HISTORY of HIP HOP

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American communities during the late 1970s in New York City. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing. Other elements include beatboxing.

AFRIKA BAMBAATAA Since its emergence in the South Bronx, hip hop culture has spread around the world. Hip hop music first emerged with disc jockeys creating rhythmic beats by looping breaks (small portions of songs emphasizing a percussive pattern) on two turntables, more commonly referred to as sampling. This was later accompanied by "rap", a rhythmic style of chanting or poetry presented in 16 bar measures or time frames, and beatboxing, a vocal technique mainly used to imitate percussive elements of the music and various technical effects of hip hop DJ's.

The phrase hip hop is a combination two separate slang terms "hip", used in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) as early as 1898, meaning current or in the know, and "hop", for the hopping movement.

Keith "Cowboy" Wiggins, a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, has been credited with coining the term hip hop in 1978 while teasing a friend who had just joined the US Army, by scat singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers. Cowboy later worked the "hip hop" cadence into a part of his stage performance. The group frequently performed with disco artists who would refer to this new type of MC/DJ-produced music by calling them "hip hoppers". The name was originally meant as a sign of disrespect, but soon came to identify this new music and culture.

The opening of the song "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang, a 15-minute long song in addition to the verse on Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's own "Superrappin'", were both released in 1979. Lovebug Starski, a Bronx DJ who put out a single called "The Positive Life" in 1981, and DJ Hollywood then began using the term when referring to this new disco rap music. Hip hop pioneer and South Bronx community leader Afrika Bambaataa also credits Lovebug Starski as the first to use the term "Hip Hop", as it relates to the culture. Bambaataa, former leader of the Black Spades gang, also did much to further popularize the term.