The Roots of Hip Hop

So I feel like without knowing the roots of the hip hop culture,one can never really fully appreciate or even understand what the culture is about.So I invite ANYBODY who is just curious,a lover of the culture,and even those who don't like it,to read this.You may find yourself rethinking your feelings for the culture.

The 70`s New York can pretty well be attributed as the founding era,though there are elements used within hip hop music that have early roots.The culture itself was founded with 9 elements in mind,though 4 in particular are deemed most necessary.One individual who is known to have highlighted these elements was a man named Afrika Bambaataa.Afrika is the founder of The Zulu Nation,a group derived orginally from a gang,and preached about the positives of hip hop. They described hip hop as a more healthy,creative way to interact and spread peace, love, unity,and happiness for those in the ghetto.Afrika listed Rapping,Djing,break dancing and graffiti art.The others include street knowledge,beat boxing,urban slang,entrepreneurship,and fashion.In the 70`s,block partys were thrown as a way to unify the locals and die down racial tensions.

One prominent group involved in the movement was The Ghetto Brothers and included:Benjamin "Yellow Benjy" Melendez on lead vocals,Victor Melendez on bass,Luis Bristo on drums,Franky Valentin on timbales,Chiqui Concepcion on Congas,Angelo Garcia Bongos,David Silva on lead guitar,and Robert Melendez on rhythm guitar.The Ghetto Brothers were a Puerto Rican gang and music group formed in the 60s with a more political based outlook looking to support young Latinos and African-Americans.They were apart of a pivitol event in reducing and preventing fighting amongst the bronx gangs and the other New York gangs known as the Hoe Avenue Peace Meeting on December 8,1971 held at the Boy's Club in The Bronx.The meeting followed the tragic slaying of appointed peace keeper of The Ghetto Brothers, 25 year old Cornell "Black Benjie" Benjamin, while trying to bring a peaceful end to a conflict between two rival gang members.

In an ABC interview held in 2012 with Yellow Benjy,he recalls the incident as followed."My brothers came in the afternoon and we started playing music. 'I'm Your Captain,' by Grand Funk Railroad'," said Meléndez, vocalist for the Ghetto Brothers. "Then they told me some other gangs were looking for the Roman Kings and they're beating up people on the way here. I looked at Black Benjy and said, 'Take seven or eight Ghetto Brothers, no weapons, get me the leaders and bring them to me.' About half an hour later a guy comes running in, saying, 'They're beating up Benjy!' I said 'Move it, let's go!' We walked up 163rd Street to Stebbins Avenue, down Horseshoe Park. When I got to the bottom of the stairwell I saw his blood - oh God" As he found his slain brother laying on the ground. The meeting hosted 40 different gangs from New York,city officials,as well as police and looked to encourage the community to find alternatives to violence and was ultimately deemed a success. In addition to that,they began participating in food drives The Ghetto Brothers would invite all to block party's to mingle and break tension and barriers between locals.

The other person I feel has to be mentioned when discussing the birth of hip hop is DJ Kool Herc or known by many as"The founder or father of hip hop.Herc,born Clive Campbell,came up with the method of using two turn tables,a.custom in disco,along with break beats,which used samples of funk and jazz instrumentals,and isolated and elongated the drum beats within,switching between the two tables.That,along with some latin percussion,became the technique that paved the way for the future of music.Born in Kingston,Jamaica,Herc grew up serenading in the ambience of dance halls and the accompanying technique known as toasting.Toasting is the method of chanting or speaking over beats,brought about by various African traditions.The first to utilize deejay toasting is said to be a Jamaican-American by the name of Count Matchuki in the 1950s,and is also said to be the originator of beatboxing.Count Matchuki`s work contributed to the rise of ska,a precursor to the genre of Reggae.

As for Herc,he and his family immigrated to the Bronx,NY in 1967,and soon joined a graffiti art crew known as the ex-vandals and was given the name Kool Herc.Herc began hosting block partys in his building to put his sound system and his talents on display.While using his skills and switching between the tables or breaking,it would create a looping effect to specific sections of the instrumentals,which became known as "The Merry-Go-Round to djs.That also made time for dancers to perform,and begin rapping.This created what most know now as break dancing.He inspired the likes of Grandmaster Flash and The Furious five and Afrika Bambaataa,who both stated they used Herc`s methods.Hercs address at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue has since been hailed the official birthplace of hip hop.

Then,in 1979,Sylvia Robinson founded Sugar Hill Records and Sugar Hill Gang.Robinson had been in the music scene since the 50`s ,when she topped the R&B charts and reached number eleven on the Billboard pop charts in early 1957.Her hit "Pillow Talk" made it to number-one on the R&B chart and crossing over to reach Billboard Hot 100 (#3), while also reaching #14 in the UK at the beginning of 1973 and she was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in May 1973.Sugar Hill,along with the likes of The Furious Five,Run DMC,Public Enemy,and beat boxing pioneers such as Biz Markie,and Doug E.Fresh,blew up the 80`s.From LL Cool J`s Rock The Bells to Kurtis Blows single ,The Breaks,which became the first to go gold.Funky 4 Plus 1`s single Thats The Joint made them the first group with a female rapper to record a single as well as the first Hip-Hop group to receive a record deal.To top that off,they also became the first to perform live on national TV.Harry and Blondies hit The Rapture was the first single by a white group using hip hop elements to reach number 1 on billboard`s hot 100 It was in 1984 aa#that Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin founded Def Jam Records,and In 1985,was credited for having the first Hip-Hop video to air on MTV with Run DMC’s King of Rock.it was Ice T who ushered in the erad of gangster rap,with his depictions of drugs,violence,and his environment within his rhymes.Then,in 1988, N.W.A dropped Straight Outta Compton and changed the game.

While I could continue with countless stories,I feel the 70s-90s were the founding years of hip hop.Each of the individuals I mentioned were not just some gang banging,drug dealers causing senseless chaos to communities.Many contributed and loved their communities and wished to raise it up.It was also during an era when Latin and African-Americans faced discrimination and had to fight for every inch they moved and had to stand together to survive.Hip hop became an outlet,as a voice for the streets,and gave an alternative to picking up a gun and violence,which is picking up a pen and mic.I will be doing additional blogs in the future and picking up where I left off.I just felt like laying out a foundation on the topic was essential.