Hip-hop
Hip hop is said to have originated in African American and Latino-American communities during the 1970s in New York City, as a subculture music. It was very popular specifically within the Bronx. The term itself is usually referred to as a style of music, however in its broader sense hip hop culture is defined by the four elements of rapping, DJing, hip hop dance and graffiti.
The subculture started from the parties at the blocks thrown by DJ Kool Herc at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, where Herc would take samples of the records and mix them with his own shouts to the crowd and dancers. They were really popular among African-American and Latino youths. Kool Herc is known as the ‘father’ of the hip hop art form. DJ Afrika Bambaataa, the follower of Kool Herc, who comes from the hip-hop collective Zulu Nation, postulated the four principles of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, B-boying and graffiti. Since its start in the South Bronx, the popularity of the hip hop culture has spread to both urban and suburban societies all over the world. Hip hop music first came to life with Kool Herc and the disc jockeys of that time. They were producing rhythmic beats by looping breaks (small portions of songs emphasizing a percussive pattern) on two turntables, usually known as sampling. This was later followed by the so-called “rap” – a rhythmic style of chanting or poetry presented in 16 bar measures or time frames, and beatboxing, a vocal technique that imitates percussive elements of the music and various technical effects of hip hop DJs. New music brought new style – specific types of closing arose together with the hip hop. As everything in this world, the style has been evolving together with the culture during all the times of its existence.
When the hip hop music has been introduced to the public, it faced a lot of critique. Aggressive, sometimes even compromising, lyrics arose a lot of public discontent. However, the representatives of hip hop have always refuted all the accusations by saying that their music bears a message of piece, and the only thing they do is the depiction of the world we all live in.
The hip hop culture has always faced some kind of gang influence. A lot of hip hop band heads have been gang leaders.