30-Nov-2009
Posted by : Bobby
When the Smoke Clears is the latest “news video” from the renegade media collective known as Guerrilla News Network. Combining the spoken words of International Slam Champion Taalam Acey with a barrage of excerpted hip-hop music video clips, the short film stands out as a scathing indictment of the current state of hip-hop as well as an example of political filmmaking at its finest. This experimental documentary was an official selection of the 2002 Sundance On-Line Film Festival. Urban Stage and Screen film critic Bobby Wise sat down with one of the creative forces behind this powerful film for a discussion on politics, filmmaking, music, and how it all comes together in this provocative work of art.
22-Nov-2009
Posted by : Bobby
Hip-hop is composed of four organizing elements, each one represented by a particular art form. These four elements structure hip-hop and define it, and they are all celebrated as a unique cultural heritage. Any functionary knowledge of hip-hop must begin with a basic understanding of these elements, in no particular order.
10-Nov-2009
Posted by : Bobby
Establishing a canon is tricky, like the Run-D.M.C. song of the same name. It’s important to remember that any human creation is subjective by nature, which means it’s imperfect. This notion extends to all things, including the canons that are formulated to be the gatekeepers that can grant any work of art a place in heaven. In early history the canon was originally a religious concept: the term referred to a collection of scriptures that were deemed worthy to be included in the bible. Here, the religion of concern is hip-hop, and the objects of this analysis are its scriptures in the form of music.
Hip-hop music is a combination of two original elements of hip-hop culture: DJ-ing and MC-ing, the former being the musical expression of hip-hop culture, the latter being its poetic expression. DJ-ing is the art of creating music out of pre-existing forms, such as the break beats of records that were re-combined into the pastiche that is hip-hop music. MC-ing is the art of delivering spoken word poetry rhythmically over the beat of the music, or, rapping.
23-Oct-2009
Posted by : Bobby
BLASPHEMY
written by Tupac Shakur
Verse 1
My family tree consists of drug dealers, thugs, and killers./Struggling, known to hustle screaming “Fuck they feelings!”
I got advice from my father, all he told me was this./“Nigga, get off your ass if you plan to be rich!”
There’s ten rules to the game, but I’ll share with you two./Know, niggas gonna hate you for whatever you do.
The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996)
Now rule two is a hard one, watch for phonies./Keep your enemies close, nigga, watch your homies.
It seemed a little unimportant. When he told me I smiled./Picture jewels being handed to an innocent child.
I never knew in my lifetime I’d live by these rules./Initiated as an outlaw, studying rules.
06-Oct-2009
Posted by : Bobby
Category : Hip-Hop Culture
Tags: african-american, art, blacks, culture, dance, elements, hip-hop, latinos, lifestyle, music, painting, poetry, urban
To the question “What is hip-hop?” the first answer is “a unique American cultural force.” “As a form of culture with literally millions of participants across the globe…[hip-hop is] the best aesthetic gauge of the consciousness of the masses of people throughout the world and it expresses not only all that is ugly about them, but all that is beautiful and all that yearns to be free.”[1] Beyond a cultural phenomenon, or a movement, hip-hop is an art form; a paradigmatic art form for the postmodern age. Hip-hop is a versatile arrangement that cuts across four key arts: music, dance, painting, and poetry – these four elements developed simultaneously to create hip-hop.
In abstract terms, hip-hop is an attitude; it is an active interference with the structure of society; the communication of the disadvantaged in lower class communities of America. This communication is used both as a shout of defiance against the conditions forced on the lower class and also as a tool for self-definition. Hip-hop is brash, confrontational, and critical – concerned with the structures of power in society and obtaining power by relieving others of it. This makes hip-hop a revolutionary, and also predatory, form.
