Knowra Hip-hop Hip-hop Hip-hop is a cultural movement and music genre encompassing rap, DJing, breakdancing, and related forms of expression. It emerged in the Bronx in the 1970s and developed into a global culture.
Rapping : Rapping is vocal delivery of rhythmic, often rhyming language over a beat. MCs used rhythmic speech to animate block parties and give hip-hop a lyrical voice.
Bronx hip-hop : Bronx hip-hop is the early culture and music that developed in the borough during the 1970s. This local scene formed the movement’s earliest recognizable practices.
Breakbeat : A breakbeat is a drum passage isolated or emphasized within a piece of music. Early DJs extended breaks so dancers could keep moving and MCs could address the crowd.
Golden age hip-hop : Golden age hip-hop is a period of influential rap music, commonly dated from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. This era established production styles and lyrical approaches that shaped later hip-hop.
Turntablism : Turntablism is the creative manipulation of records and turntables as musical instruments. DJ techniques such as scratching made recorded sound a live instrument in hip-hop.
DJ Kool Herc : DJ Kool Herc is a Jamaican-born DJ associated with the beginnings of hip-hop in the Bronx. His 1970s parties helped establish the breakbeat-centered DJ style.
Sampling : Sampling is the reuse of a portion of an existing sound recording in a new composition. Hip-hop producers built new beats by recontextualizing recorded drums, voices, and melodies.
Gangsta rap : Gangsta rap is a rap subgenre that depicts street violence, crime, and life in marginalized communities. Its rise brought hip-hop into national debates over violence, censorship, and urban representation.
Breaking : Breaking is a street dance style featuring upright steps, floorwork, freezes, and acrobatic moves. Dancers developed breaking in the same Bronx party culture as hip-hop DJing.
Cindy Campbell : Cindy Campbell is a Bronx organizer whose 1973 back-to-school party with her brother helped launch hip-hop’s early scene. The party she organized with Kool Herc is a landmark in hip-hop’s origin story.
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