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Mainstream Attention 2


Afrika Bambaataa and his group Soulsonic Force were influenced by the techno-pop sound of Kraftwerk of Germany and the Yellow Magic Orchestra of Japan. He modified techno by fusing it with the funk music styles of James Brown and reintroducing techno-pop into rap music as a synthesizer-funk-electronic-driven concept dubbed "electro-funk," which became the basis for his recording " Planet Rock " (1982).

Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force performing

Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force performing "Planet Rock"

One of side-A (vocal side) labels-orange label-of the US 7-inch vinyl single of "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force

One of side-A (vocal side) labels-orange label-of the US 7-inch vinyl single of "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force

Herc and Bambaataa, mentioned above, are also important due to the antiviolent nature of their respective contributions. They came of age artistically amid the gang violence of New York City in the 1970s; through a brief look at their engagement with early hip-hop culture, an ideological portrait of nonviolence emerges. Each one made deliberate efforts to confront, navigate, and manage violence in their communities through the culture of hip-hop. Their promotion of nonviolent resistance challenged young people to wrestle with and ultimately redress the everyday violence in their communities. Journalists and scholars also agree that nonviolence and antiviolence themes were central to their collective ethos, the communities in which they lived, and the principles upheld, especially in the work of Herc and Bambaataa. One irony present in the discourses on hip-hop culture is that what many today view as the machinery that produces popular images of misogyny, consumerism, and inner-city violence was, in its origins, deliberately and successfully antiviolent.

Herc, Flash, and Bambaataa sounded a nonviolent ethos in early hip-hop culture in wide-ranging and multifaceted ways. However, it is necessary to consider three critical points for a fuller understanding of their roles individually and collectively:

  1. They projected a fluid sense of masculinity in the face of the rigid structures for Black masculinity prevalent in the early 1970s in inner-city New York.
  2. At least two of the three directly mediated or intervened in violent confrontations. That is, they vigilantly addressed and confronted violence in their communities. They rapped and threw parties to address violence issues and chose to be direct actors in their nonviolent campaigns.
  3. They generated a mythical aura around themselves based upon their ability to mediate violence and produce truly authentic art.
Afrika Bambaataa next to mural drawing with his face in Bogota during the World Summit of Arts and Culture for Peace in Colombia

Afrika Bambaataa next to mural drawing with his face in Bogota during the World Summit of Arts and Culture for Peace in Colombia

Each of them had specific experiences that expanded their capacity for self-awareness. For Herc, it derived from his experiences growing up in Trenchtown and his critical perspective on the New York City gangs that terrorized the whole neighborhood. For Bambaataa, born to and raised by parents of Jamaican and Barbadian descent, it was a vision of hip-hop as a force for social change. For Flash, born in Barbados but raised in the Bronx, it was his fascination with records with regard to art work, and the look and feel of vinyl. These awakenings constituted the very origins of hip-hop culture's collective consciousness.

Russell Simmons

The thing about hip-hop is that it's from the underground, ideas from the underbelly, from people who have mostly been locked out, who have not been recognized.

Quincy Jones

I guess hip-hop has been closer to the pulse of the streets than any music we've had in a long time. It's sociology as well as music, which is in keeping with the tradition of Black music in America.