Hip hop culture

Hip hop is a cultural movement that began among urban African Americans and Latinos in the Bronx New York City in the early 1970s, and has since spread around the world. The four main aspects, or "elements", of hip hop culture are MCing (rapping), DJing, graffiti, and breakdancing. Some consider beatboxing the fifth element of hip hop; others might add political activism, hip hop fashion, hip hop slang, double dutching (an urban form of rope skipping) or other elements as important facets of hip hop. The term has since come to be a synonym for hip hop music (or rap music) to mainstream audiences.

Graffiti art

Main article: Graffiti, Types of graffiti

Related Topics:
Graffiti - Types of graffiti

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Graffiti as an urban art form had been known since at least the 1950s, but began developing in earnest in the late 1960s and flourished during the 1970s. Hip-hop graffiti began during these periods on the subways of New York, and later expanded to the city walls themselves. This movement from trains to walls was encouraged by efforts by the city's Metropolitan Transportation Authority to eradicate graffiti on their property (the M.T.A. officially declared the transit graffiti-free in 1989).

Related Topics:
1950s - 1960s - 1970s - New York - Metropolitan Transportation Authority

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The first forms of subway graffiti were quick spray-painted or marker signatures ("tags"), which quickly evolved into large elaborate calligraphy, complete with color effects, shading, and more. Finding original techniques was very important for graffiti artists; for example, in 1972, one well-respected graffiti artist called Super Kool replaced the dispersion cap on his spray paint with a wider one, found on a can of oven cleaner. This is still a common practice. By 1976, graffiti artists like Lee Quinones began panting entire murals using advanced techniques. Some of the most memorable of Quinones' work were political in nature, calling for an end to the arms race, for example. The book Subway Art (New York: Henry Holt & Co, 1984) and the TV program Style Wars (first shown on the PBS channel in 1984) were among the first ways the mainstream public were introduced to graffiti. Quickly the rest of the globe imitated and adapted hip hop graffiti. Today, there are also strong scenes in Europe, South America, Australia and Japan.

Related Topics:
1972 - Super Kool - 1976 - Lee Quinones - Arms race - 1984 - Style Wars - PBS - Europe - South America - Australia - Japan

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Graffiti has long been villianized by those in authority and allegedly associated with gangs, violence, drug culture and street crime. Although it is a crime, falling under the category of vandalism, many artists are not criminals and do not engage in such activity as the brands that their art form has been labeled. Still, popular culture feels that it is a violent activity that is an overall detrement to society. This may be true in some cases, but most "writers", as they are often called, are in fact true artists that spend painstaking hours practicing and refining their skill to create something that is beautiful, at least in their own eyes. Demonizing their art by saying it is nothing more than a nuisance that might not be aesthetically pleasing has resulted in knee-jerk legislation, such as the 3-strike laws in Los Angeles, California. These can send a young artist to prison for life just for writing on a wall, even if it is the only crime they have ever commited, because it is has been classified as "gang related activity".

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