KRS-ONE Lectures on the Fundamentals of Hip-HopMay 20 '02 (Updated Jun 10 '02) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line This is an essential lecture compilation for anyone looking to learn more about the history and culture of Hip-Hop. ------------------- Author's Note: Originally I posted this in the "Suggest Products" category, not realizing that the category had been killed a while back. I'm moving it here so I can at least see who rated and to make it more accessible to visitors. Thanks to 4-1-1 and jo.com for making the suggestion. -mad ------------------- One of the biggest things working to the detriment of Hip-Hop is hardly any one outside of the culture knows or cares what it really is. For example, people can identify the basic elements of Rock music, Jazz, or Blues, but what is “real” Hip-Hop remains a mystery to most. For the most part, anything young and urban is considered Hip-Hop by the mainstream, regardless of whether it is actually a part of the culture. Those of us who do know and care about it usually don’t have the same opportunity to shed light on the culture as those who have gotten rich keeping it shrouded in darkness. That’s why it’s so reassuring that the Temple of Hip-Hop exists. Though the use of the word “temple” implies religious affiliation, it certainly is not some kind of cult. The Temple of Hip-Hop is simply and organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Hip-Hop culture. The Temple is also the only Hip-Hop organization backed by originator Kool DJ Herc, and pioneers Afrika Bambaataa, Grand Master Flash, and founder KRS-ONE. As a result, it is quite simply THE authority on all things Hip-Hop. In keeping with the goals of educating the masses about Hip-Hop, KRS has taken selections from his lectures at college campuses and Temple locations about the culture and compiled them into one CD called The Fondamentals of Hip-Hop. With this collection of selected lectures, he teaches about what Hip-Hop is and is not, working to hopefully remove the confusion surrounding this continually evolving culture. Tracklisting 1. Introduction 2. The Origin of Hip-Hop 3. Hip-Hop – Spiritual Meaning & Purpose 4. The H-LAW 5. Hip-Hop – The Early Days 6. Hip-Hop – Decriminalized 7. Hip-Hop – The Essence 8. Hip-Hop – The Elements 9. Hip-Hop – The Awakening 10. Hip-Hop – The Consciousness 11. Hip-Hop – And Racism 12. Hip-Hop – And Self Awareness 13. Hip-Hop – And Wealth 14. Hip-Hop – And Health 15. Hip-Hop – The Refinitions After a short introduction, KRS-ONE begins speaking in a studio, giving an overview of the environment in which Hip-Hop began, vocally illustrating the oppressive and unjust situation of New York inner-city Blacks and Latinos in the 70’s. He describes how Hip-Hop was created somewhat in response to the exclusion of these groups from mainstream American culture. Hip-Hop – Spiritual Meaning & Purpose (1:35) In this short section, Temple member Malik One and KRS describe Hip-Hop as a spiritual phenomenon. Though Hip-Hop has no exact religious affiliation per se, many Hip-Hoppers are spiritual people who believe that all things (including Hip-Hop) are from God. Malik and KRS take a moment to acknowledge that here. The H-LAW (1:18) On this portion of the compilation, the Teacher explains one of the fundamental tenets of the Temple of Hip-Hop, the H-LAW. H-LAW is an acronym for Health, Love, Awareness, and Wealth. KRS expresses his belief that every action Hip-Hoppers should take in life should only positively influence his or her physical health, their ability to give and receive love, their awareness of themselves and the world around them, and their financial stability. Hip-Hop – The Early Days (5:03) This section allows the listener to hear KRS’ thoughts on why it’s important to really know and understand what Hip-Hop is. He touches on how when Hip-Hop first began, it for the world, primarily because they had no idea what is was at the time and made no real attempts to understand it. As examples, he explains how they misinterpreted the act of emceeing (rapping) as Hip-Hop; piecing, burning, bombing and tagging was lumped into the category of graffiti art; and the many varied forms of Hip-Hop dance were grouped under the universal term of breaking. He also discusses how in the early days everything about Hip-Hop was illegal. Graffiti art was (and mostly still is) against the law, and deejaying and emceeing became illegal when rap duos would take their equipment to the park and plug into lampposts for power, an unlawful act. This section is especially important when you consider that back in the early days of Hip-Hop, the early heads would actually regularly go to jail for this culture. That detail in itself is a testament to just how integral and important these expressions were to the founders. Hip-Hop – Decriminalized (2:56) KRS adds some additional insight into Hip-Hop’s opposition when he describes the schism between older and younger Blacks and Latinos and their parents, a dynamic that still affects Hip-Hop today. He describes how while the cops had a “who cares, just stop it” attitude toward Hip-Hop, the parents of the early Hip-Hoppers were the ones who initially provided the most opposition. This dynamic returns to the culture several years later when gangsta rap is challenged by the old guard of Black Civil Rights activists. He also outlines Hip-Hop’s progression from the Bronx to other areas of New York. This spreading eventually led to The SugarHill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” release in 1979. The biggest significance of this groundbreaking record being that at this point, Hip-Hop, or at least emceeing and deejaying, ceased to be a criminal act. Hip-Hop – The Essence (1:55) To illustrate the essence of Hip-Hop, the speaker uses the slang phrase, “chill out” that was introduced to America’s mainstream by Hip-Hop culture. He theorizes that the reason why the Street Language, or Hip-Hop slang, continues to change and evolve is that, “language is the expression of creative intelligence…our minds are so vast in our thinking, that the English language does not have enough words to describe what we’re thinking. So what we have to do is take words, the existing words, and transform them to fit our consciousness, to fit how we’re coming at the world. This is what Hip-Hop is; it is the transformation of subjects and objects in an attempt to describe your consciousness.” I believe that KRS-ONE truly hits the nail on the head with his statement. The essence of the Hip-Hop deejay is to alter recordings in order to create new Hip-Hop compositions. Emcees frequently change the meanings of words, in effect creating new slang “on the fly,” in order to more accurately express their thoughts and ideas. Graf artists warp letters and forms to create a truly unique form of visual art. The essence of Hip-Hop truly is the transformation of existing objects and forms. Hip-Hop – The Elements (1:19) In this lecture excerpt, KRS primarily runs down the nine basic expressions of Hip-Hop, Deejaying, Breaking, Graffiti art, Emceeing, Beat-boxing, Street Fashion, Street Language, Street Knowledge, and Street Entrepreneurship. He doesn’t delve into depth about most of the expressions, but does discuss the rawness involved with the element of Entrepreneurship. He articulates that this can include drug sales, but is not exclusive to that illicit act, saying it’s just a person stepping out into a business venture on his or her own with no support from parents or banking institutions. Essentially, “it’s just you and the world.” His point brings to mind many rap stars that eventually became rich before they even really made it big such as Esham and DJ Screw, just by effectively selling their tapes out of the trunks of their cars. Hip-Hop – The Awakening (2:44) In the section labeled The Awakening, the Blastmaster poses the question that perhaps Hip-Hop may be the “thing”- an intangible connection to ancient Africa and God - that Black Nationalists claim African Americans have lost through centuries of lost direction. He supposes that we did not actually lose this “thing,” but it just became suppressed throughout history until political and social conditions were right for the culture to remerge. Hip-Hop is just its latest incarnation. Hip-Hop – The Consciousness (3:02) At this point, KRS explains the unique mindset of Hip-Hop which has heads worldwide saying, “I am Hip-Hop.”. Hip-Hop is more than just music, it’s a way of life. In order to truly be Hip-Hop, it has to be a part of who you are, a part of your core, not just an expression. KRS relates this well in his speech using religion as an example: “Instead of reading the word of Christ, be the word of Christ. Instead of following God’s Word, be God’s Word. That’s the consciousness of Hip-Hop. You are not just doing Hip-Hop, you are Hip-Hop.” Hip-Hop – And Racism (6:52) Using a quote from the book Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements the speaker draws a parallel between the point the Civil Rights speaker made and the nature of Hip-Hop. In his speech, Malcolm believed that if the students who were active in the Civil Rights struggle had stopped to question whether getting the government to grant Equal Rights was truly an effective strategy for eliminating racism, they would have come to the conclusion that it was not. KRS shows how a similar “rethinking” helped to bring about the Hip-Hop as early Hip-Hoppers created it by sidestepping the norm and reevaluating their existence. Hip-Hop – And Self Awareness (7:31) KRS-ONE accredits a significant amount of his success to creative visualization, which he discusses in this excerpt. He describes the time he spent as a homeless teen in NY, imagining himself emceeing to the point where he would be in a sweat without even moving. For the majority of this segment he expounds on the fact that in order for you to really achieve your goals for the future, you must actualize and act as if you have achieved the goal already. Waiting for external entities such as degrees, certifications, and promotions to validate you in this goal only lessens the odds of you achieving that goal in the future. It’s a very “carpe diem” type of attitude. Hip-Hop – And Wealth (8:51) Expressing the law of supply and demand slightly differently than your Economics professor may have, KRS-ONE speaks on the fact that in order to achieve wealth, a person must have marketable skills. Regardless of whether the person is an emcee, doctor, lawyer, etc, the key to achieving financial stability is to make sure that you are proficient in your trade. Then you’ll be “running from the money.” Hip-Hop – And Health (4:35) Maintaining good health is important to everyone regardless of race or creed, and KRS puts his audience on the road to good health by sharing some gems about proper nutrition. He implores the crowd to have control over their senses when choosing what to eat and not simply attack food because it tastes good. The key to a good diet is to understand food the same way your digestive system does; as chemicals. The principle is that if you look at food as chemical compounds or drugs, you’ll be much more apt to select the foods that will be most beneficial to your body. Hip-Hop – The Refinitions (5:23) Appropriately, the CD ends with KRS giving the exact definitions for each of the elements of Hip-Hop. Overall, this is a great lecture CD. Aside from the annoying drum interludes between excerpts, KRS does an excellent job breaking down the true essence of Hip-Hop in his speeches. He makes the concepts easy for those who are completely new to culture to digest without alienating the experienced Hip-Hoppers. It would have been nice if the Teacher could have gone into greater detail on each of the subjects, but since this is apparently only one volume in what could be an extensive series, perhaps he will add more depth with future installments. Unfortunately, this CD is not available for widespread release at outlets like Tower Records or CDNow.com, but for those interested in learning more about Hip-Hop as a culture can obtain one of these at any of KRS-ONE’s concerts, or get one online from the Temple of Hip-Hop’s online retailer at this address: http://gallery.bcentral.com/Gallery/ProductDetails.aspx?GID=4723336&PID=862994&page=1&sortOrder=0 ----------------------------------- This Editorial is part of the Hip-Hop Appreciation Week Write-Off hosted by me. The purpose of HHAW is to help decriminalize Hip-Hop's current public image and to promote the true unity of the culture so that Hip-Hoppers may form a "common spirit" amongst each other. In keeping with the theme for Hip-Hop Appreciation Week, Gratitude, the writers are encouraged to give thanks to God, all people, places, things, and events, that have assisted their self improvement and sustained peace. For more thoughts and views on Hip-Hop, read the reviews and editorials from these other talented participants: LessThanNick1 Roheblius MagnumForce cletta1201 ekidd911 tigger500 DVON paulyoungotti gamblinfamily  |
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