Hip Hop Response Paper #8

Matt Altstiel
12/15/06
GLOS 3900

Hip Hop Class

The experience of Hip Hop, when listened to for the first time, explodes
like a bomb of consciousness and possibility. The combination of it all: the breaks, the rhymes, and the instrumentation fits together so perfectly. I could neither dismiss or ignore it as the principle sonic force in my life. Therefore, after 12 years of being an active Hip Hop listener and 3 years of being a practitioner, taking the Anthropology of Hip Hop was a logical choice. Coming in with a certain smugness, an air of superiority one projects when thoroughly engaged in a culture; I was curious to see what, ifanything I could possibly learn. Some of my assumptions were true; Hip Hop truly is beautiful, inclusive and a verifiable culture. Some of my assumptions were not. As an MC, I had relegated the other three elements: Break dancing (B-Boys and B-Girls), Turntablism, and Aerosol Art into second tier elements. Not realizing that each was an fundamental component, a part of the whole equation, I did not respect its history and its practioners to the same degree.

In many ways, this class taught me to open my eyes to the world around me. After the substantial section on Graffiti and Graf writers, the puzzling tags on the walls gained coherence and visibility. I could walk through Dinkytown admiring a particular masterpiece while at the same understanding the reasons behind a casual throw up on a park bench. Every musical, artistic style has its roots in the socio-temporal and Hip Hop is no exception. As a suburbanite, tags had been menacing, tangible reminders of urban decay but they became shouts of freedom for the oppressed, real symbols of resistance within a hostile society.

Likewise, the culture of break dancing contained its mysteries. Widely popularized now through pop movies and drunk, white suburbanites at parties attempting to break-dance; how could B-Boying occupy one of the four elements of Hip Hop? Like graf writers, B-boys and B-girls could use this element as a crucial escape mechanism. Break dancing allowed for the development of personal style, personal accomplishment and respect from peers. Therefore, course materials and particularly the documentary The Freshest Kids were vital to providing the answers I sought about B-Boying. As one brought up on the glamour, glitz and camera tricks of music videos, rarely did any of the four elements, for me, merge into a single culture. The past and present work of the Rock Steady Crew helped turn my growing pessimism of Hip Hop into Hope. That is, hope for the future by transforming and resurrecting the glory of the past.

When I thought of the DJ, past images of High School dances entered my
brain. The image of the European DJ: playing house, trance and techno music, also informed my opinions. I had heard of Grandmaster Flash, DJ Kool Herc and of the X-cutioners, but never realized that DJing gave birth to he music and culture of rap. Little did I know that the very breaks, beats and scratches I had taken for granted, originated from these Hip Hop pioneers. The tremendous skill of the DJ, both as a musician and a
performer, helped drive trends and create innovations.

Coming into Hip Hop in 1994, little of the classics or early history was known to me. When I would strap on my backpack, put on my headphones and jet to class, I would throw in some Quest, Biggie or pre- Skanktonia Outkast if I was feeling Old School. Learning about the past makes one better aware of the present. Armed with this knowledge, I could better analyze the music I was hearing on several levels: musically, lyrically and thematically. The informed "conscious" raps of Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Black Thought and Common follow the progression of intelligent rappers before them. Hence, as a rapper myself, I learned that I had a duty to respect the past, earn props and gain amprenticeship if I was ever going to get serious as an MC.

More than the "Bling", the violence and "Pimpin Hoes" one hears on commercial radio, Hip Hop is about love. This all consuming love is not about taking, it is about giving back. This love is about expanding horizons and possiblities, not about segregating and dividing people. This is love is real, and one can feel it everywhere, be it right here in Minneapolis or over in Japan. More than anything, this class taught me to know, respect and love Hip Hop, not just to see and hear it.