As indicated in the dictionary, "Hip hop is a style of popular music of American black and Hispanic origin, characterized by rap with an electronic support". Now, while this may be true, hip-hop is more than a musical genre. It is also an ongoing lifestyle and culture. It's a culture that was born in the streets of 1970s New York from the mixing and mixing of two different musical styles that eventually became a global phenomenon. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once stated, “Music is the universal language of mankind.” This basically means that anyone can speak this language and it doesn't take long to learn it. Hip-hop is a language that speaks to the masses. Although it started here in the United States, traces of hip hop can be found in Europe. For example, in the 1990s hip hop became the sound of Paris. Groups like Assassin and La Fonky Family were just some of the popular French hip-hop groups present in Europe at the time. All this great new sound started in the 70's thanks to a man named DJ Kool Herc. Born Clive Campbell on April 16, 1955 and of Jamaican descent, DJ Kool Herc is known for being the father of hip-hop. He was the eldest of six children, living in Kingston, Jamaica, before emigrating to the Bronx in 1967 at the age of 12. There he would experience his first encounter with "hip-hop". At an early age he was introduced to both American and Jamaican musical styles, from which his sound drew inspiration. His sound incorporated elements of soul, rock, funk, reggae and dancehall and on his sister's birthday he was able to show off his skills and create this new sound that is hip-hop. After his first gig as a deejay for his sister's birthday, he went on to host block parties in the West Bronx at his building at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. He would borrow his father's sound system and, using two copies of the same record, extend the broken beat to spark excitement in partygoers. The hype-men recited rhymes, or as we call it rap, into the microphone to the beat while the parties popped. This new and creative sound helped spark this vast movement called Hip-Hop. Herc's method of breaking eventually led to what we call "breakdancing." Break dancing has been heavily influenced by different dance styles such as salsa, Cuban mambo, jazz dance and by martial arts such as kung-fu and capoeira. The dance involved falling to the ground and rapid leg movements. It also included gestures associated with forms of mock battle and ground movements, including turns and blocks. Breaking up could be seen as a non-violent alternative to gang violence at this time. Different people from all walks of life have gathered to watch two individuals or groups clash against each other, showcasing their athleticism, aptitude, originality and dominance. The goal was to earn respect, not to belittle anyone. Dancing for these individuals was just a form of expression and freedom. Due to the fact that the rhythm was more focused on battle, something called social dances emerged from these parties and dancers. Movements such as the Cabbage patch, the Running man and the snake were just some of the folk dances created in this region. These dances also led to the creation of our new school dances such as Nae-nae, whip, dougie and cat daddy. So as you see, hip-hop dance culture isn't about popularity or causing embarrassment, it's about having fun and creating new relationships. Along with a new dance style, a new fashion trend came among hip-hop individuals inthis moment. Men like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five wore leather jackets and hats with animal prints and fur that gave hip-hop fashion culture an eccentric feel. RUN DMC, on the other hand, has chosen a more sporty approach regarding the clothing style. They wore Adidas tracksuits, shell-toe sneakers, Kangol hats and oversized gold jewelry that was standard for B-boys. Female hip-hop artists of the 1970s during that time also typically wore clothing similar to that of B-boys. During the 1980s and a bit of the 1990s the name “the golden age of hip-hop” emerged. During this period hip-hop was characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence. During this time hip-hop acquired a new sound expressed in favor of darkness or challenging the status quo. Fuck the Police, a song created by Hip-Hop artist NWA, is an example of how hip-hop music has begun to challenge the status quo. “Fuck the police! Coming straight from the underground….A young nigga got it bad 'cause I'm brown” a quote comes from the song, it's a specific example of how the golden age of hip-hop music began to challenge the status quo by emphasizing the injustices against people of color during this time. Black pride was something important to the hip-hop movement during this time. The Black Panthers were emerging, a political organization founded by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in October 1966, which also influenced the sound of hip-hop in this period. The golden age of hip-hop saw some of the most innovative hip-hop music ever made. According to Rolling Stone magazine, "when it seemed like every new single reinvented the genre," which basically meant that with every new song that was released, hip-hop's sound and ultimate impact seemed to change and become something bigger than what it was. . During this time nothing was limited to hip-hop music. New artists were emerging and, as I said before, a new sound was being created. Big hitters like Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, Rakim, and Chuck D, were showing off their phenomenal and innovative lyrical and rapping skills, which were some of the reasons why hip-hop music was so fresh and exciting at the time. moment when hip-hop began to spread globally. In Germany, breakdancing was the first aspect of hip-hop culture to reach the world. While Germany was experimenting with a new style of dance, France and the Philippines witnessed recorded hip-hop for the first time. So, as you can see, hip-hop is not limited to the US online. Many people love and appreciate the beauty of hip-hop. The sound of 1980s hip-hop mainly focused on funk and disco beats that contained an upbeat, catchy base for people to dance to, while in this period hip-hop was characterized by skeletal beats, samples taken from hard rock, P-funk, contemporary jazz, R&B or soul songs and hard rap diss. As we all know, the 90s were times when social consciousness and lyrically talented rappers like Tupac emerged and gangster rap became popular. . However, despite the number of successes and influences that hip-hop music had during that time, it suffered some challenges due to the simple fact that the government did not respect, understand, or want this so-called gangster rap to reach the masses. For this reason, pop radio stations only played non-threatening rap, while black stations only played it at night or on weekends. Within this gangster rap you could find political protest, especially against big hitmen like Tupac. Tupac Amaru Shakur, born Lesane Parish Crooks in Afeni Shakur on June 16 in the year 1971, was a very..