Hip-hop's origins are in the 1970s, it is a relatively old genre, having originated in New York in African-American communities. Hip-hop is a whole culture, which, unfortunately, is virtually impossible to define clearly, because there are as many of them as there are people involved in it. Hip-hop is music, culture, ideology, a way of being and thinking, a way of spending one's leisure time and even one's entire life. Hip-hop is not just about screaming and rebellion, the street, the dirty yard and the neighborhood bench. Hip-hop is a culture that is spontaneous, impetuous, but also prone to reflection, analysis and careful observation.… Read more
It is created by different people for different audiences. Hip-hop does not create barriers and does not set boundaries. This is certainly how its fans will define the genre, which is mostly true. However, it has a few defined characteristics that are closely associated with it. These are: rap(which is the rhythmic utterance of words while rhyming with accompaniment, otherwise it is called MCing), DJing (DJs use turntables to create scratches, in terms of Hip-hop we talk about Turntablism, the first DJs is DJ Kool Herc, who created the so-called "breaks"). Another element of hip hop culture and style is b-boying dance. Breakdance is a dance of strength and agility, and therefore extremely difficult. it is characterized by a large number of elements also performed on the ground with the help of arms and legs and also the whole body. The history of breakdance is very rich and interesting, much could be written about it, but let's move on to the next pillar of hip-hop, namely graffiti. Graffiti is part of a broader artistic trend called Street Art and is typically associated with Hip-hop culture. Like dance, it is the expressive side of the genre. Writing on walls itself has a history dating back to antiquity, but in the current sense we've only been talking about graffiti since the 1960s, when gangs such as Savage Skulls, La Familia and Savage Nomads used it to mark their territory. Nowadays, graffiti is no longer just an expression of rebellion, graffiti artists place their artwork on the buildings of private businesses or service outlets, thus creating outdoor advertising specific to these entities.
With hip-hop, as with probably every subculture is associated with many stereotypes, and a young man in wide pants, too bulky sweatshirts, swearing at everything and everyone, used to be pigeonholed as a hip-hopper, however, this genre is listened to by many people who in no way fit into this style.
History
Hip-hop emerged in the early 1970s in the black ghettos of the United States - in the South Bronx "black" borough of New York City, amidst the violence of drug addiction and poverty, directed against the rich and social norms. The precursor of hip-hop is Kool Herc, an immigrant from Jamaica - a disc-jockey playing music on the streets of the Bronx, while DJ Afrika Bambaataa is considered the first to define the culture as "hip-hop." The following phases of the development of American rap can be mentioned: early simple songs and naive rhymes, rhyming announcements and comments during disco parties in the early 1980s, gangsta rap at the end of the decade and the exuberant commercialism that continues to the present. In the following years, hip-hop became increasingly popular, with the doors of radio stations and television stations opening to it. MTV television soon began to play their music.
Hip-hop in Poland
In Poland Hip-hop became popular on a large scale only in the 1990s, but we have its first manifestations already in the 1980s. Poles quickly recognized a certain similarity between the New York ghettos and our blocks of flats, and it is with them that this trend in Poland is mainly associated. The Warsaw scene saw the emergence of bands such as Molesta, Warszafski Deszcz (formerly 1kHz, Trzyha), ZIP Skład, soon followed by OMP, Mor W.A., Płomień 81, RHX and DJ 600 V, a very active organizer and producer from the very beginning. Slums Attack and its leader Peja became popular in Poznań and throughout Poland. Another type of rap was represented by Kaliber 44 or Paktofonika, Abradab, Eldo with his band Grammatik, Fisz, Łona, or O.S.T.R. Many more groups and soloists could be mentioned, but let's now return to the foreign scene.
Popular Hip-hop music performers
Here are some of the most important performers of the American scene: Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz, Lil Scrappy, Big Daddy Ric, Disco D, DJ Assault, DJ Crookers, DJ Godfather, Mr. De', Warren G, DJ Quik, Tupac Shakur, DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, the Sugarhill Gang, Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Jay and Run-D.M.C., 2 Live Crew, Three 6 Mafia, Arrested Development, Big Hawk, Boondox, Bun B, Crunchy Black, Cunninlynguists, The D.O.C., Three 6 Mafia, T.I., Timbaland, T-Pain, Trae, Snoop Dogg. Unfortunately, it is impossible to list all the important performers.
Freestyle Rap
There remains one more aspect of hip-hop worth discussing and that is freestyle rap and related battles. This is rhyming without early written lyrics or any other preparation. It was originally intended to be used to connect with the audience. However, there are two types of freestyle - monologue rhyming about various things, but also so-called battling, which involves humiliating an opponent in (usually) reference to a moment earlier drawn topic. In the former, it happens that the freestyle gains a lot of speed and its comprehension requires the listener to be skilled. This fashion has also reached Poland, so far the following battles have been held in our country: Great Battle of Warsaw, Great Battle of Szczecin, Battle of the West (organized in Gorzow Wielkopolski), Battle of Mokotow (Warsaw), War of the Silesian Diamond (Rybnik), War of Wawel, Battle of Bema (Poznan).