Overview

Hip-hop music was pioneered in part by Afrika Bambaataa, aka the "Godfather of Hip-Hop culture." He started to DJ in the early seventies with wax records, mixing all genres of music, most famously funk combined with European electronic music. He would later go on to found the Universal Zulu Nation. Grandmaster Flash also pioneered the turntable technique that DJs and the world knows as the "scratch."

DJs would rock crowds in parks, at block parties and the like by playing the "breakdown" sections of funk songs, and mixing various songs together on turntablesso that the music never stopped. Accompanying the DJ was the MC, or "master of ceremonies" who would use the spoken word to hype up the crowd and praise the DJ.

How "rap" started: In the beginning, the DJ was the most prominent person in the rap music equation, but once the music industry saw dollar signs in the creative efforts of MCs, or masters of ceremonies, such as "Love Bug" Starski and Kurtis Blow, the MCs were termed as "rappers," and the music was labeled "rap." Soon, in the eyes of the public, rapping eclipsed the art of DJing, and rappers became kings and queens.

Hip-hop dance: The other elements of graffiti and dance developed at their own pace. One popular form of hip-hop dance, breakdance, grew out of a need for youth to express themselves and prove their prowess in a creative, non-destructive way. Many heads who would have been involved in gang activity or street life were able to express their frustrations through the art of a dance that was at once aggressive and poetic.

Breakdance drew from many dance styles and incorporated elements of Brazil's capoeira, other forms of martial arts, and was sometimes mixed with other hip-hop styles like popping and locking. Crews like the Rock Steady Crew, developed and "battled" other crews on the dancefloor, elevating the dance to an art form with now classic moves such as the 2 step,the Airtrack, the headspin, The Glide, and many more. Krump emerged from clown dancing in the new millennium.

Graffiti: Also known as writing, it started as underground urban art boldly displayed in public areas, usually sides of buildings or walls. It was used by citizens to make political and social commentary, as well as gangs to mark territory. Folks would leave their mark with "tags" such as TAKI 183, FRANK 207 and countless others. Eventually the art of tagging would blossom into a full-blown art form, consisting of beautiful mural art that would cover trains and buildings... and be villainized by the clueless New York Transit System. Read a complete history of graf.