WingsOfAnAngel
Banned
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 3
Hip-Hop: A Foreword
Timothy Thomas
Temple University
The Beastie Boys had a great impact on me when I was in fourth grade. I played their tape, listened to both sides, and kept flipping it only to press the play button religiously. Being young and impressionable, I caught on to the hip-hop scene, but to me, it was only known to me as merely "rap music." I picked up Run-DMC's "Raising Hell" tape, and dug most of the rap music I heard on the radio. My uncle, who was only a couple of years older than me,(so I looked up to him as a big brother) was into break-dancing. He and his friends would attempt to copy the moves they saw on electric boogaloo. I dug it, and ever since, it has been a part of my life. Upon reflecting on all these years of listening to hip-hop music, due to this new mainstreaming of the culture, I was inclined to ask myself the question that the likes of KRS-One and all of these other guys that claim to be hip-hop gurus preach about: What is Hip-Hop?
My man P Mau'Dib and myself back when we were fourteen decided that we had written some lyrics and want to get into the MC business. Our interest and love of the Beastie Boys had driven us for the love of the music and the culture. Living in Bensalem, we did not know any DJ's, and we also had influences by some of the more "Hardcore" music bands. So, instead of using samples and a DJ we had a live band. As a result, we kind of sounded like "Rage Against the Machine". Writing rhymes naturally came to us. Regardless, as amateurs, we eventually matured and our life's experiences carried themselves to where we are today; still doing the same thing, chillin' out and rhyming over beats. Today however, we use samples, live music, DJ's and whatever we can.
What I realized was, that it wasn't the fact that we write poetry and express it in the "Hip-Hop" form that make us a part of the culture. Nor was it the fact that we listened to and appreciated the music. Mostly, it was the way we lived our lives that made us a part of the culture. The ironic thing about it was that the whole time upon reflecting about how my life has been so far, it was never a conscious thing to be a part of the culture. It was just who I was. The beat of hip-hop was my pulse, my motivation, and my culture. "Artistic and intellectual pursuits and products; a quality of enlightenment or refinement arising from an acquaintance with concern for what is regarded as excellent in the arts, letters, manners etc.; the sum of total ways of living built up by a group of human being and transmitted from one generation to another; the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: e.g. youth culture; the drug culture." That's the definition of the word "culture" by the Websters College Dictionary. To me this exemplifies the life of one that lives hip-hop. So essentially, it is indeed a culture, and although it is recently becoming accepted in the mainstream and mass media, it is still looked down upon in a derogatory manner. Because urban youths face the pathologies that plague society, there is much negativity associated with it. It is quite unfortunate, but the fact still remains that there is a great number of youths that live in or around urban areas that are apart of the culture. They are shouting to get a message across using a form of expression that they understand, and if we treat this as negative, then what do we as a society have to say about ourselves?
How does one define hip-hop. Rappers have been doing this since its birth. Try listening to some of the lyrics and one eventually will begin to understand. Hip-hop describes poor inner city youth. The life in the projects, and taking the subway. It is being the biggest pimp on the block pulling the most bunnies. It is the slang you use with your boys. Hanging out with your boys, loving music. Hip-hop is the scams you pull for getting money. Hip-hop is democratizing the economic sphere with a socialist morality. Hip-hop is cracking Philly Blunts or Garcia Vegas. Hip-hop derives from Jazz music: a purely American artform. Hip-hop is audio art in the form of Rhyming, scratching on the techs, playing your guitar or instrument or drums. Visually, it's playing video games, breakdancing, performing, tagging your name up on the train. Beatboxing in the cipher and passing the freestyle. Sessions, chillin'. Playing basketball pick-up games from sunrise to sunset. It's growing up in the Megalopolis, or just your town. It's shaking your boys hands whenever you see him around the way. It's going to the corner store for grub phillies, forties, and or shorties. Hip-hop is checking out mix tapes, walking the city with your headphones. There are mad talented artist who can draw extraordinary, bringing life and expression to decaying walls of the city that governments just let decay, DJ's that can match beats, and have the foresight to create new beats out of old ones. Breakdancers that have the acrobatics of an ill 18th century martial artist. MC's that can express it all in poetry, rhyming over the harmonious loops. Hip-hop is busting snaps. It's searching the web. It can be corrupted just like all things, and the older generations want to turn their heads away from it, and see the negative side and misunderstand it, just like they were misunderstood by their parents generation. So be it, that is what hip-hop is about anyhow. It's only for those who live it. If you don't like it, it wasn't meant for you to like it anyhow. It's Urban Rhythms. I must concede however, this is only my interpretation. This is how I express myself in writing essays, poetry, and rhymes.
Timothy Thomas
Temple University
The Beastie Boys had a great impact on me when I was in fourth grade. I played their tape, listened to both sides, and kept flipping it only to press the play button religiously. Being young and impressionable, I caught on to the hip-hop scene, but to me, it was only known to me as merely "rap music." I picked up Run-DMC's "Raising Hell" tape, and dug most of the rap music I heard on the radio. My uncle, who was only a couple of years older than me,(so I looked up to him as a big brother) was into break-dancing. He and his friends would attempt to copy the moves they saw on electric boogaloo. I dug it, and ever since, it has been a part of my life. Upon reflecting on all these years of listening to hip-hop music, due to this new mainstreaming of the culture, I was inclined to ask myself the question that the likes of KRS-One and all of these other guys that claim to be hip-hop gurus preach about: What is Hip-Hop?
My man P Mau'Dib and myself back when we were fourteen decided that we had written some lyrics and want to get into the MC business. Our interest and love of the Beastie Boys had driven us for the love of the music and the culture. Living in Bensalem, we did not know any DJ's, and we also had influences by some of the more "Hardcore" music bands. So, instead of using samples and a DJ we had a live band. As a result, we kind of sounded like "Rage Against the Machine". Writing rhymes naturally came to us. Regardless, as amateurs, we eventually matured and our life's experiences carried themselves to where we are today; still doing the same thing, chillin' out and rhyming over beats. Today however, we use samples, live music, DJ's and whatever we can.
What I realized was, that it wasn't the fact that we write poetry and express it in the "Hip-Hop" form that make us a part of the culture. Nor was it the fact that we listened to and appreciated the music. Mostly, it was the way we lived our lives that made us a part of the culture. The ironic thing about it was that the whole time upon reflecting about how my life has been so far, it was never a conscious thing to be a part of the culture. It was just who I was. The beat of hip-hop was my pulse, my motivation, and my culture. "Artistic and intellectual pursuits and products; a quality of enlightenment or refinement arising from an acquaintance with concern for what is regarded as excellent in the arts, letters, manners etc.; the sum of total ways of living built up by a group of human being and transmitted from one generation to another; the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: e.g. youth culture; the drug culture." That's the definition of the word "culture" by the Websters College Dictionary. To me this exemplifies the life of one that lives hip-hop. So essentially, it is indeed a culture, and although it is recently becoming accepted in the mainstream and mass media, it is still looked down upon in a derogatory manner. Because urban youths face the pathologies that plague society, there is much negativity associated with it. It is quite unfortunate, but the fact still remains that there is a great number of youths that live in or around urban areas that are apart of the culture. They are shouting to get a message across using a form of expression that they understand, and if we treat this as negative, then what do we as a society have to say about ourselves?
How does one define hip-hop. Rappers have been doing this since its birth. Try listening to some of the lyrics and one eventually will begin to understand. Hip-hop describes poor inner city youth. The life in the projects, and taking the subway. It is being the biggest pimp on the block pulling the most bunnies. It is the slang you use with your boys. Hanging out with your boys, loving music. Hip-hop is the scams you pull for getting money. Hip-hop is democratizing the economic sphere with a socialist morality. Hip-hop is cracking Philly Blunts or Garcia Vegas. Hip-hop derives from Jazz music: a purely American artform. Hip-hop is audio art in the form of Rhyming, scratching on the techs, playing your guitar or instrument or drums. Visually, it's playing video games, breakdancing, performing, tagging your name up on the train. Beatboxing in the cipher and passing the freestyle. Sessions, chillin'. Playing basketball pick-up games from sunrise to sunset. It's growing up in the Megalopolis, or just your town. It's shaking your boys hands whenever you see him around the way. It's going to the corner store for grub phillies, forties, and or shorties. Hip-hop is checking out mix tapes, walking the city with your headphones. There are mad talented artist who can draw extraordinary, bringing life and expression to decaying walls of the city that governments just let decay, DJ's that can match beats, and have the foresight to create new beats out of old ones. Breakdancers that have the acrobatics of an ill 18th century martial artist. MC's that can express it all in poetry, rhyming over the harmonious loops. Hip-hop is busting snaps. It's searching the web. It can be corrupted just like all things, and the older generations want to turn their heads away from it, and see the negative side and misunderstand it, just like they were misunderstood by their parents generation. So be it, that is what hip-hop is about anyhow. It's only for those who live it. If you don't like it, it wasn't meant for you to like it anyhow. It's Urban Rhythms. I must concede however, this is only my interpretation. This is how I express myself in writing essays, poetry, and rhymes.
