Hip-Hop is a form of popular culture which began in the late 70s, and
synthesised several subcultural forms including graffiti writing, breakdancing
and rapping. Originating from the ghettos of South Bronx, New York, the
performance of rap music by early DJs like Afrika Bambaata incorporated
Jamaican dancehall and German electronics in the production of a new kind
of sound, Hip-Hop. Beginning as a subculture deeply rooted to the
ghetto, Hip-Hop provided a means of expression and discourse for marginalised
black and Latino youths who had no place in the media of the dominant culture.
African Americans have experienced cultural displacement due to the
history of slavery which involved the mass exportation of Africans to the
Caribbean and the Americas. The identity of 'Black' encapsulates this history
of dispersal and is used by some as a means of also uniting minority cultures
other than those who claim African ancestry. Hip-Hop music is one vehicle
which sometimes collects a diverse group of cultural identities together
under the banner of 'Black'. For example, Caribbean and Latino Americans,
who face similar problems of marginalisation that leads to crime, ghettoisation
and ostracism from mainstream culture have been partners in the production
of Hip-Hop and sometimes included under the umbrella of 'black' identity.
The revaluing of the term 'black' as positive is a practice most commonly
associated with the 1960s civil rights movement and the figure of Martin
Luther King. Hip-Hop culture is strongly rooted in this black hybrid identity,
and represents the continuing struggle for marginal voices in an age of
global media imperialism. While Hip-Hop began as a ghetto subcultural practice,
banned by MTV, it has become a global phenomenon. Rap was brought
to the mainstream in the early eighties with predominantly white crossover
acts such as Blondie and the Beastie Boys, and it has maintained a complex
relationship with the commercial side of the music industry. Global
communication technologies have enabled Hip-Hop to act as a critique of
mainstream society, and a 'voice' for dispossessed people everywhere.
However, such a critique can only exist alongside its opposite in a marketplace
where cultural capital may be brought for a price, so long as it fits the
bill of the purchaser.
In today's late capitalist society, most artists are managed under multi-national
labels whose interests lie with consumer appeal, which can mean perpetuating
mainstream stereotypes rather than critiquing them. Nonetheless,
Hip-Hop has proved difficult to categorise and assimilate into the music
industry. Incorporating new media technologies, constantly changing
styles and an ever-growing hybrid mix of cultural and religious practices,
Hip-Hop and 'black' identity are representative of this era which Hall
terms 'the global post-modern'. Today's media imperialism has forced
'white' American values on people around the world, many of whom are neither
white or American. The production and distribution of 'black' cultural
identity through Hip-Hop rejects this compulsory inculcation of white
values, and in doing so it has become a site of identity for people around
the world who are facing similar issues.
