Home » Blogs » Words I Manifest » Hip-Hop: A Culture of Four Elements?

Hip-Hop: A Culture of Four Elements?

Written by Grant Brydon. Published: Thursday, September 30, 2010.

When describing true hip-hop culture, the four elements (emceeing, DJ-ing, b-boying and graffiti) are always, quite rightly, mentioned with regards to the origins of the culture. The four worked together in the late 70’s and early 80’s to form a fresh youth culture, which has continued to inspire and educate even 30 years from its conception, and is continuously evolving and being presented to new audiences.

I have recently had a number of conversations that have taken the direction of discussing, how these four elements actually apply to the culture in 2010. One, an interview with Rakaa (aka Iriscience) of Dilated Peoples, Rock Steady Crew and Zulu Nation, one with underground emcee Pack FM, and others with my friends, Stefan and Flo, both b-boys. I am not denying the existence of the individual elements, but more the shift in the culture that has pulled them further away from one another.

In the early days, the elements brought people together, the DJ would be spinning, the b-boys would be dancing, emcees would be lining up to take the mic and hype up the crowd and the graff artists would be there supporting, drawing in their blackbooks or putting together a mural; or at least this is the picture that has been painted of the early days by the pioneers and journalists. The culture was very much a table that was held up by the legs of these four elements (an analogy I learned from Grandmaster Caz).

Nowadays I would wager that a lot of the top emcees probably couldn’t name the other elements, many graffiti artists probably don’t even know that what they are doing links to rap music and the most of the top b-boys disregard the top emcees as pop music. I think that the separation of these elements is due to growth and evolution, the elements are now all art-forms in their own rights and do not depend on the support of the other legs.

Rap has by far surpassed the other legs in its evolution, to the point where many claim it is becoming corrupt. However it is also diversifying and is the most stand alone of all the elements, even to the point where it could almost survive without the involvement of DJ’s (the only element which I feel is still integral to connecting the culture). It is the most saleable element, and therefore has had the support and funding to develop the most. Although many would like to hear rappers stick to rapping over break-beats, cyphering and battling, we are at a point in the culture where, although I love all three of those things, most artists focus on putting together full cohesive LP’s and mixtapes that can be used to promote themselves worldwide, via the internet as well as physical CD sales, rather than a cipher which will only earn them local recognition; the target market for rap is a lot wider than that of any other element, due to the fact that it is more easily accessible.

Due to the anonymity of graff artists, it I hard to say whether or not they are regularly in attendance to support the other elements at rap gigs and b-boy jams, however it is fair to say that they are no longer as prolific within the culture as it once was. Commercially, graffiti has become infused with other forms of street art, and is often used to create branding for youth targeted companies, such as clothing brands, record labels and advertising. Sometimes this can be used well however I often find that it is used as a somewhat cliché youth visual; when marketing something to the youth that they probably aren’t really interested in, designers commonly resort to the graffiti aesthetic as a way of capturing the audience. Graffiti is seen as rebellious and is the only illegal element; legal graffiti doesn’t generally carry as much credibility, unless it is painted by a well-respected artist, who has gained some sort of notoriety by painting illegally. I think that the anti-establishment nature of graff has caused it to become attractive to other youth subcultures such as punk, and art school kids, who want to go against what they have been taught.

B-Boying as an art-form has probably went through the least evolution of the elements, this is more because it is the hardest to market. It is not possible to package b-boying up and sell it; therefore it is the element that remains the truest to its old school roots. Although the movements of the dance have evolved since the early days, the fashions, and music within the b-boy culture remains very old school; most of the music played at b-boy jams was recorded in the 80’s or earlier, and it is still common to see nostalgic fashions such as Puma Suedes, foam trucker hats, matching crew outfits and maybe even a Kangol here and there. I think that the fact that b-boying has stuck to its roots means that most b-boys are now disheartened by what they are seeing happen to the rest of the culture, therefore it is common to see b-boys who only listen to old school hip-hop or funk or breaks, and don’t really listen to new music. It is also common to see people becoming interested in b-boying through avenues such as marshall arts, gymnastics or other dance forms, as well as through hip-hop.

I think that DJing as a whole has remained the most relevant to all of the elements (apart from maybe graffiti, due to it not being a musical element) as DJ’s are required for both rappers and b-boys. However a DJ who plays at a rap jam, would not usually be the same DJ who would spin at a b-boy jam. The b-boy DJ has to ensure that the break plays continuously throughout a battle, if the drums suddenly disappear, the b-boy is going to be in trouble; meaning that the b-boys DJ requires a lot of knowledge of the dance, as well as what music is suitable, and plays in a way similar to how Grandmaster Flash would, juggling beats in order to elongate the break section of the record. The regular hip-hop DJ doesn’t have to deal with such a structure, and is used for many uses including clubs, mixtapes, production and radio. Aside from these is the turtablist, who is more of an artist themselves rather than just someone who plays other artists records. The turntablist manipulates recorded sounds using decks and a mixer; this art-form is more to do with showing off impressive technical skills and really pushing the use of the equipment to its limits, rather than necessarily aiming to get people dancing. So although DJing still links the elements, we no longer just have one DJ who runs all the jams, and plays to please the whole crowd, but different types of DJ who spin for individual elements.

Obviously what I have talked about throughout this piece is a major generalisation, and is all my own opinion. I am not trying to say that hip-hop doesn’t exist, that the elements are dying, or that there isn’t a DJ who has mastered spinning for b-boys as well as clubs. It is just my consideration of the evolution of our culture, and how the growth of its individual elements may be pulling the culture apart as a whole, which might not be a bad thing; perhaps somewhere during the evolution they might reunite into something way better than what was there originally. I hope I am there when and if they do, because I personally love what is happening within each of the elements. As long as I can still sit back and listen to some Eric B & Rakim, or some Wu-Tang, when I am in the mood, and as long as somewhere DJ Premier is still producing some dope boom bap records, I think it’s good for others to be pushing the culture, and searching for the limits of their element. I just hope they never reach it!

Grant Brydon

Category: Words I Manifest