Introduction to Lesson 24 (Continued)
In the new millennium, gangsta rap has been displaced (and in some ways erased) by the kind of affective rap popularized by artists like J. Cole, Drake, Macklemore, and Kendrick Lamar. Keeping these eras in mind will help to understand the broader context of hip-hop.
While often used to refer to rap music, hip-hop more properly denotes the practice of the entire culture defined by four key elements:
- Breakdancing: A distinctive dance style also known as b-boying/b-girling.
- Graffiti writing: Writing or drawing on a public surface, ranging from simple words to elaborate wall paintings.
- Disc jockeying (or DJing): Scratching with turntables.
- MCing and rapping: The MC (sometimes spelled emcee) is the Master of Ceremonies-the host of a staged event or other performance. The MC's role is usually to present performers, speak to the audience, and generally keep the show moving. Rappers speak or chant along rhythmically with an instrumental or synthesized beat. All MCs rap, but not all rappers are MCs. The crucial distinction is that while a rapper is an entertainer, an MC is an artist committed to perfecting the crafts of lyrical mastery and call-and-response audience interaction.
Its adherents express hip-hop as an attitude rendered in dress, gestures, and language, embodying an urban street consciousness. Hip-hop's first docudrama, Wild Style (released theatrically in 1983), exemplifies how music played a formative role in the creation and development of hip-hop and continues to be the heartbeat of hip-hop culture. The film is about Zoro, one of the earliest graffiti artists associated with hip-hop, commissioned to paint a mural as the backdrop for a hip-hop concert. Although not an official trailer, this Wild Style clip does give an idea of the music, people, and places of the hip-hop sub-culture.
Two years later, Beat Street (1984), another film about hip-hop culture broader in its message, deliberately disseminated hip-hop culture and music.
