Introduction
According to John Leland “The word “Hip” traces back to West Africa, to the Wolof verbs hipi, meaning "to see," or hepi, "to open one's eyes." So it begins as a term of enlightenment or awareness. We also get our words dig, jive and honky from Wolof but hip as we know it begins after the word arrives here, in the complicated dance between former Europeans and former Africans. So I begin the book in 1619, with the arrival of the first Africans in the New World, and carry the story up to the present. (John Leland, 1 Oct. 2004, p.10)
The major idea of Hip culture
Hip hop is a cultural movement that began among urban African Americans in 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. The various factors that influenced early hip hop are complex and numerous. Although the majority of influences can be traced to African culture, the multicultural society of New York City resulted in diverse musical influences finding their way into hip hop music.
Elements of the style and techniques of rapping originate with the griots of West Africa; travelling singers and poets whose musical style contains elements of what would later evolve into hip-hop music. Some griot traditions came to the United States, UK and the Carribbean with the passage of African slaves to the New World, including hip-hop. Other notable influences are the spoken word sections of records by soul and funk musicians such as James Brown and Isaac Hayes.
One of the many influences on the creation of contemporary hip hop music is the Jamaican style called dub, which arose as a sub-genre of Reggae in the.......
