August 11 is celebrated as hip hop day. 44 years back in the year 1973 DJ Kool Herc changed music forever. The 18-year-old Jamaican-American decided to do something different at his sister’s party, Instead of playing the songs in full, he played only their instrumental sections, or “breaks”. While he played the music the crowd that was present at the party went wild after listening to it. And with that, Hip Hop was born.
Hip hop dancing is officially begun in New York City during the late 1960s and early 70s. During this time, individuals without professional dance training but with a natural instinct for movement brought dancing to the streets of New York City. A dance form meant to be popular in the original sense of the word, it was for the people and not for the academy. The moves in hip hop dancing were inspired by complex rhythms and the down-to-earth movement style of African dancing.
The Hip Hop was created in the districts of the New York City by the African American and Latino Teenagers who have contributed to the history of Hip Hop by creating early hip-hop dance moves, such as uprock, breaking, locking, roboting, boogaloo, and popping. These different dance styles were combined to known as funk styles. It was first started in an informal but performative dance culture. Boys and girls were being called on the streets or basketball court to show their moves. As the time passes, these informal moves started becoming formal dance styles because more and more dancers were caught up in the rhythms of the music.
The art form of Hip Hop was gained popularity in the 1980’s and 90’s when more clubs were featuring Hip Hop DJ’s and dancers especially in the larger cities. More Informal and less formal competitions were being started and created the competitive nature which helped the hip hop to retain the ‘battle’ culture that existed since the beginning. This level of competition was also being seen in other dance forms especially in the tap dancing during that time. It is being said that the period between the 1970 and 1985 was the old school era of hip hop and then after 1985 to 1993 was known to be as the golden age of hip hop.
There are four elements of hip hop i.e. MCking, also known as rapping, Djing, Graffiti which was being inspired by the urban culture and break dancing. As dance always comes with music and the emergence of the hip hop music gave rise to the dancing style of hip hop. Earlier, these dance competitions happening on the streets or sidewalks also include beat boxing which is a form of music-making. The beat-boxing includes raps and special sound effects which are made with the help of hands and mouth. Many artists including the Fat Boys rose to fame and fortune with this Buffy’s beat boxing talents.
The hip hop music and the breakbeat djing was firstly developed by Clive Campbell in Bronx, New York. This form of art of funk music is unique and played repeatedly in the dance parties for all night. Firstly, these dance parties were held by Kool DJ Herc in his home but then it shifted from home parties to outdoor clubs in order to include more and more people of different groups especially teenagers in it. The emergence of the dance as an art form gave people the opportunities to use their energy and express their opinions through dance.
People started using the hip hop music as a medium to cheer their dances or to talk about the problems faced by their community. This indulgence led to the formation of the new term i.e. ‘Rap’ in hip hop which was derived from the slang word that meant ‘’conversation’’. And, later the lyrics were being added to the rap and eventually the break dancing and synthesizer technology came into hip hop.
It is true that the roots of the hip hop were informal and group-based and not the audience-based. But, with its growing popularity, it also became the part of films and music videos also. A Choreographer named as Wade Robson included the hip hop in his television show to select the hip hop dance talents.
Hip hop has gained a lot more popularity in the past years not just being as a street dance but now, as a professional dance style. The amazing and eye-catching moves of the hip hop dance culture have helped the dancers to give the illustrious performance across the globe. In a short period of time, the hip hop as a totally different art form has made his way in the dance culture and the best part of it that the dance lovers celebrate this original and advanced dance style and included in their lives.
