to Los Angeles, from America to Europe, the war has meanwhile become global, and it is not surprising that the nightmare of the Beijing police has for years been a young man guilty of having created over 3000 spray-painted “pieces” on as many city walls.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

• it is naive to link the GANG phenomenon to Hip-Hop, since it gives visibility to an already existing situation; it is equally naive not to consider the relationships that Hip-Hop has with juvenile delinquency and the influence it has on it. “ILLEGALITY” and “YOUTH” are often paired because for many adolescents “illegality” is synonymous with excitement and fun. Doing something illegal pays off quickly in terms of credit within one's own group, one's own crew. Furthermore, many young people from poor communities live in economic-cultural degradation and illegality is seen as the only means to survive. This inevitably leads to the experience of prison, and it is impossible to exploit the period

imprisonment to facilitate reintegration into society: in jail, you ONLY learn more about crime and you only wait for the moment to start again.

California, with the highest number of inmates, has built 21 prisons and only 1 university in the last 20 years. Funds destined for universities have undergone cuts while the budget for the prison system has doubled. Layoffs in universities were met with an equal number of hires in prisons. Dropout rate in ghetto schools: 40-80%. One should not ask if a boy will drop out of school, but rather when he will.

• The MC represents what many young people would like to become. If he points out to young people where they risk making mistakes, PERHAPS, they will pay attention to you. Many kids say “I want to become a rapper!” and don't go to school, but rather go to sit and rap with friends. But to be a rapper, CULTURE is of great importance: knowing history, the why of things, or simply one's own language, increases the quality of RHYMES, LYRICS, and CONTENT.

AfriKa Bambaataa understood the communicative power of the Hip-Hop artist: he told young people not to drink, not to smoke, not to take drugs, and to go to school until they had obtained their diploma.

• Calling an MC a “Sucker” to discredit them has always been part of the game. An MC must have their own credibility or they will hardly earn respect. Today many rappers do not see themselves as a role model and think they owe nothing to anyone: the term “sucker” then becomes synonymous with “unauthentic rapper”. They distinguish between Old Schooler and New Schooler:

- Old Schooler: a man who has dedicated his life to Hip-Hop, according to whom many today's artists are unworthy of Hip-Hop;

- New Schooler: resembles a pop singer more, a fast-food product;

- New New School: is inspired by the Old School; aims to restore Hip-Hop thought, but is confined within the meanders of that same underground that had generated the movement it would like to revitalize today.

When you marry Hip-Hop, it is for life: those who betray it are isolated; those who do Hip-Hop must be Hip-Hop and feel Hip-Hop. There is a strong invitation to distrust MCs who become puppets of record companies. The MC should bring information, activate minds, grow the community, foster change, denounce, etc.

• With the pronoun “THEY” (“LORO”) an external force is indicated that hinders Change, embodied in institutions, the Government, the Police, the music industry, religious institutions, etc.

• The first real business, in the '70s, was the sale of PIRATE CASSETTES, recorded fraudulently during artists' performances. It was then thought that they could be sold not only to the “black” market.

• Hip-Hop has a large following and a direct influence on society, but few identify with it completely. Upon reaching an age where it is necessary to earn a living, many are forced to abandon the Crew to think about the future. Artists who live off Hip-Hop are not necessarily rich: those who choose IT do so because they are able to visualize a goal.

• The SUCCESS of a Hip-Hop artist can be providential but sometimes it can prove deleterious: if a poor man suddenly becomes rich, he risks losing control of his own life. Success brings: MONEY, LOVE and SEX, the things for which (along with religion) the most inhuman crimes have been committed. Not recognizing this is hypocrisy. The remedy is to consider it as a MEANS to reach goals and NEVER as an END.

• VIDEO production has played a fundamental role in the evolution of Hip-Hop, through “MUSIC VIDEOS”, TV, and CINEMA. It was the production of the first videos, characterized by crime, violence, and a desire for redemption, that exposed hidden realities to the entire world and carried out an effective information work. However, the dissemination of Hip-Hop videos was difficult. Space for these productions was given by the pioneering broadcasts of local cable channels. A consequence of low visibility was the impossibility of obtaining sufficient budgets for production, but thanks to growing success, Rap gained credit with music networks. The strength of videos and films lies in the ability to condition people's imagination. The measure of the communicative power of video language is given by the ability to make a trend popular even decades later. This ability has favored an approach to “Black Culture” by the masses which, even before Rap, had been favored by the production of “Black style” films: violence and power. Samplings and paraphrases of"

dialogues from these films, such as those from Kung-Fu movies, have accompanied the rhymes of Rap tracks for years. Many Hip-Hop artists have become ACTORS. But moving away from their context of origin means cutting off the primary source of their inspiration and their CREDIBILITY.

WU-TANG CLAN. Nine members of the group. Based on the principles of Shaolin theosophy, each candidate must pass through 4 chambers of martial arts knowledge to access the status of a monk within the brotherhood. The first album, ENTER THE WU-TANG, from 1993, which sold over one million copies, was the economic foundation for the construction of a true empire: they publish with different record labels, launched a clothing line (WU-WEAR), a chain of ateliers, hair salons, and a cosmetics brand. Some rappers of the Clan also lend their faces to various cinematic products.

It is therefore no wonder if the criminal record of a conscious and Afrocentric rapper is as thin as a phone book, if the most ferocious exponent of "Gangsta-Rap" launches into messages of peace, or if the rhymes of the most intransigent group of Islamic origin are contained in a record whose cover depicts the protagonists aboard a luxurious convertible: ON THE BORDER BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL, IN CERTAIN PLACES, THERE IS ALWAYS FOG.

HIP-HOP IN ITALY

The spread of Rap music in Italy during the early '90s brought a gust of significant novelty to our country's musical landscape. In fact, from a thematic, metric-rhythmic, and linguistic-cultural point of view, this expressive practice offers variations of considerable interest and, as a sociological prerogative, has the great merit of involving the marginal realities of our cities, giving suburbs, working-class neighborhoods, and social centers the opportunity to make their opinions heard with new vigor.

Particular attention will be reserved for the concept of EDUCAINMENT, which defines two fundamental characteristics of this phenomenon that would later impose itself here as well: EDUCATION and ENTERTAINMENT.

The two scenarios that accompanied the development of Hip-Hop in Italy are SOCIAL CENTERS and EXTERNAL REALITIES (e.g., at Muretto near Piazza San Babila in Milan – Piazza Castello in Turin, etc.); the former were characterized by significant political involvement, as had not happened in national songs for years, while the latter were often tasked with dealing with less committed themes. Furthermore, in our peninsula, it will emerge that Rap was among the most incisive vehicles that led to the rediscovery of DIALECTS (especially in the South).

Thanks ScalaQuaranta and Lupino for reposting it, I hadn't saved it (doing it right now)

I was told that Scala Quaranta was a Guru... I didn't think so much.

I am left curious about the texts

> I drew from about 4-5 texts regarding the subject, so it should be quite reliable.

... but there is also more than expected

:D :D :D

during this period I am in the middle of my diploma exam (composition) and I can carve out very little time

to read the posts on this forum! I am happy that the hip-hop file was not lost and that, above all,

it is useful to other people! fortunately someone else thought to make it available again, because if you had waited for me

a lot of time would have passed! thanks for the "guru", even though I am not one....it's just that as I

documented myself, the subject fascinated me more and more and going deeper into specifics, things came up that

intrigued me and that I absolutely could not (so as not to jeopardize the quality of my dream nights!!! ;-P) leave unresolved!

anyway....I can recommend the bibliography I consulted:

- "HIP HOP" by Nicolò De Rienzo

- "RIME DI SFIDA" by Marco Borroni

- "HIP HOP" from the Giunti series

- online material

as you will notice, these are texts by Italian authors, but I know that even more exhaustive texts exist in English

both for history, discography, and graphic design. But me, with languages, I struggle, so....

in general, I found very little material on the choreographic aspect (break-dance). In this regard...if anyone

knew any texts regarding this to recommend to me, I would be grateful!

Thanks ScalaQuaranta, your last direct intervention was also useful

I am sharing these links

http://www.americanp...breakdance.html

Here

http://it.wikipedia....ki/Breakdancing

you can find

Bibliography

Nicolò De Rienzo. "Hip Hop - words of a street culture". BCD editore 2008

Peter Burke. The Renaissance. Bologna, Il Mulino, 2001. ISBN 88-15-08397-9.

Chang, Jeff. Can't Stop Won't Stop: a history of hip hop generation. New York, St. Martin's Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-312-30143-9

Toop, David. Rap. History of a black music. Turin, EDT, 1992. ISBN 88-7063-130-3.

Bazin, Hugues. Hip Hop Culture. Nardo, Besa, 1999. ISBN 88-86730-97-7.

George, Nelson. Hip Hop America. New York, Penguin Books, 1998. ISBN 978-0-14-303515-2

Ferrari, Paolo. Hip Hop, Florence, Giunti, 1999. ISBN 88-09-05811-9.

Cooper, Martha. Hip Hop Files - photographs 1979-1984, Berlin, From Here to Fame, 2004. ISBN 3-937946-02-0.

Gatti, Giuseppe. New Dances for New Media - The introduction of breakdance into Italian artistic productions Thesis for a Degree in arts production sciences and technologies, University of Perugia, 2006.

Alien Ness, The Art of Battle - Understanding judged b-boy battle, 2008. (in press)

Mr. Wiggles - Hip Hop Dance. URL consulted on 21-07-2008.

Filmography

Wild Style, directed by Charlie Ahearn (1982)

Flashdance, directed by Adrian Lyne (1983)

Style Wars, directed by Tony Silver (1983)

Beat Street, directed by Stan Lathan (1984)

Breakin', directed by Joel Silberg (1984)

Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, directed by Sam Firstenberg (1985)

The Freshest Kids, directed by Elayne Blyth (2002)

Honey, directed by Bille Woodruff (2003)

SDF Street Dance Fighters (You got served), directed by Chris Stokes (2004)

Step Up, directed by Anne Fletcher (2006)

Kickin It Old Skool, directed by Harvey Glazer (2007)

Inside the circle, directed by Marcy Garriot (2007)

Stepping - From the street to the stage (Stomp The Yard), directed by Sylvain White (2007)

Step Up 2 - The road to success (Step Up 2: the streets), directed by Jon Chu (2008)

Planet B-Boy, directed by Benson Lee (2008)

This is beat - Dance challenge, directed by Robert Adetuyi (2011)