dedicated to the discussion of the chinese internal martial arts of xingyiquan, baguazhang, taijiquan, related arts, and anything else best discussed over a bottle of rum
Steve James wrote:Imo, ya'll need to classify your styles. "Hip hop" is something very specific to me --cause I'm from da boogie down Bronx where b-boying was inbented. But, pre hip hop, there was also poetry.
brilliant.
so steve educate me here - why isn't "straight outta compton" hiphop? NWA were also one of my favourite groups when I was 12
Naw, "hip hop" is comprised of three elements, often called "b-boyin." There's deejaying (playing records, scratching, and, specifically, stretching out the "breaks" of regular dance tunes); then there's "breaking" (dancing); and finally there's emceeing (i.e., making rhymes to match the music during the "break.") Someone actually invented the phrase "Yes, yes, yall ... ya don't stop." Anyway, "writing" (graffitti) was also part of b-boying, but it wasn't part of hip hop, which was connected directly to parties (especially block parties --where someone would play records while the people danced, etc.). Anyway, "emcees" became known as "rappers." Oh, emcees were the ones who used to introduce the deejays.
The first big hip hop groups were commercial inventions that took advantage of the hip hop phenomenon. You'll see all the elements, including dance, in "Rapper's Delight." But, it was all planned by this woman named Sylvia. Well, "Straight out of Compton" had "rappers", including one "Emcee Eazy-E". But, who spun the records for the group?? Was Ice-Cube an emcee, deejay or...dancer?? None, he was among the new breed of "rappers." Specifically, he (who was not really a thug) was at the center of the new "gansta rap." That was the commercial element. It wasn't all commercial, but many of the rappers who espoused the gangsta lifestyle weren't gangstas at all. That was one reason for the East coast/West coast 'beef' that got to Biggie and Tupac, and others.
You can also argue that once hip hop left the NYC area, it wasn't hip hop anymore. Hip hop had (back in the day) a social purpose --as in GM Flash's "The Message." If you compare it to "Rapper's Delight", you'll hear the difference in the lyrics. Like I said, that was hip hop lite. NWA and Death Row quickly went from talking about the contexts of their lives (which they took from hip hop) inside the gang environment to the celebrations of the benefits of thug life: i.e., "bling" (though the words wasn't invented yet).
Chek it out
"A man is rich when he has time and freewill. How he chooses to invest both will determine the return on his investment."
bigphatwong wrote:Speaking of French rap, have you ever heard of an artist called "Doctor Ginico" (pronounced ZHI-ni-co)? I heard some of his stuff on Venice Beach years ago and really dug it. Can't find anything on google either.
No, I've never heard of it, but I'm only familiar with a few (probably more mainstream) artists though..
Ice Cube was an emcee, and NWA's records were spun by DJ Yella.
Like that Ice-T track I put up, Ice-T is rapping over some beats put down by his DJ who I think was called "evil-E". it's clearly hiphop, deliberately commercial, and despite it's extremely corny toughguy gangster black-hat-wearing sillyness, dope.
trying to reclaim the term hiphop is never going to work man, it's too late. nowadays most people think of Nelly or 50 cent or i don't know who, same way now R'n'B means Beyonce and R-Kelly (who likes to pee on girls).
i love the old new york style the best though, for sure.
It's like saying that the young folk don't have the same gong fu. They swear it's the same.
I'm not elitist, though. I just think that Shabadoo was doing something different from Afrikaa Bambatta. Just like Kenny G. is not playing the same jazz as Thelonius Monk.
I know. Protesting won't do any good.
"A man is rich when he has time and freewill. How he chooses to invest both will determine the return on his investment."
Steve James wrote:It's like saying that the young folk don't have the same gong fu. They swear it's the same.
I'm not elitist, though. I just think that Shabadoo was doing something different from Afrikaa Bambatta. Just like Kenny G. is not playing the same jazz as Thelonius Monk.
I know. Protesting won't do any good.
That's true.. but then, Monk wasn't really playing the same jazz as Jelly Roll Morton; it all comes from somewhere and goes somewhere else. Anyway, this California kid's favorite MC has always been KRS-one so I guess I can respect where you're coming from...