Foundation

Joseph Schloss's book Foundation takes a surprisingly close look at the b-boy community in New York city between 2003 and 2008. What first struck me was that the b-boy community was still very much alive. Everyone seems to associate this movement with the 70's hip hop, then to a fad in the early to mid 80's (By the way, this book is not about breakdancing!)and then fade into the annals of history. This is far from the truth. Although the scene has lost a lot of exposure in recent years, the practitioners of b-boying and b-girling are in every major city from New York to Miami.

Going down the chapters we see a gradual progression from the music and people that sparked b-boying to the methods and techniques used. The first thing Schloss wants to convey to the reader is that b-boying is more of an experience that a spectator sport. To truly understand the b-boy movement you have to find yourself in the company of mentors and peers that push you into honing your skills as a b-boy. In fact one of the references to Foundation, the books title is about going back to learn from the practitioners from years past and learn from them. Schloss tells us that the originators still have moves that could put the modern b-boy to shame.

The beat and the break are huge influences on what happens on the dance floor. Its like the opposite of christian sects that think bass is 'of the devil' and dancing should be forbidden. They know that there is a certain energy in the break that is irresistible to dace to. B-boys embrace this energy and have turned it into a science.

The dance itself is just as much of an amalgam as hip-hop. B-boy take elements of dance, gymnastics and martial arts as well as a gamut of original moves. And its these original moves that seem to be as closely guarded as any trade secret. The sources in the book tell stories of holding dance practice in remote locations and watching out for spies from other crews. Even in the battles one was very careful to only best his opponent by a fraction, least he have to reveal his full arsenal of moves. I equate it to something like a game of horse. When some one plays a lay-up you don't follow up with a shot from mid court.

Another interesting element of the book is the way surfaces and spaces play such a huge roll in how a b-boy performs. Do a back flip on a stick surface, and win some points, do it on a slick surface and expect to slip and break your face. The venues such as apartment lobbies, and cyphers also play a roll in how you break. When its in a lobby, its mostly for fun. In a cypher, it was a battle. Two totally different uses of what could look like the same room and surface.

Over all it was a very insightful book, if anything else. It went through laborious details at times, but I believe that was Schloss's intent: to produce the definitive text about modern b-boying.

Graffiti Art and Hip Hop

As a cultural movement has different facets incorporating the talents of different artists, so to does hip hop apply broadly to several different artistic disciplines. In the readings we were exposed to the visual arts of hip hop, in graffiti and in photography.

Photography is the visual record of history. Hip hop from the early 70's to today, has seen an array of people recording its evolution. From Martha Cooper, a middle aged woman who captured the first images of hip hop, to Ricky Powell, a "weed head" ,known for his colorful pictures, documenting hip hop from Def Jam and beyond. The importance of this is that they were documenting history but with their own twist added for effect. Where one photographer would favor the candid photos of everyday people on the street, to others that staged shoots of hip hop celebrities in order to enhance their image. As stated in the former, many photographers were merely taking pictures of the realities of life in the Bronx. This was important in preserving the context from which hip hop evolved. How can we understand what in means to be from the streets, without seeing the street? How can we really appreciate where someone comes from with out seeing pictures of neighborhoods peppered with trash, drug dealers, youth engaged in various actives etc. A picture really does give us a sense of the context no words could adequately describe. Technically one wouldn't place hip hop photography in the same category as, say DJing, however the purpose it serves is just as important all the same.


Now graffiti is a New York saw the evolution of graffiti from a form of vandalism to a form of art in the early 70's. Although it evolved separately from the main hip hop culture, much like skateboarding was independent from punk rock, it still overlapped in style and in the people pushing its boundaries. The style hailed from the underground comix of the 60's and 70's. One has to only look at the artistic renditions in "Spraycan Art" and look at the art of Spain Rodriguez (Trashman), Robert Crumb (Zap) and Gilbert Shelton (Freak Brothers. The stylized lettering, the off color "ballooned" caricatures and the almost psychedelic use of color and line. It was even stated in "Spraycan Art" that Vaughn Bode was one of the "spiritual ancestors of graffiti..." Its interesting to see the public's perception change over the years. The initial war on graffiti that New York undertook was center piece of many an elected official. Many could argue that is was an effort to suppress an art form from the cities minorities. Now Banksy, one of the more prominent graffiti artists of today has an entry on the website "Stuff White People Like". Its odd how things of this nature can be absorbed so completely into society where, not 30 years ago, cities were waging a war on it, much like the war on drugs today.

Gender and Racial Rolls in Hip Hop

Prophets of the Hood was a very dense book covering a wide variety of social topics and their impact on the Hip Hop world. Although Perry has a keen understanding on topics as varied as commercialism and song structure, I think she over-thinks some topics a little bit. One quote that stood out for some reason: "Much as the crochet cap-wearing and dreadlocked populist Afrocentrist sensibility operates as an affirmation of the black body, those who celebrate the "around the way" people and styles affirm the cultural spaces of the black poor." I think she needs to tone down the adjectives. After a while she starts to sound like a Pitchfork review.

Although some parts were hard to get through, the chapter that really made sense was "B-Boys, Players, and Preachers". This chapter made a lot of good points about how African American males are portrayed in the media, Hip Hop and in society. The chapter started off by telling us the hierarchy of members of society according to gender and race. Perry points out that black men subjugate black women in response to their role that white men place on them. This comes about by white men subjugating black men. So we can already see that black women < black men < white men. The roles that white society places on black men becomes sort of a caricature after a while. Perry points out that hypersexuality and hypermasculinity are attributed to black men by white society. In response, black men embrace these roles and the manifestation is made clear in Hip Hop lyrics and the posturing of black men in the media. Perry points out that these stereotypes filter down and become self fulfilling prophecies. This starts to become a chicken and egg argument after a while but it makes you think about how a culture responds to expectations placed on it by society. I can speak from experance that as a white male I am expected to complete a 4 year degree. Its an expectation placed on me by my family and by others I interact with in the community. I'm not sure I would have the drive to complete college if the expectation was that I wasn't good enough to attend college. Now think about African Americans living in the inner city's being told that their expected to end up in prison. These roles or expectations placed on black society extend to every aspect of a black persons social and private life. . Kind of makes you think about what impact your stereotypes has on others, doesn't it?

The "Amen Break", money and whats considered "fair".

On my first post, I left a link to a mini-documentary on a six second drum loop from a little known R&B group from the late 60's. The group is called the Winstons. Interestingly, the group still exists today, and still plays from their own catalog.
This six second loop is from a song, appropriately titled "Amen, Brother". It was the B-side to their most famous song "Color Me Father". Although, it was the A-side that won the group a gold record from the RIAA, it was the B-side that changed hip-hop and rap beats for the past 20 years.
Now at this point, I'd like to ask the reader to think about what's fair in the taking of an original song, in whole or part? Most would say something like its the essence of the song that, when taken, constitutes a copyright infringement. I think this summarizes the legal opinions we can find in Thomas G. Schumachers piece, "This Is a Sampling Sport", although Schumacher breaks this idea down into its elements to make his case.
When we look at the break in "Amen, Brother", we hear a series of beats that when strung together, give us a signature Winstons sound from their drummer G.C. Colemen. Who do we consider the audience to be for this sound? I think we would come up with different people then who we say listen to rap or hip-hop. So is the fact that rap or hip hop use this break merely a question of different interpretations by the different artist? Does this make it OK to take the original work of another artist. I'd argue that it wouldn't make it an ethical act on the perpetrating artist. The reason is that it constitutes a "significant infringement" on the Winstons intellectual property. Consider if the Winstons were paid only a couple thousand dollars every time the song was sampled by a major recording artist, or if they were paid a penny for every time their break was played? The Winstons would have made more money off that break then they've made throughout their entire musical career. Is it fair to deny them their dues?
As defined by 17 USC, s.107 of the Copyright Act this issue falls under "The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work".
But in the end, was it fair that their work was ripped off? Well, it seems that in the eyes of the law something else trumped our original conclusion about protecting the essence of the song. The original band member that owned the rights to the song went on to receive his PhD.in political science. He never even brought up the issue because his priorities have changed, or, more importantly he understood that it might be more hassle than it was worth. Here's a link to the "...worlds most important 6 sec drum break."

Hip Hop topics posed by Michael Dyson

"Know What I Mean" digs deep into hip hop in all regards. Dyson has spent a lot of time with hip hop insiders and ivy league academics alike. The thing I enjoyed most about this book is that Dyson brings the analysis of hip hop to an art form in itself. As a preacher and academic he probes the spiritual side of hip hop and its artists with pin point precision. Dyson is able to pull back to look, not only at the artists message, but also to look at the psyche of the artist as its influenced by African American culture, not only in the present but also through the lens of the Civil Rights Movement. Also, his book is a collection of interviews that requires Dyson to speak off the top of his head. We given the outsiders view of hip hop (in some cases) in the form of the interviewer, but we are also met with this stream of conscience that Dyson projects as he speaks on such diverse topics as the incarceration of black youth to the Don Imus faux pas speaking of "...nappy headed hos..."
In order to discuss Dysons views, I want to dive into his insight on a few topics briefly.

On incarceration: Dyson gives us his view on the culture of African Americans and their need for their feelings of family and identity. One of the most striking things I learned is that the black culture feels so displaced that they resort to criminal behavior in order to achieve incarceration. This might seem strange to the average middle American, but Dyson makes a few good points. First, he makes the point that incarceration is so embedded in urban black culture (e.g. sagging paints, and laceless shoes) that its almost a goal to be incarcerated in order to achieve a level of authenticity. As a "vet" of the prison system, the young black male gains a degree of respect from his trial of being separated from his family and friends and gains the comradery of fellow black cons while in the system. This falls contrary to what main stream American sees as socially acceptable behavior. However, the ex-con will be able to speak from a position of authority, having gone through the trials and tribulation of said separation. Being part of this elite faction of young back population gives the listener the benefit of knowing that he knows pain and hardship. This reflects the early 20th centuries need to hear blues from some someone that's been there and knows what its like to suffer. Dyson points out that the suffering is needless and that the very fact that black youth have to struggle everyday as an alienated race proves a much better point of reflection than being relegated to the outskirts of society as a felon.
On the treatment of women: Its known that women are the "n*****s of the world" as John Lennon so eloquently put it. But black culture has seemed to embrace the wholesale exploitation of women for commercial gain. Dyson contributes this to the stereotype "pimps and hos" model that mainstream America wants to see out of black culture. His analysis of "Hustle and Flow" is an eye opener in terms of how we should view the most lowly of people, namely the street prostitute. Dyson talks about how women in hip hop such as Eve and Lil' Kim have switched the dominance of the male sexual desires as the point of power to control by the women as the ones controlling this desire. Through sex, women are able to control the dominate male and therefore control his power. In "Hustle and Flow" Dyson makes the point that the pimp is in dyer straits and leans on his subjugated women in order to help him become successful in the hip hop industry. Now this brings up some interesting points; who is in control here... the pimp or the "ho". Dyson points out that whatever position the woman takes, she is always able to find herself in a position of power if she chooses. This is a powerful statement, because what he's saying is that even though women might be controlled superficially by the male dominated society, they still hold influence.

There are several other ideas that I'd like to dive into but I think this is enough for us to think about right now. Thoughts?

Has social responsibility fallen on def ears?

In Bakari Kitwana's essay "The Challenge of Rap Music" we are faced with the juxtaposition of the new voice of the urban black male in the form of hip-hop, with the former voice of empowerment, which was the civil rights movement of their parents. Kitwana analyzes the change in mind set between these generations of black men, especially in the context of its influence on popular culture.
At the beginning of his essay Kitwana poses a few questions: "What was the price of this remarkable breakthrough in the visibility of young Blacks in the mainstream culture?" Kitwana further asks, "... had the growing visibility of young Black entertainers further marginalized young Black intellectuals and writers, who have remained nearly invisible?" These questions are posed because it's widely known that hip-hop and rap music continues to portray the young black urban male in a light that is more criminal than upstanding. Although the mediums of hip-hop and rap gives the young black male a place to be heard in the popular culture Kitwana asks us at what price does this recognition come? As the civil rights movement tried to create the image that black men and women are equals to all races, we see that hip-hop and rap furthered an image that was challenging social norms at best and down right criminal at worse. Has hip-hop and rap then created a positive or negative forum for the black community?
A focus of the essay was the Hip-Hop Summit of 2001 hosted by Russell Simmons. Kitwana speaks of the summit as a plea for social responsibility within the black community. As hip-hop and rap became more mainstream and commercialized it was recognized that black leaders, such as Simmons, needed to guide hip-hop in a direction that recognized the struggle of the urban black male, but at the same time, used their forum to bring the community up from its oppression ie the surge in incarceration of black youth and the poverty within the community. Kitwana critiques the summit as being an invitation only affair. In the end the people that profited from the commercial success of hip-hop argued for a stance that allowed hip-hop to be able to continue 'business as usual'.
Although this sounds like a bleak end to the black leaderships attempt to change hip-hop into a vehicle of social stewardship, it must also be noted that from within the ranks of commercially successful hip-hop artists came efforts to take issue with social injustices that the black community faced. Their were benefit concerts held for a variety of issues, and lyrics written to bring specific events viewed as an affront to the black community to light (Mumia Abu-Jamal).
In the end we need to look at the reality of why hip-hop even has a voice in the mainstream media. They provide a product, that being urban black music. This product has to be in step with what the consumer expects and desires. As the plight of the urban black male gained more media attention, it was acceptable to incorporate this message into the music. It became a message that many consumers wanted to hear and expected from their artists. In the end, it wasn't Simmons summit that enacted change in hip-hop. It was the artists as individuals becoming engaged with a socially responsible world view that echoed black culture at the street level. As artists like KRS-One and Arrested Development brought the message to the masses, the idea of being socially responsible snowballed to being a voice that was not only contrary to the voice of the criminal black urban male, but indeed, challenged it commercially. In the end, it seems, this is what's most important. After all, what good is a message if it falls on def ears?

Looptroop "The Struggle Continues"
lyrics

Arrested Development "Tennessee"
lyrics

Thoughts on Charlie Chase and Cyprus Hill

Ahhh... I've finally made a connection between my first experiences with hip hop and the early roots of the genre. It was 1994. I was 13 and had no idea what real music was about. Up until this point I was listening to a burnt out old tape of Phil Collins (No Jacket Required) and the Miami Vice soundtrack. I was young but still knew that a lot was going on social and politically in the US. We were dealing the aftermath of the first Gulf War, and the LA riots. This particular summer saw the death of Curt Cobain and the OJ murder trial was beginning to take shape. All of these things set the tone for one of my most formative experiences, the discovery of real music.

My sister was a little older than I was and had her fingers on the pulse of the music scene. She exposed me to Nirvana, Beck, and the Pixies for the first time that summer. I was also exposed to a little hip hop group called Cyprus Hill.

Now up until this point the only thing white america knew about hip hop was how evil and destructive it was to our youth. Tipper Gore was all over the air waves several years prior telling us how bands like 2Live Crew were destroying our youth. Other groups like Public Enemy and other early rappers were making a break from hip hop to hard core rap. Their reputation only solidified that image in the minds of my parents.

My parents knew about the 'evils' of rap and forbid us from listening to any of it. So 'white music', Beck, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam could be listened to freely. But we knew that Cyprus Hill had to be played at night, with the head phones on, always watching our bedroom door with our fingers on the stop button just in case mom or dad came calling after hours.

I didn't understand it at the time, but the disdain my parents had for this new breed of hip hop wasn't new in the eyes of the artists, especially the chicanos and other latin hip hop artists. Just as 'white music' is by white musicians for white people, so to was early hip hop seen as a blacks only affair. Although some of the first graffiti artist and hip hop party goers were latin, to be a DJ you had to be black. Or so the stereotype went...

Now, a new comer breaks onto the scene of hip hop in the form Charlie Chase. A skinny, mustached Puerto Rican kid with slicked back hair trying to make a name for himself in the arena hip hop dominated by black men. Charlie's first DJing gigs were successful due, in part, as Juan Flores describes in "Puerto Rocks", to him being in the back in the DJ booth, behind the MCs. As his popularity grew, he was able to take the stage, but the crowds weren't able to accept that the skills they heard on the turntable were that of a latino. Some were even shocked to learn that some of the fresh breaks they were dancing to were cuts from salsa music, incorporated into mix by Chase.

Charlie Chase went on to break ground for other latino's in the hip hop world. As the second wave of b-boys carried with them a substantial number of Puerto Ricans, latino's began to gain acceptance in the hip hop world. Around this time Charlie Chase began to make it big with his band 'The Cold Crush Brothers'. They were signed and toured Japan for a while, spreading hip hop across the globe.

Although this was the beginning of latin rap in America, the scene really took off as the latin population in LA began to experiment with their own brand of calo-rap. California, as Ragan Kelly explains in "Hip Hop Chicano", has a rich history of latino musical innovation. This was due, in part, to the huge latino population in southern California. In fact, the latino population is so overwhelming in the area that, since the 1940's, latino trends in California have been followed by blacks and whites alike. From dances like Hully Gully and the Corrido Rock, to low riders, latino culture took center stage. So its no surprise that this area embraced the budding latino hip hop scene and added to it some of its most famous artists: Mellow Man Ace, Kid Frost and yes Cyprus Hill.

Is interesting to me to see how blacks in the Bronx used hip hop as a racial identifier to separate themselves from what they might have perceived as the oppressive white culture. Then, within this hip hop culture, they suppressed another group, abet not very long, the latinos from taking an active role in shaping hip hop music. This is a reminder to all of us that, although races of people might use their culture for self identification, as Charlie Chase put it "to me, rap is color blind, that's that!"

What is Hip Hop? A musing on where Hip Hop was and where its been from an outsiders perspective.

As the first blog on the subject of hip hop, I thought it would be good to define what I think hip hop is and where its been.

What is hip hop?

Never really stopped to think about it. Its music right? Something that sounds like rap but without the gangsta themes. Its urban music that samples other music, changes the beat and lyrics around a bit and tries to pass itself off as something new.

Well, come to find out, its more than that. A lot more.

We can't just keep hip hop relegated to the music can we? Its more than that. Its a collection of art that spans music, painting, dance and partying? Yes, it seems it was all done to kick the boredom that was the Bronx NY in the 1970's. Music that was perfected to keep the party hopping, dance moves that would impress anyone, and graffiti just because it looks cool.

I'll get to the dancing and painting in another post. Today I'll just drop some thoughts on the music.

What I've learned so far about the history of hip hop goes something like this:

The first practitioners were trying to make some money throwing parties and needed to out perform the other guys in the neighborhood. The partiers love the bass, so buy a huge sound system. Turn down the treble, jack up the bass. But what about the music itself? How about just listening to that one part of the song that everyone wants to hear? We'll call it the 'break'. Heck why not put it on a loop and listen to it over and over? Now, that sounds good and all, but what about the words? A song this catchy needs some lyrics to round it out. Something with its own cadence, and tight rhymes that'll complement the beat. We can call that rapping. Wait a second... did we just invent a new genre of music?

By only using the best parts of the music, they created something that was more to the point. It was the first time anyone had thought of doing anything like that with music. And I would argue that it wasn't just a beginning of a new genre of music. It was a new way to look at music

Now lets talk about how those ideas changed the face of modern music. Forget hip hop and rap for a second. What about techno music? Same themes; more bass, breaks put on a loop and lots of record scratching. Modern pop music? Think about how much Brittney Spears or Kesha use beat sampling and lyrical motifs similar to rapping. Modern rock? Forget about it! Limp Bizkit, Disturbed, Slipknot and almost everyone else in the genre use bass, rapping, and sampling.

The ideas introduced by hip hop have evolved and permeated almost all modern music, but hip hop itself has managed to stick around and stay relevant. We hear hip hop music on the radio. We also hear it in commercials, in movies and on television. Next time you see a TV commercial listen to the background music and tell me what you hear.

Does this mean that hip hop has sold out? Not really. We still have Common, Snoop, RZA and others that keep the art of hip hop alive. But what 'selling out' does say is that its become such a mainstream art form that its almost universally accepted. So much so, people want hip hops musical motifs attached to their products.

Well thats all I can think of saying right now. I might go back to the books and the stereo and see if I'm inspired to blog about other things hip hop. For now I'll leave with a few things that I find interesting and hope you'll check out.

Banksy. One of the best graffiti artists in the world today. This is a link to his website, but you'd do yourself a favor to google his name as well.

The reverse graffiti project. When graffiti isn't vandalism.

This video explanes the history of the worlds most important 6 second drum loop