We've discussed A LOT, and we still didn't get to everything. So, let's talk about what we haven't...the culture itself. I asked you to read the "Mediated Narrative" piece by Dimitriadis. I'd like to know your thoughts. Based on this reading, how do you define Hip-Hop culture? What does it look like? What does it sound like? And, what has it evolved into today?
Due: Fri., 9/9/16 by the beginning of class. (Don't forget the rubric.)
When I think of Hip-Hop culture has multiple different kinds of art that come to mind. Not just rapping and singing but others forms such as "DJ"ing, grafting,and even dancing. In Hip-Hop culture dancing is a major way to express feeling. Back in the day people did this by break dancing. The connection between dance and music has been linked throughout history. Hip-Hop looks like one person or a group of people on a stage controlling the crowd and getting a respond from their audience. When you analyze Hip-Hop today, nothing has really changed but the technology. Artist are still reusing beats from past song from another artist. The dance aspect is still their; not in the form of break dancing but in the form of the dougie and things likes the nae nae.
ReplyDeletei think hip hop is defined by the beat of the music, the loud bass this music has the ability to make you listen it grabs your attention. even people who "don't like hip hop" know hip hop songs! it brings peope of different cultures together more than any other genre of music. when I first think of how hip hop looks I think of multi colored jackets, gold chains, huge stereos like radio raheem had, new York stoops, sun glasses and adidas, but the more I think of the look of hip hop I see it has no specific look simply because hip hop has evolved so much people from all walks of life are beginning to rap not just young black men and women from up north.hip hop sounds like jazz, rhythm. a little bit of blues and a whole lot of bass with a spin on it and the song always has a hook you can remember forever. hip hop has evolved by more artist being willing to work together whether they dislike each other or not they all have a common goal, more women are hip hop artist, and a lot more young artist 10-21 get a lot of exposure.
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ReplyDeleteWhen i think of hip-hop i think of the first major artists and groups who truly showed us the meaning of hip hop. An example of this would be the artists like grand master flash, dj kool herc, run-dmc. they all had their own style of music and they all presented themselves differently. hip hop to me is not only its artists but also the beats that go along with the songs, the beats are apart of our culture as African Americans and i think that's a major point when talking about hip-hop culture. i personally always identify hip-hop with the different beats that songs have. and another major thing about hip hop is the dancing and the style of dancing now is way different than the break dancing that was done back in the day i think dancing now is more sexual and back then it was more about skill and technique. songs today are also more sexual and back then it was more about issues going on in real life and it made artists more relatable.
ReplyDeleteBased on the reading I would have to define hip hop culture as a mixture of dance and music inspired by African and African Americans. Hip hop culture's appearance may consist of face to face social contact and interaction, African tribal dances, break dancing, graffiti, and even a DJ creating music on his/her turn tables. An example of one of these looks is how in the history of hip hop they recognize crazy legs as someone who had an hand in the creation of break dancing. Around that time they labeled break dancers as b-boys. The culture of hip hop is known to have various sounds. Most people think of hip hop as sounding loud and consisting of many different beats and rhythms. Although this is true, the reading indicates jazz as a form a hip hop. Today hip hop is more sexualized and the lyrics hold no weight. For example artist like Nicki Minaj lyrics consist of things that go in the bedroom. Other artist, like Rich Homie Quan, lyrics consist more so of nonsense and not things that are actually relevant in today's society.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Hip Hop is defined as a way to express your feelings in a lyrical way, with just a beat and a pen and a piece of paper. For most artists, a pen and a piece of paper isn't needed because they have the potential to create musical lyrics off the dome, in which we learned in class, is a cypher type of way to rap about what's on your mind. Hip Hop can be in the form of rapping, singing, or just talking, in which this is how most of the music was produced back when Hip Hop was just getting started. The 70's look reminds me of how Hip Hop looks; Puffballs, knee socks, disco shoes, etc. whereas today Hip Hop reminds me of a sexy look for the ladies and such a "ghetto" look for the men; chains, heels, different hairstyles, loose fit clothing, etc. To me, Hip Hop sounds like a mixture of beats to make sound good for the type of song that is being created, although some beats, today, are beats from older songs that have been altered a little bit and put in their own words, most likely, with the same meaning. Today, in general, every rapper or artist has their own style, whether it may be clothing or a typical song or beat. I think Hip Hop has evolved into a 2000's version of the 1900's music. More like New school vs. Old school outlook.
ReplyDeleteHip Hop to me is a way of expressing your feelings. Like stated in the text it is kind of like they are telling a novel but in a lyrical way. It is a form of art that can be expressed in various of ways such as graffiti, dj'ing, break dancing and the list goes on. Hip Hop is not just rap music either. It is so diverse that Jazz is also considered a form of hip hop. Not much about hip hop has changed. Some artist still use the same beats from years ago except they change it up a bit. It also has became more sexual. Other than that people still do the same things. They still dance to the songs and use the same beats.
ReplyDeleteTo me, hip hop is a combination of beats and lyrics/ song. The combination together makes it hip hop. It is a way of expression and can be expressed in many ways such as cyphers, talking and even rapping. Hip hop looks stylish.Baggy jeans, and just like a funky look. However it has changed over time with a change in fashion. Now, all we see is gold chains, gold teeth, sneakers, and pants that are not as baggy. Women are more exposing when it comes to their bodies. Lyrics have also became less meaningful and more demeaning than what it used to be and beats are being reused as well. In some ways it is the same but there are distinct differences you can see as far as story telling and such.
ReplyDeleteThe definition of hip hop in my perception from the reading make me go into many different directions such as the beats, the lyrics, and the dancing. This all builds up to emotional breakdown rather its positive or negative depending on the artist point of view for the music. the sound of hip hop is all different types of beats combined and stretched to be an attention grabber to the crowd or audience. Thats where dancing comes into play giving the audience something to react to such as twerking or hit them folks even grinding. Hip hop evolves in the world today in every aspect its all about the pace and beats of the music. hip hop culture isn't changing more in a way just gaining more views and accelerating the past ways. for example when we were talking in class about the sexual display in music today, back in the day it was not needed but now in society its very beneficial not just being lyrical but sexy at the same time. the hip hope culture is like repletion to keep history going.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of Hip-Hop I think of a story that goes beyond what meets the eye. It is a way to express your feelings and advocate for your community at the same time. It use to look like the big chains or clocks, the backwards pants, and the Adidas shoes. In today's Hip Hop, it looks like grills, several chains, big fur coats and lots of females in the music videos. Hip-Hops different elements make it come alive, for example, the base that thumps rapidly in the background, on top of the flow has the power to take a song to platinum. Being able to spit off the top of your head in today's hip-hop is not needed anymore, because they are able to have ghost writers. Back then it was about what you said and how you said it. Now its about what it looks like and what sells.
ReplyDeleteCassie, the first line of your response is right on! "A story that goes beyond what meets the eye" that statement is so true.
DeleteCassie, do you believe that them having ghost writers is a way of cheating or not being original?
DeleteMy perception of hip hop is a way of expressing oneself through their lyrics in a deeper context. Hip hop looks have progressed over the years we went from over-sized t-shirts, huge chains, crazy hairdos, and more. In today's hip hop we are more flashy and into designer things such as fur, nice cars, and the newest sneakers out. Hip hop is all about rhyming and flowing whether it is fast or slow. Back in the day it was more meaningful lyrics than today's hip hop. I personal think hip hop has remained the same. A lot of the things that were done in the 80s and 90s have been brought back by current artists.
ReplyDeleteInteresting response Chynna. Do you believe that hip-hop has progressed, regressed, or stayed the same? You make mention of this sort of cycle in hip-hop where things are brought back from the 80s and 90s, I was just curious to if you believe that is a good or bad thing in your opinion?
DeleteBased on your response, do you think that Hip-Hop has become too commercialized?
Delete“Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud!”
ReplyDeleteThroughout history the music of African American people, much like our culture, has functioned not only as a model to be frequently imitated, mocked, and misunderstood; but also as the heartbeat of our world. Hip-Hop is much more than bitches and hoes, my chain this, and my gang that! Hip-Hop is pastiche and bricolage. Bricolage, like how mama made meals out of nothing or DJ’s made sound systems from scratch. Hip-Hop is the salad bowl of our society, it has a way of suction cupping our world and producing an image that is natural and realistic to black life. The image it produces looks a lot like shaking a tail feather while letting ya shoulda lean. This image is not always one that is necessarily “positive” but it is one that is real. Hip-Hop culture encompasses art, struggle, love, oppression, and much more. It is pastiche in the sense that it signifies African culture even when we do not recognize it. For instance, DJ Kool Herc’s b-beats are able to live on because of the Djembe people and their use of the African drum. Hip-Hop is a natural occurrence. A phenomenon brewed out of freedom without liberty. Hip-Hop is who we are and what we do; when we turn our backs to it we are denying ourselves. I believe that the transformation in hip-hop is representative of its growth. Of course there will be those who feel as though hip-hop today is everything that it wasn’t in the past. To those people I pose this question, was it supposed to stay the same? Hip-hop was birthed from a yearning to be heard in a world that attempted to silence us out. Hip-hop was very much, and still is, a an act of insurgence from rebel slaves looking to make their mark. Hip-hop is within each of us.
I think Hip Hop started as a way to get everyone's mind off of negative things that were happening around. Hip Hop is expressed through beats, lyrics,dancing, Graffiti and even clothing.It's also expressed and made relevant by sampling from previous artist, and making something new to cater to the Hip Hop lovers today. All artist have something that sets them apart from their competition. Such as sex appeal,artist that write their own lyrics, and ones that don't. Hip Hop also influences the dialect of a group;"hoe" to "thot","fleek" to "slayed/snatched",and "Netflix and chill". I think when Hip Hop first originated there was meaning behind most of the lyrics. Today some of the artist such as J cole have kept that in the authenticity of their music. Most haven't but in the industry you produce what sells,and adhere to the crowd or listeners. They are the music artist biggest critics, and often dictate the careers of artist. The history of Hip Hop is still being written as it evolves.
ReplyDeleteI define Hip-hop as an expression of how a person feels. As humans, we have various emotions that runs through our mind every day. Sometimes we need something to help us escape from the pressures of life. Hip-Hop was used as a distraction to help deal with any type of negativity. For instance, local black communities would gather around few rappers to listen to them battle each other. This was a form of entertainment and positiveness in the black community because it helped them escaped the hardships of life. Break dancing, graffiti,rapping, baggy jeans, the fade haircuts, and big chains represent the appearance of Hip-Hop. The sound of hip-hop involves the use of rock, r&B, and pop. A lot of hip-hop sound uses sampling by incorporating other genres of music to create their own. The sound of Hip-Hop is different from other types of music. Hip-hop continues to evolve into something totally different. For instance, rapping was mostly heard on the streets in which two people would battle each other or tell their stories. Now, rappers can record their rhymes in the studio and can perform in front of an audience. Rapping has turned into a career and that's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteWhen someone talks about Hip-Hop especially when it was first created and was popular, there are to me, two definitions that are implied to Hip-Hop. During the first years of hip-hop, according to the text it states that during the early stages of hip-hop, Hip-Hop was all about the enjoyment of specifically the music, not necessarily the lyrics per say. The article gives an example, of a known hip-hop group, The Sugargang Hill, who created a song called "Rapper's Delight'' and it's 14 minutes long. And normally, for that type of duration it would be specifically made for the enjoyment and for dancing. It was for those that liked to go party, but could jam anywhere one went as long as they had the music. Years later, during the latter years of Hip-Hop, between the early and mid 80s and beyond, Hip-hop emerged into the importance of the lyrics. Therefore, to define hip-hop its a culture where the importance of enjoyment mixes together with the social important of lyrics. In the article, it mentions another important philosophy from a book called "Jookin":"The Rise of Social Dance Formations in African-American Culture" that Hip-Hop's image is important when it comes to the social meaning behind dancing. The author's point in this book states that dancing gives a social interaction with the crowd and it was born out of the existence of hip-hop. That's how breakdancing began to form and began to evolve in a popular dance from the creator, Richard Colon (his stage name, Crazy Legs) the founder of breakdance. Also a huge part of Hip-Hop's image came from frequent playing of music where B-Boys would come out to parks where it was getting played and started jamming and breakdancing. To go a little deeper, it notes in the article that dancing, a form of social interaction became a concept of survival. Dancing is an important factor in Hip-Hop, because when using one's body and even greater as a whole in "Community Dance" it can expose everybody to different forms of new subjectivity. The ear of Hip-Hop, when it comes to the sound, there are a lot of concepts like being open-minded, narrative epics, juju music and variations. One of the important concepts that Eric B. and Rakim used a lot in their lyrics is "Narrative Rakim used this concept because during the time where lyrics was important wanted to connect with his audience more. But during that point of Hip-Hop, it was all about social interaction, social justice, black power, etc. A few other artists that frequently used this concept in their lyrics is KRS-One and Public Enemy. When Hip-Hop was evolving in today's society, I believe some groups that helped contribute to what's out now, is Run-DMC. A point that I got from the reading was that Run-DMC helped get Hip-Hop to mainstream, allowing everybody that might be interested in listening, they can now listen. But when it comes to music sampling, artists still do that till this day. So as I'm thinking to answer the question, how has Hip-Hop evolve, I believe that some artists have taken on the tag with when hip-hop just started out which was really for enjoyment and a party type music whereas some artists in today's society, they're focused on the music but the lyrics are very important to them when it comes to telling a story to their audience and wants a change socially.
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ReplyDeleteI would define hip hop as a way that people express their inner feelings and thoughts. You can see hip hop through dancing, graffiti,and just in our youths culture as a whole. When hip hop is expressed it can be seen as a story, to where you can see what the artist is seeing in their perspective. From the 70's when hip hop was getting started to now it has not changed much. People still dance, make beats and artist still wear flashy clothes. In fact many songs that were made in the 70's and 80's are getting sampled into songs that come out today. Hip hop lyrics have changed a little though music back in the day did not have many songs that someone may say is offensive than we do now, today just about every song has lyrics that pertain to sex or has offensive language. Hip hop has evolved and still is as we go on.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of Hip Hop, i think of creativity. A range of different things come to mind. From the actual music,to the clothing. I also think of storytelling when I think of Hip Hop. I also think of the evolving Hip hop has done. One of my peers mentioned about how the clothing has significantly changed over the years and how now artists have the people valuing designer jewels and clothes now. Hip hop is very influential.
ReplyDeleteHip hop is a way of life, a form of expression. Whether it is to inform an audience of events in life, or to tell simply how they feel. Hip hop is not only music and how well a person can flow, it's also dance. Break dancing, bone breaking, and so many more. Hip hop is too complex to give one meaning to it. It is a way to cope with ones own feelings and putting it into a beat or making it a dance. Hip hop looks like art, art that is not drawn, art that is a bodily message. Whether a person is making the dj-ing, rapping, dancing, you have to get a feel from their body, because if they aren't really feeling them and they don't have the motivation within themselves then you simply do not entertain them. Hip hop sounds like a story. Battle rap is a story, a story that tells about themselves without bluntly describing themselves directly. Djing is a story created through beats, through sounds, and it has a deeper significance than the surface. Hip hop has evolved to violence, to simply sex. Hip hop today is not as meaningful as it should be. It seems that hip hop artist has ran of topics to speak about. Back in the day, there was a real story to tell and it meant something whether it was racism, police, girlfriend/boyfriend, there was a story to tell and it was worth listening to. Today, even though I listen to it, it's not as great as it could be. It has changed drastically. It is still important and influential but it's not the same
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of Hip-hop, the first thing that comes to mind is storytelling. Every song had a story and message behind it. Hip-hop makes me think of artists like Tupac, Biggie, grand master flash, Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, Salt & Pepper, Eazy E, Ice T, Diddy, Foxy brown, Lil Kim, Missy Elliot. They all had a different style of their own that made their music unique, but they also sought to disturb the peace. I think the rhythm and beat of the song also has a lot to do with hip-hop and our culture. Hip-hop as well is dancing, break dancing and African tribal dances to express our culture and who we are. Hip-hop today I don’t feel holds that same disturb the peace message it’s just way more sexualized and the lyrics have no meaning where as back in the day lyrics were relatable and were actual issues artists were dealing with.
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DeleteI think culture plays a big role. It tells a lot about a individual history. Sometimes there are different characteristics or details that a person have or beliefs that will cause them to make a certain action and a lot of times the culture that a person have might have to do with tradition. I know that once a person gets older he or she can choose the culture that is comfortable for them but majority it is past down through your generation of individuals that you have a close connection with.
DeleteI define Hip-Hop culture as an art. I see it as an art form because the black population took something such as a beat from a drum and made it into something way bigger. The way we can take a single beat, hook, pickup line and make it sound good is creative and artistic. Hip-Hop is the only thing we can call our own it cannot be imitated for as only black people can do it the " right way." Artist like Iggy get talked down on because she isn't what we see as Hip-Hop. I also think that Hip-Hop culture is all about the story telling and the message behind the beat. I feel like someone who isn't black wouldn't be able to relate to the person telling the story.
ReplyDeleteUsually when I think of hip hop, i don'r really think back into the early hip hop era. Hip hop back then was a lot different from the way it is now. It had a lot more meaning to it. They used it as a voice to express the different opinions and views on what was going on in the world at that time. It really told a story and was an entertaining way to do so. I really believe hip hop differentiated blacks from the rest of the world. Once hip hop became big, it gave blacks something to be proud of. However, times has came a long way and hip hop music isn't the same. I feel like back in the beginning of hip hop, people could listen to this genre and get a sense of relativity and an understanding to the black culture. It was empowering and led blacks to continue to make a difference in their community by spreading positive messages and understanding. Now, its the complete opposite. Hip hop today, promotes mainly negativity. It doesn't give the black community something to stand for and be proud of. Instead, in different ways its bringing us down and tearing us apart with many degrading lyrics.
ReplyDeleteTo me, hip hop is like an art museum. People display their talents through music, graffiti,breakdancing, deejaying or beatboxing. The 5 elements are like an expression of an art form. When you go to an art museum you see statues, paintings, sculptures etc. When hip hop is displayed that's what you see... Various forms and works of art. Hip hop is a culture that incorporates ethnicity, fashion, technology and urban lifestyle. It had evolved tremendously. The internet and in particular social media has become a reflection on societal development. Prior to the rise of social media an artist means of establishing a fan base was to capture the attention of the record label. Although hip hop has taken over popular music and it has become an integral part of American culture it still stirs up controversy in many parts of the US. Many in America continue to think of it negatively. Hip hop dance can be a form of entertainment or even a hobby. Freestyles and rap battles is a distinction of hip hop.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of Hip Hop culture I think of a voice for the black community. Hip pop originated from South Bronx in 1970. I feel ever since then, Hip hop has been telling a story. The reason Hip Hop is a culture because it influences society in many ways. It impacts the way we dress, think, and live. Most rappers are " trendsetters". Therefore, People tend to follow what they do. However, Things change and trends change. Even the flow of rap and beats change. However, The meaning of hip hop remains the same.Hip hop is the voice of the black community.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of Hip-Hop, I think of it as a way for black people to definitely express themselves. Even looking at DJ Kool Herc and how the crowd fed off their energy as DJs showed that they were passionate about what they did and they wanted the crowd or audience to feel that way every time. More and more we start to hear the struggle of the black community through our artist. For example, Kendrick Lamar shows it a lot in his songs. Also Beyonce just did the song Freedom. A lot of times when big artist like Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar send these messages, the black community reacts. They want to follow what these artist stand for and they want to stay "woke" or stay aware. This shows you that the passion and meaning they have for their craft is evident and shows through our commmunity and culture.
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