Hip Hop History Month

[Auset]

November is Hip hop history month so I want to pay tribute to Busy Bee and Kool Moe Dee for having the first hip hop beef. One that rocked the house and cultivated the way hip hop was translated. With doing so they also defined that a beef was left on the stage as they remained friends afterward.

[KitaWita73]

Now that's what I'm talkin' about! It's too bad most of the rappers of today don't follow this example.

[Simply_Uneque]

Ain't that the truth!!!!

[slim]

these rappers nowadays are so sensative...sheesh..you would think they are women (no offense)...but the way they be all emotional over a lyrics....take Eminem for one...this muthafucka..don't like his mom, nor his daughters mom...but he will back 50 Cents...I don't know about you...but thats unethical...you gonna take side with a dude you barely know...but disrespect the one who created you....

If I ever seen Em...his new name gonna be raccoon...because I'm gonna give him 2 black eyes...str8 up...you don't disrespect mah dukes...thats a line you never cross...you need your ass whooped it you even think about thinking about you feel me!!!!

[joyluv]

Em is still a wanna be and always will be...forget about first white rapper to go platinum, forget about his ties with Dre, forget about the albums....he's a white boy who had a hard life and was able to capitalize off of it....simple

[Auset]

When do you believe that hip hop was first confused with commercial rap and began to filter out the elements of hip hop?

Who can name the five elements of hip hop?

Does anyone know what the complex rhyme structure is? (this is something that I was taught by my brother and incorporate it when I rhyme to this day)

Just a few questions to make this thing jump off right! Here is a little peice of hip hop info that is food for hip hop thought:

The Dozens—a friendly exchange of insults between street kids is popular. Usually
two or more people would make derogatory jokes about members of each others’
family. The Dozens would later be incorporated into the techniques of Emcee battling.

[Auset]

This is so that you may understand the importance of grafiti to hip hop:
GROUND WORK 1966-71
Graffiti was used primarily by political activists to make statements and street gangs to mark territory. Though graffiti movements such as the Cholos of Los Angeles in the 1930s and the hobo signatures on freight trains predate the New York School, it wasn't till the late 1960s that writing's current identity started to form.

The history of the underground art movement known by many names, most commonly termed graffiti begins in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the mid to late '60s and is rooted in bombing. The writers who are credited with the first conscious bombing effort are CORNBREAD and COOL EARL. They wrote their names all over the city gaining attention from the community and local press. It is unclear whether this concept made its way to New York City via deliberate efforts or if was a spontaneous occurrence.


PIONEERING 1971-74
Shortly after CORNBREAD, the Washington Heights section of Manhattan was giving birth to writers. In 1971 The New York Times published an article on one of these writers. TAKI 183 was the alias of a kid from Washington Heights. TAKI was the nickname for his given name Demetrius and 183 was the number of the street where he lived. He was employed as a foot messenger, so he was on the subway frequently and took advantage of it, doing motion tags. The appearance of this unusual name and numeral sparked public curiosity prompting the Times article. He was by no means the first writer or even the first king. He was however the first to be recognized outside the newly formed subculture. Most widely credited, as being one of the first writers of significance is JULIO 204. FRANK 207 and JOE 136 were also early writers.

On the streets of Brooklyn a movement was growing as well. Scores of writers were active. FRIENDLY FREDDIE was an early Brooklyn writer to gain fame. The subway system proved to be a line of communication and a unifying element for all these separate movements. People in all the five boroughs became aware of each other's efforts. This established the foundation of inter-borough competition.

Writing started moving from the streets to the subways and quickly became competitive. At this point writing consisted of mostly tags and the goal was to have as many as possible. Writers would ride the trains hitting as many subway cars as possible. It wasn't long before writers discovered that in a train yard or lay up they could hit many more subway cars in much less time and with less chance of getting caught. The concept and method of bombing had been established.

Tag Style
After a while there were so many people writing so much that writers needed a new way to gain fame. The first way was to make your tag unique. Many script and calligraphic styles were developed. Writers enhanced their tags with flourishes, stars and other designs. Some designs were strictly for visual appeal while others had meaning. For instance, crowns were used by writers who proclaimed themselves king. Probably the most famous tag in the culture's history was STAY HIGH 149. He used a smoking joint as the cross bar for his "H" and a stick figure from the television series The Saint.

[Auset]

Tag Scale
The next development was scale. Writers started to render their tags in larger scale. The standard nozzle width of a spray paint can is narrow so these larger tags while drawing more attention than a standard tag, did not have much visual weight. Writers began to increase the thickness of the letters and would also outline them with an additional color. Writers discovered that caps from other aerosol products could provide a larger width of spray. This led to the development of the masterpiece. It is difficult to say who did the first masterpiece, but it is commonly credited to SUPER KOOL 223 of the Bronx and WAP of Brooklyn. The thicker letters provided the opportunity to further enhance the name. Writers decorated the interior of the letters with what are termed "designs." First with simple polka dots, later with crosshatches, stars, checkerboards. Designs were limited only by an artist's imagination.

Writers eventually started to render these masterpieces spanning the entire height of the subway car (A first also credited to SUPER KOOL 223.). These masterpieces were termed top-to bottoms. The additions of color design and scale were dramatic advancements, but these works still strongly resembled the tags on which they were based. Some of the more accomplished writers of this time were HONDO 1, JAPAN 1, MOSES 147, SNAKE 131, LEE 163d, STAR 3, PHASE 2, PRO-SOUL, TRACY 168, LIL HAWK, BARBARA 62, EVA 62, CAY 161, JUNIOR 161 and STAY HIGH 149.

The competitive atmosphere led to the development of actual styles, which would depart from the tag styled pieces. Broadway style was introduced by Philadelphia's TOPCAT 126. These letters would evolve in to block letters, leaning letters, and blockbusters. PHASE 2 later developed Softie letters, more commonly referred to as Bubble letters. Bubble letters and Broadway style were the earliest forms of actual pieces and therefore the foundation of many styles. Soon arrows, curls, connections and twists adorned letters. These additions became increasing complex and would become the basis for Mechanical or Wild style lettering.

The combination of PHASE's work and competition from other style masters like RIFF 170 and PEL furthered the development. RIFF is noted as being an early catalyst in what is termed style wars. RIFF would take ideas from other writers and improve upon them and take them to another level. Writers like FLINT 707 and PISTOL made major contributions in development of three dimensional lettering adding depth to the masterpiece, which became standards for generations to come.

This early period of creativity did not go unrecognized. Hugo Martinez, a sociology major at City College in New York took notice of the legitimate artistic potential of this generation. Martinez went on to found United Graffiti Artists. UGA selected top subway artists from all around the city and presented their work in the formal context of an art gallery. UGA provided opportunities once inaccessible to these artists. The Razor Gallery was a successful effort of Mr. Martinez and the artists he represented. PHASE 2, MICO, COCO 144, PISTOL, FLINT 707, BAMA, SNAKE, and STITCH have been represented by Martinez.
A 1973 article in New York magazine by Richard Goldstein entitled "The Graffiti Hit Parade" was also early public recognition of the artistic potential of subway artists.

Around 1974 writers like TRACY 168, CLIFF 159, BLADE ONE created works with scenery, illustrations and cartoon characters surrounding the masterpieces. This formed the basis for the mural whole car. Earlier ground breaking whole cars were produced by writers like AJ 161 and SILVER TIPS.

[Auset]

THE PEAK 75-77
For the most part innovation in writing hit a plateau after 1974. All the standards had been set and a new school was about to reap the benefits of the artistic foundations established by prior generations and a city in the midst of a fiscal crisis. New York City was broke and therefore the transit system was poorly maintained. This led to the heaviest bombing in history.

At this time bombing and style began to further distinguish themselves. Whole cars became a standard practice rather than an event, and the definitive form of bombing became the throw up. The throw up is a piecing style derived from the bubble letter. The throw up is hastily rendered piece consisting of a simple outline and is barely filled in. Mostly two letter throw up names began appearing all over the system particularly on the INDs and BMTs. Crews like POG, 3yb, BYB TC, TOP, made major contributions. Throw up kings included TEE, IZ, DY 167, PI, IN, LE, TO, OI, FI aka VINNY, TI 149, CY, PEO. Writers became very competitive. Races broke out to see who could do the most throw ups. Throw ups peaked from '75 through '77, as did whole cars. Writers like BUTCH, CASE, KINDO, BLADE, COMET, ALE 1, DOO2, JOHN 150, LEE, MONO, SLAVE, SLUG, DOC 109 CAINE ONE plastered the IRTs with magnificent whole cars, following in the foot steps of giants like TRACY and CLIFF.


STYLE REVIVAL 1978-1981
A new wave of creativity bloomed in late 1977 with crews like TDS, TMT, UA, MAFIA, TS5, CIA, RTW, ROC Stars, TMB, TFP, TC5 and TF5. Style wars were once again peaking. It was also the last wave of bombing before the Transit Authority made the elimination of writing a priority. On Broadway, CHAIN 3, KOOL 131, PADRE, NOC 167 and PART 1 were expanding upon styles established by writers like PHASE 2, RIFF 170 and PEL. CHAIN later went to the 2 and 5 lines with the TMT crew. In style war tradition, CIA countered TMT's works. DONDI came out with POSE against CHAIN's DOSE.

CASE 2, KEL 139, MARE, COMET, REPEL, COS 207, DURO, MIN, SHY 147, KADE 198, FED 2, REVOLT, RASTA, ZEPHYR, BOOTS 119, KIT 17, CRASH and DAZE were also active writers of the time. LEE, CAZ 2, IZ, SLAVE, REE, DONDI, BLADE and COMET became very competitive in the whole car arena. SEEN, MAD, PJ and DUST dominated the 6 line with elaborate whole cars. MITCH 77, BAN 2, BOO 2, PBODY, MAX 183, and KID 56 ruled the 4 line. FUZZ ONE was a major presence on all 7 IRT lines. CIA, TB and TKA ensured that the BMTs were not deprived of style.

In 1980 The real buff started up again pieces ran for shorter periods. Train yard fence repair was becoming more consistent. Writers slowly started to quit and consider other creative options. Many writers became distracted with thoughts about careers beyond painting subway cars. The established art world was once again becoming receptive to writing. There hadn't been much positive attention since the Razor Gallery in the early '70s. In 1979 LEE QUINONES and FAB 5 FREDDIE had an opening in Rome with the art dealer Claudio Bruni. Then in 1980 numerous writers flocked to places like ESSES studio, Stephan Eins' Fashion Moda and Patti Astor's Fun Gallery to expand their horizons. These and subsequent galleries would prove to be an important factors in expanding writing overseas. European art dealers became aware of the movement and were very receptive to the new art form. Shows featuring paintings by DONDI, LEE, ZEPHYR, LADY PINK, DAZE, FUTURA 2000 and others exposed the world to the once secret world of New York's youth.

[Auset]

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST 1982-1985
During the early to mid 1980s the writing culture deteriorated dramatically due to several factors. Some related directly to the graffiti culture itself and others to the greater society in general. The crack cocaine epidemic was taking its toll on the inner city. Due to the drug trade powerful firearms were readily available. The climate on the street became increasingly tense. Laws restricting the sale of paint to minors and requiring merchants to place spray paint in locked cages made shoplifting more difficult. Legislation was in the works to make penalties for graffiti more severe.

The major change was the increase in the Metropolitan Transit Authority's anti-graffiti budget. Yards and lay-ups were more closely guarded. Many favored painting areas became almost inaccessible. New more sophisticated fences were erected and were quickly repaired when damaged. Graffiti removal was stronger and more consistent than ever, making the life span of many paintings months if not days. This frustrated many writers causing them to quit.

Many others were not so easily discouraged, yet they were still affected. They perceived the new circumstances as a challenge; it reinforced their determination not to be defeated by the MTA. Due to the lack or resources they became extremely territorial and aggressive, claiming ownership to yards and lay-ups. Claiming territory was nothing new in writing, but the difference at this time was that threats were enforced. If a writer went to lay-up unarmed he could almost be guaranteed to be beaten and robbed of his painting supplies.

At this point, physical strength and unity as in street gangs became a major part of the writing experience. The One Tunnel and the Ghost yard were the back drops many for legendary conflicts. In addition to the pressure from the MTA, cross out wars among writers broke out. The most famous war being CAP MPC vs. the world. High profile writers during these years were: SKEME, DEZ, TRAP, DELTA, SHARP, SEEN TC5, SHY 147, BOE, WEST, KAZE, SPADE 127, SAK, VULCAN, SHAME, BIO, MIN, DURO, KEL, T KID, MACK, NICER, BRIM, BG 183, KENN, CEM, FLIGHT, AIRBORN, RIZE, JON 156, KYLE 156 and the X Men.


THE DIE HARDS 1985-1989
On certain subway lines graffiti removal significantly decreased because the cars servicing those lines were headed for the scrap yards. This provided a last shot for writers.

The last big surge on the 2 and 5 lines came from writers like WANE, WEN, DERO, WIPS, TKID, SENTO, CAVS, CLARK and M KAY who hit the white 5s with burners. Marker tags that soaked through the paint often blemished these burners. A trend had developed that was a definite step back for writing. Due to a lack of paint and courage to stay in a lay up for prolonged periods of time, many writers were tagging with markers on the outside of subway cars. These tags were generally poor artistic efforts. The days when writers took pride in their hand style (signature) were long gone. If it wasn't for the aforementioned writers and a few others, the art form in New York City could have officially been deemed dead.

By mid '86 the MTA was gaining the upper hand. Many writers quit and the violence subsided. Most lines were completely free of writing. The Ds, Bs, LLs, Js, Ms were among the last of the lines with running pieces. MAGOO, DOC TC5, DONDI, TRAK, DOME and DC were all highly visible writers.
Security was high and the Transit Police's new vandal squad was in full force. What was left was a handful of diehards. GHOST, SENTO, CAVS, KET, JA, VEN, REAS, SANE, SMITH were prominent figures and would keep transit writing alive.

[Auset]

In celebration of Hip-Hop History Month, the Art Sanctuary in Philadelphia will host "State Of The Art: Hip-Hop Journalism" at the Church Of The Advocate in Philadelphia, on November 12.

Rah Digga, publicist Biff Warren, Journalists Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, Toure, Tonya Pendleton, James Spady and Rap Coalition's Wendy Day will all participate in a panel at 7 P.M. discussing relevant issues and how journalism and the media effect the hip-hop culture.

After the conference, the Beats For Peace concert will kick off, featuring Rah Digga, Medusa and freestyle master, Supernatural.

Admission is $10 and the event takes place at Church Of The Advocate at 18th & Diamond Streets.

For more information call 215.232.4485.

[slim]

Auset said:

When do you believe that hip hop was first confused with commercial rap and began to filter out the elements of hip hop?

Who can name the five elements of hip hop?

Does anyone know what the complex rhyme structure is? (this is something that I was taught by my brother and incorporate it when I rhyme to this day)

Just a few questions to make this thing jump off right! Here is a little peice of hip hop info that is food for hip hop thought:

The Dozens—a friendly exchange of insults between street kids is popular. Usually
two or more people would make derogatory jokes about members of each others’
family. The Dozens would later be incorporated into the techniques of Emcee battling.

I believe that one Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre came out it took that underground gangsta rap sound...and it went mainstream...I belive that once NWA hip-hop began to die...

I ain't know there was 5 elements...I know 4 of them...emcee'n, b-boying, dee-jay'n, and grafitti...

a complex structure...is when you use alot of syllables in your...in etc..something like this...when I rap...I attack the track like a cat on rat...this ain't an act...my mic is my gat...pap-pap...leaving emcees who are wack flat on they back...(is that what you talking about aussie)

[Auset]

Hip-hop was alive, well and thriving this past weekend at the Zulu 30th Anniversary weekend celebration.

The three days of festivities began with a cornucopia of Hip-hop culture at the National Black Theatre in Harlem that included underground and old-school MC performances, B-Boy ciphers, a Graffiti gallery and legendary DJs on the wheels of steel.

Friday night's performances included sets by Kurtis Blow and Shaolin Island's own King Just.

Saturday's festivities went into light speed with the arrival of KRS-ONE, who promptly left the stage at the start of his set and took his performance straight to the middle of the crowd as he rhymed over a B-Boy cipher courtesy of NYC Breakers.

As MC Shan looked on, bobbing his head and enjoying the show, KRS vibed off the b-boys and casually ran down a string of hit singles including a rendition of "South Bronx" sans the Queensbridgereferences.

Later legendary freestyler King Sun traded verses with the Blastmaster and challenged KRS and Shan to battle. Although claiming not to punk out, after an intense baiting session and much instigation, Shan declined to battle for financial reasons, but later said that he would record an album with KRS and put it out without the help of the major label system.

Sunday spotlighted what the Zulu call the fifth element of Hip-hop, knowledge, culture and overstanding, in a series of lectures and panel discussions at the Bronx Museum of Arts.

Under the banner KMeeting of the Minds,"Hip-hop brainpower manifested itself via KRS-ONE, Dr. Phil Valentine and legendary photographer and activist Ernie Paniccoli.

Paniccoli took a few minutes to discuss Hip-hop beef, including his own with rapper Kool Moe Dee, whom Paniccoli says is in breach of contract and honor for refusing to pay him for photos that were supplied for Moe Dee's book, "There's A God On The Mic."

Also appearing were organizer/activist Rosa Clemente and power promoter Maria Davis. The night capped off with a sold-out performance at S.O.B.'s with KRS-ONE as headliner.

The show was the first of the "Plain Rap" series, a weekly effort between AllHipHop and S.O.B.'s in which established artists are paired with up and coming talent.

In contrast to the firestorm of negative press Zulu Nation has received in the wake of the September 24th shooting death of one of its members, honor student Matthew Hall, the Zulu 30th Anniversary events showcased Zulu's true legacy as pioneers and preservers of Hip-hop culture. The event was dedicated Hall's memory.

His death still remains unresolved.

[Auset]

slim said:

I believe that one Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre came out it took that underground gangsta rap sound...and it went mainstream...I belive that once NWA hip-hop began to die...

I ain't know there was 5 elements...I know 4 of them...emcee'n, b-boying, dee-jay'n, and grafitti...

a complex structure...is when you use alot of syllables in your...in etc..something like this...when I rap...I attack the track like a cat on rat...this ain't an act...my mic is my gat...pap-pap...leaving emcees who are wack flat on they back...(is that what you talking about aussie)

The fifth element in hip hop is the mic, the mic is an element in itself as it represents the freedom of the rhyme. There are many more elements and I'll try to get them for you.

the structure, you got it close, it's the association between rhymes but don't forget the complexity in the structure is the way in which you format your rhyme. See the way you chose to use:
A.when I rap
B. I attack the track
A. like a cat on rat

Or you could have done it like this
A. When I rap
B. You can tell
C. cause when I
A. Attack the track
B. I have cats runnin
C. close like they up on a rat
D. This aint an act
A. My mic is my gat
B. pap pap
You follow me, it's the formation or structure in your rhyme, even with freestlyes you have your stlye that is the structure you rhyme feel me?

Great job on answering your a true hip hop cat!