A beginner’s guide to Hip-Hop

Hip hop is both culture and art. It started around 1970 in the United States. It started as a development for the dismissed, unheard and underrepresented black minority. Along these lines, you see rappers who take a stand in opposition to social injustice, against issues of high significance.

Hip hop challenges the norm and talks about taboos. It conveys open regard for issues which would rather be talked in quieted tones, or hid away from plain view. Hip-hop is a voice. It is an art that can’t be disregarded. What’s more, since it started in the poor black ghettos of US, where the minority lives, it is viewed as a black people thing.

Hip-hop culture has 4 basic elements, let explore;

1. Rap
2. Break-dancing
3. Disk Jockeying
4. Graffiti

So lets talk about rap right now.

1. Rap

Rap is the spoken part of hip hop.  Lets give you a Merriam Webster definition. It says;

“A rhythmic chanting often in unison of usually rhymed couplets to a musical accompaniment.
Let’s look at it like an acronym: rhythm, attitude, poetry.”

2. Rhythm

Words are spoken in a strong, normal example so as to music. They are called bars. Depending upon the length of the piece, they could be 4 bars, 8 bars. They are also repeated.

3. Attitude

You may have seen videos that influenced you to ask “bro, why so irate?”. A rapper has a something to say. Also, his words originate from a position of experience. He is a authority for the majority. Take DaGrin instance.

4. Lyrics

A rapper is a writer. Lyrics in Rap are not like any song. They are not neglectful series of words. They are ponder and written to address an issue. When he composes bars, he precisely puts them down in a way that would influence Shakespeare to shudder. Loaded with insinuations, sound similarity and other figures of speech; great rap moves repeated listening.

Writer: Gloire Yeesouph