![]() With rap/MCing, dueling artists attempt to showcase their lyrical creativity and supremacy. During the genre’s infancy in the 1970s and ‘80s, Grandmaster Flash and many other DJs would compete with one another by showcasing their mixing skills, creativity, and innovative moves on the turntables. DJs like Grandmaster Flash invented a host of now-standard DJing techniques (the backspin technique, punch phrasing, and scratching). With DJing, the battle consists of using turntables as musical instruments. To understand what it is and its place in hip hop culture, one must first know the four elements of hip hop: DJing (aural), MCing (vocal), B-boying/B-girling (physical) and graffiti (visual). Although rappers were already becoming the center of hip hop culture, that “viral” moment, one of the earliest documented battles, would elevate their place in the genre. He grabbed the mic and fired back at Busy Bee with a sharp-tongued freestyle that would later become legendary for its lyricism, especially when compared to Busy Bee’s comedic style. Upon hearing his name, Kool Moe Dee came up onto to the stage. Unbeknownst to Busy Bee, one of the artists he had named, Kool Moe Dee, happened to be in the audience. On that day, Busy Bee Starski, who was doing a live set on stage, started name dropping and dissing some of the most prevalent hip hop artists of the time. In it, a now legendary rap battle between the “Chief Rocker,” Busy Bee Starski and Kool Moe Dee of the Treacherous Three would transform the role of the emcee (or MC) from the “hype man” to the centerpiece of hip hop performance. The venue, Harlem World Club in New York City. They gave lives meaning.The year is 1981. MARK NAISON, HISTORY PROFESSOR: Nobody involved in Bronx hip-hop made big money. But those who were there at the beginning say it's changed the world for the better. And it's kinda hard to imagine a world without it. So, you're getting inspirations from a lot of jazz and soul and rock, and all these beautiful pockets of music. A lot of hip hop sound is a blend of different genres. You're learning different genres of sounds to mix in. RULLA: You're learning words, you know? You're learning how to articulate. ![]() JOSH: Why do you think that hip hop has been so impactful for youth - like kids and teenagers? The people that have inspired me, I'm connected to them by their authenticity - to the way they say what they're saying, and why they say what they're saying. RULLA KELLY-MANSELL, HIP-HOP ARTIST: Being Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in this country, when I first heard hip-hop, I found a lot of correlation to what was happening here, or the feeling of what it was to be misunderstood because of your ethnicity, or your family background or your colour of your skin. Including the ABC's very own hip-hop star Rulla Kelly-Mansell. Soon enough, hip-hop had spread to countries all around the world - including here in Australia, where it's had a big impact on a lot of people. And by the 80s, hip-hop records had started to hit the U.S. It became a big part of Black American culture, giving people from poor and disadvantaged communities an outlet to speak about important social issues. ![]() When I first heard The Sugarhill Gang, I wanted to be a rapper. No doubt for sure that was the first hip-hop song ever played. And soon enough, rap became a big part of hip-hop, along with breakdancing.Į-40, RECORDING ARTIST: The first song I ever heard was 'Rapper's Delight,' 1979. The people introducing the DJs would entertain the crowds between songs by talking and joking. MARK NAISON, HISTORY PROFESSOR: South Bronx was this giant soundscape that everywhere you went, music was coming out of apartments, it was coming out of grocery stores, it was coming out of clubs.ĭifferent DJs would put their own spin on the sound, and many would go on to become legends.įAT JOE, RECORDING ARTIST: When you talk about Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, these are the three founding fathers of the whole culture. Pretty soon this new type of music had taken over the neighbourhood. Little did he know, he was changing the game and giving birth to "hip-hop". A little-known artist by the name of DJ Kool Herc explodes onto the scene, showcasing a musical technique he called "The Merry-Go-Round" - looping the instrumental breaks of songs together on two turntables over and over again. ![]() The Event: the 'Back to School Jam' party. The location: 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, The Bronx. ![]()
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