What is hip-hop

Hip-hop is a culture. The term is loosely used when referring to commercialized rap music, however hip-hop is more than just music. It is the hearbeat of American ghetto youth who claimed their own self-expression and used it to rise above their physical circumstances. Hip-hop culture has its roots in pride, truth, courage and self-determination. As a result it has grown to influence almost every segment of the planet.

The Elements: Composed of four subcategories, universally known as "elements." The elements are: dance (commonly referred to as breaking or breakdance), graffiti (also known as writing), DJing, and rapping. These four elements developed along different time lines and each have their own unique history underneath the umbrella of hip-hop culture. Rap music has developed at a faster rate than all the other elements and as a result can claim a number of sub-genres.
When it all began : Hip-hop culture started to develop as an entity in the early '70s in New York City, while its different elements, namely graffiti and break dance can be traced back even earlier to the late sixties. Some trace rap back to the spoken word poetry scene of the late sixties, while many go even further back to ancient African societies who boasted griots, women and men who were walking vessels of their people's history and related the various stories and histories through spoken word.