II.  History of Hip-Hop
  Hip-hop can’t be defined by one word, it is made up of different things, it is the big
picture.  Originally hip-hop started in the Bronx, New York in the late 70’s.  People used
to dance to James Brown and other funk music.  Hip-hop is just an evolved form of other
music like, like funk and disco. Withing hip-hop there is four elements:  mc’ing,
breakdancing, graffiti, and dj’ing.  The youngsters in the Bronx just added their own twist
to all of the other music they heard.  It’s kind of like that game “telephone.”  It just
changes with each person’s perception of it.  That is how mc’ing came along.  In the
late 70’s.
 1.  Crews
 Crews are just a group of people that join together and make up a name that makes
them seem superior or one that seems “cool.”  Crews were made so the people can
“battle” other crews so they can boost their reputation and become more famous in their
area.  In the crews, the members consist of all the elements of hip-hop, some members
have more than one talent, meaning they can dj and breakdance, or can rap and dj, etc.
The main idea is to become more famous.  The most popular crew that is probably the
oldest is the Rocksteady crew.  It has become famous all around the world.
 
III.   Mc’ing/Rapping
  Mc’ing is just rapping.  This people used to rap at parties, all they would do is
speak of how they are the best.  They would boast and brag basically.  That was how they
did it in the late 70’s and early 80’s.  Now in the 90’s they rap about how much money
they have and about all the things they have.  It’s pretty much the same as back then just
nowadays it’s a little more violent with more bad words.
 1.  Battling
 In the early 80’s the rappers would also “battle” (this is a term often used in
hip-hop, it is where a person(s) and another person(s) try to outdo each other.  Whether it
be breaking, rapping, dj’ing, or graffiti.)  This is to make one look better, in having a better
reputation and more respect.  Whoever gets more “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd.  In
the rapping battles, the rappers would put the other person down.  They would talk about
how the other person’s neighborhood was worse then their own, or how they would hurt
them, and things of that sort.  Usually the things said in the battle weren’t taken to heart
and was done mostly all in good fun.
 2.  Rapping in the 90’s
 Now in 90’s rap has gotten more violent and things seem to have been taken to
heart.  Gangster rap has developed, and this rap is what the name is, gangsters rapping.
They talk about other gangs and drugs and other things that most people don’t approve of.
“Popular "gangster rap" music is directly responsible for violence, drug use, and
misogynistic actions toward women”  (Rap)  A lot of people actually do listen to gangster
rap and like it though.
3.  Beat Boxing
 On a different note, another old and acquired talent is beat boxing.  Beat boxing
isn’t fighting it is when a person makes a “beat” with his mouth.  The beat is usually the
base (base being the part of the song with the boom, boom-boom) part of the song.  It is
done by pushing air out of your own mouth and making your lips vibrate to make a kind
of deep sound.  There are many other noises you can make to make the song more
interesting and original.

IV.  Graffiti/Tagging
 First off, writing graffiti is illegal (which I know you know, but I had to put that).
All tagging is, is writing graffiti on whatever surface pleases that person.  Graffiti was
done almost like the battling part of mc’ing.  It basically marks that person’s territory
though.  Also, it is done to boost ones reputation.  Some taggers write their crew or just
their nickname.  Taggers also have crews, their crews just write the first letter of each
word in the name of their crew and write their own nickname.  Some taggers write their
name real fancy in block letters and make the writing look real artistic.  And some taggers
just write it in I guess you could call it a different font.  I think some of the graffiti actually
looks nice.  Yes I know it’s wrong and the city has to pay money to have it removed, but it
looks very creative and to me, impressive.

V.  B-boying/Breaking
 This part of hip-hop is the big part of my life.  This I practice on a weekend basis
and it’s real fun, challenging, and all out a good workout.  B-boying is just breakdancing.
Breakdancing consists of mainly of two things.  Ones own style and your acrobatic ability.
 1.  History
 Breaking has changed since it came out during James Brown “Good Foot”.  Now
they have power moves and tougher moves.  Although breaking has been known to come
from James Brown.  “In 1969, when James Brown was getting down with his big hit "Get
on the Good Foot" the Hustle was the big dance style of the day. If you've ever seen
JamesBrown live in concert or on TV, then you know he can really get down. And when
he preformed his hit, he did the kind of dance you'd expect James Brown to do. High
Energy. This almost acrobatic dance was appropriately enough known as the lot of kids
around New York City.”  (Breaking)  In the Bronx the best breakers would battle from
opposing gangs, instead of fighting.  They would battle over turf or because someone
looked at another person the wrong way, or whatever they thought of at the time.  Soon
the breakers devoted most of their time to perfecting their form and gaining more speed.
A man that went by “Afrika Bambaataa” looked at breakdancing as a way to achieve
something and didn’t want it to die out.  Afrika Bambaataa is a legendary D.J. that is
responsible for most of breakdancing’s growth.  In 1977 breakdancing died out due to the
song “Freak Out” by the Shieks, but it came back in about 1979 and early 1980 when a
breakdancing crew came out, the Rocksteady Crew.  They won lots of contests battles and
got to breakdance at clubs, like the Ritzs and the Mudd Club.  Rocksteady came out with
the power moves, like the windmill and headspins and other moves of that sort (I’ll explain
the moves later).  In 1981, the movie “Wild Style” came out.  It was a movie that showed
the elements in hip-hop.  The creator asked Rocksteady Crew to perform in this movie.
This got them a lot of publicity and they were the preeminent breakdance crew and the
new style break got more popular and was “in” again.  Ever since then breaking has just
evolved with new moves and for people like me is a fun way of life.  Lastly the term
b-boy, “this means break-boy, Dj Cool Herc coined this term for the breakers that would
come out and break to certain beats” (Summit)
 1.  Moves
 Breaking moves are practiced vigorously and perfected by breakers.  The moves
were taken from many different styles of dancing and fighting and even gymnastics.  One
fighting style is Capoiera, and breakers take some dance moves from jazz dances even.
Mostly, besides seeing other breakers, breakers got moves from capoiera and gymnastics.
The dancers still use the old style breaking of floorwork.  Breakers use power moves and
floorwork, which I do.  I will explain these moves from experience and from word of
mouth and many months of practicing and internet help.
  a.  Windmill
 This move is a power move and is done to impress the crowd, like all power
moves.  It can be done in a combo, from one move to this one, or it can just be pulled off
whenever they want.  What this move looks like is rolling from back to hands and back to
his back with the legs spread.  The legs stay spread the whole time and move in a circle.
There a many variations of the windmill.  One can do it with no hands, hands are place
like he/she is hugging his/herself.  The windmill can be done with hands covering the
crotch, called nutcrackers, or your hands behind your back, called handcuffs.  This didn’t
come out until the early 80’s with the Rocksteady Crew.
  b.  Footwork/Styles/Floorwork
 These are all the same thing but the only same thing is the six-step.  To do this the
right (or left leg, but I will explain this way) leg sweeps across the floor to the left while
you are in a crouched position, it stops just left of you, then the left leg takes a step back,
just basically moving it out of the way for the right leg which leaves the floor from the first
postion and parallel to the left leg so you are in a push up position with legs spread about a
foot and a half, then the left goes under the right leg that is exactly right of you, then the
right leg goes over the left about 8 inches in front of the left, then the left leg goes back
under you so you can start over from the crouch position.  Styles are not only the six-step
it consists of the persons own personal style and way of showing off, without looking
sloppy and making a fool of himself.  This came from the old style breaking from the
70’s.
  c.  Flares
 This is another power move.  It was taken from gymnastics.  The body swings like
a pendulum with the hands supporting the body.  The legs move in a circular motion in
front of the body, the left (or right if going the other way, this is counter-clockwise) leg
moves up and the right leg sweeps under to move the bottom of your body to the back in a
push up position with only the hands on the floor, then the right leg moves up and the left
leg sweeps under moving back to the first postion.  The secret to this move is to push the
hips up and out to keep your momentum going.  I haven’t gotten this move down perfectly
yet and I’ve been practicing it for about a year on and off.
  d.  Headspins
 This move is yet another power move and it is what the move says it is, spinning
on your head in a vertical body position.  The hands support the body at first so you don’t
fall and the right leg is in front of you and the left leg is at a little less than a 90 degree
angle towards your back.  The right leg then swings out and with your hands and hip
muscle you whip your body in the direction you swung your leg and you catch yourself
with your hands back to the first postion but without slowing down your legs.  When you
swing your leg and catch your self and let go again is called a “tap”.  Swinging your legs
gives you momentum so eventually you can just let go and spin freely and do whatever
pose pleases you or that you can pull off.  I’ve only pulled off a tap once, I don’t practice
this often, it takes a lot energy and I get a headache, due to the blood rushing to my head.
  e.  Turtles/Floats
 These are the same things, but many variations are done.  Turtles is a move where
your hands support you body with your elbows giving you body a balance point and
giving you a center of gravity.  Your legs are bent and spread a little.  You then move
your left hand to the left at about 7 o’clock and your body rotates and your right hand just
follows you body to keep you balanced and you start over but keep moving in a circle.
The other variations are doing this with your legs straight and spread, or carousels, which
are turtles with your legs straight and together.  Another variation is the cricket, this move
you support yourself on one hand and the opposite hand pushes you in a circular motion
and when your wrist can’t spin anymore you push off using your legs by popping them up
and pushing your hands so you can get air.  I may have missed some but these are pretty
basic and variations come out sometimes.  I can actually do turtles and this is a basic move
that should be learned or at least able to support yourself on your hands in these postions
for some period of time to learn other moves.
  f.  1990’s/2000’s
 This move is hard and I haven’t learned it completely yet.  It looks like a handstand
but spinning on one hand, that is a 1990 or 90, same thing.  A 2000 is the same except
your free hand is place on top of the hand that is placed as the spinning hand.  When you
spin you spin in one spot vertically.  To do this you must be able to do a handstand but
you also have to have good balance, I can’t explain the physics of this move though.
There is two ways to start off this move from just standing up, one is to go into a
handstand and place whichever hand pleases you, we’ll say the left, you put it with the
fingers facing at about 8 o’clock and you whip your legs counter clockwise and pushing
off with your right hand.  The other way to start is pretty much the same, you just put your
hand at 8 o’clock but you must place your right hand down facing left and at the same
time your right or left leg ,whichever is easier for you, moves up and the your opposite leg
goes up just as your left hand is placed and you start off with some spin, but you whip
your legs for extra spin.
  g.  Halos
 This move is very difficult and I will let someone else explain.  “The best way to
start halos is of course out of a windmill, being that halos are basically windmills without
your back. It's a little more difficult to learn halos without the windmill, because you won't
have any momentum. These instructions are for spinning counterclockwise.

1) Do a single windmill and catch yourself on your hands like you normally would do to
set up for the next windmill, with your left hand tucked into your left hip and your right
hand to the side, and rest the left side of your head on the floor.
2) Push your body up with both hands so that you are in sort of a diagonal headstand, and
at the same time push with your right hand like you would for a handglide. This maneuver
is called a headglide or an Icey Ice. Your legs should be automatically wound up to whip
your body around, without you actually thinking about it.
Tip -- it's a good thing to practice a headglide, without the spin, out of a single windmill
before going on to halos. Just windmill, catch, push sideways (but not up), and attempt to
spin on one hand while the side of your head glides on the floor. Wear a beanie or grow an
afro.
3) At the same time as #2, unwind your legs by throwing your right leg up first, then
immediately throw your left leg up and around your right leg in a circular motion. #s 2
and 3 will be done all at once, very quickly. Remember, this is basically a windmill
motion on your head, so think of it that way while you're doing it. Make sure you keep
your legs split, as they have a tendency to come together, causing your body to drill.
4. You are going to let go of the floor with your hands when you start the headglide, one
hand at a time. First the right hand lets go, but not until after you've initiated the glide and
begun to turn over on your head, then the left, but the left hand should stay on the ground
until you have spun around to the point where the left hand is forced to leave the ground.
This should be automatic also. You then need to whip your shoulders around in a
headspin-type motion after letting go and while your legs are swinging around as
mentioned in #3, then you need to catch the floor first with your right hand before you
complete the full 360 degree spin, then with the left hand, and your left hip should come to
rest right back on your left elbow. From here you should be able to set up for another spin,
by winding up your legs all over again.  Keep in mind that you must have a strong neck
for halos, and your windmills should be pretty advanced. It's also good to warm up and
stretch out your shoulders before practicing halos, because the rotator cuff is very sensitive
and can be injured very easily from being twisted in directions that it's not supposed to go.
The wrists, fingers, elbows, neck, and cranium are also at risk from doing this move.
Headspins are NOT a requirement for halos, as is somewhat commonly believed, but
being able to headspin doesn't hurt, because the more moves you have down pat, the more
coordinated your body will be, and power moves are ALL about total body coordination.”
(Kujo)  I can’t do this move at all, so I can’t say much.
  h.  Uprock
 An uprock is dancing against someone else which looks like they are fighting.
This is not as known and isn’t practiced as much as breakdancing but is still part of and
known as part of hip-hop.  Personally I don’t practice this at all, I don’t really like it, but I
do respect it, meaning I don’t put it down and accept it as part of hip-hop.  The uprock
goes back to the early 70’s and what you do is pretend fight just using your imagination.
“I hit you with a bat and you go flying” or something to that affect.  It’s not violent at all
and like other hip-hop battles is done all in good fun.
  i.  Toprock
 The toprock is done by all breakdancers, this shows ones dancing talent and own
style.  You just dance around as a type of warm up.  The basic dance is your right leg
goes in front of your left then back to it’s original position and then your left leg moves in
front of your right leg and back, and so on.  Like styles, this has to have your own style to
it.
  j.  handglide
 This move is the move that almost every breaker learns first.  You spin one your
hand in a circle in one spot with your hand on the floor and elbow being placed near your
belly button.  It is very basic and very easy and doesn’t usually get any praise.  Sorry.
  k.  Freezes/Poses
 These are done after your run of styles and/or power moves.  A freeze and pose
are the same thing.  A freeze/pose is when you just stop suddenly or jump into a position
that is looks very uncomfortable, you hold it for a couple of seconds.  That is about it for
this move.

VI  Popping/Locking
 Popping and locking are actually two different things.  I will explain later on.
They are both ways of expression for the dancer and ways of getting respect and of having
fun.  Poppers and lockers are fun to watch, because they mimic things and make
themselves look unreal.
 1.  History
 Popping is believed to originated in Oakland, CA.  Some kids in Oakland. saw
mimes and James Brown and they imitated them.  They acted like robots and did the
moonwalk and various other things that seemed only done in the movies or by cartoon
characters.  They called these dances the boogaloo.  Locking occurred the same way, just
imitating things and adding a twist of their own.
 2.  Different styles
 There are two different styles of this type of dance it is popping and locking.
Poppping is more of and imaginary character thing and locking is more of a fast motion
dance that is done with different hand placements to make shapes or what have you.
  a.  Popping
 Like I said before popping is an imaginary fun looking dance that is done standing
up, usually.  The popper imitates a motion frame by frame, or make a wave motion that
looks like it is surging through his body.  “Popping is an art form consisting of floating,
ticking, wave movements, and mimickery, combined, separate, or pieced together,
giving a cartoonist or robotic illusion while dancing. From creating visual effects like
frame-by-frame motion to appearing as though you hover above the ground on a pillow of
air, popping has the potential to be as technically difficult as any other style of dance.”
(popping)
  b.  Locking
 Locking is actually quite different, it is a fast motion.  The hands move around
making boxes or just making you dizzy as they fly around and spin (no they don’t move
around like some drunk fools) it is well thought out and the moves are usually the similar
to another lockers, sadly.  Locking isn’t my area of expertise and information on this
wasn’t clear.

VII  Dj’ing
 The Dj doesn’t need much explanation.  Though the dj isn’t as well known as
rappers or breakers, they are the ones that deserve a lot of respect, they are the ones that
supply the beats for all of the elements of hip-hop, except for maybe taggers.  Some dj
don’t just spin records for rappers, dj mix songs at clubs and other things without people
rapping to them.  Dj’s do a thing called scratching.  This is when they get the record that is
already on the turntable and push it the oppostie way causing the song to go back to a
certain spot and at the same time make a scratching noise.  The noise isn’t like scratching
your nails on the chalkboard either.  It is a neat noise and some dj’s do this very well.
Dj’s also do other tricks like make a sentance repeat itself or have a different beat to a
certain song.  Many things can be done and the possibilities are many.

VII  Conclusion
 In closing, I hope this essay helped you get a better understanding of the hip-hop
culture and the elements within this unique culture.  Hip-hop is thing that has had a
positive impact on my life and is a very fun thing. Lastly, I plan on recording some
practice sessions that occur between my friends and me.  I will show this video to the
panel.

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