"China’s Uighur minority, who hail from Xinjiang Autonomous Region,
have struggled to retain their traditional culture in the face of
widespread assimilation from the country’s Han majority. As Beijing has
developed its western frontier through resettlement programs, many
Uighurs feel they have become strangers in their own land; for instance,
in Urumqi, the region’s sprawling capital, Uighurs now represent just
12 percent of the city’s population.
But in the city’s poorest districts, some Uighur youth have turned to
a non-traditional outlet for maintaining cultural pride: hip-hop.
Since 2006, this home-grown rap and dance scene has drawn together
thousands of Uighur fans across Xinjiang, and has even managed a feat
the founders didn’t expect to achieve: attracting Han Chinese fans.
Ekrem, aka Zanjir, was the first Uighur rapper and a co-founder of
Six City, Urumqi’s most popular rap collective, for which he now serves
as producer and business manager. It’s a part-time gig. In his spare
time, he moonlights as a software developer, while other members of the
collective drive hospital shuttles or work in traditional Uighur dance
shows to make ends meet."
continue reading here
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
"Nah Son. Get the Fiji, Evian is Gross"
Michael Che on Gentrification
Cultural osmosis works the other way around too
Cultural osmosis works the other way around too
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Beatboxers from around the world
Gathered at the 2009 'Beatbox Battle World Championship' in Berlin
The 2012 Final Battle in Berlin: Skiller (Bulgaria) v. Alem (France)
The 2012 Final Battle in Berlin: Skiller (Bulgaria) v. Alem (France)
Rahzel
Rahzel, the 'Godfather of Noyze', is probably best known for his song 'If Your Mother Only Knew', which debuted as a hidden track in 1999 on his album 'Make the Music 2000'
Friday, October 25, 2013
Doug E. Fresh and the Beatbox
Doug E. Fresh in '86
The classic song 'La Di Da Di' first dropped in 1985
Doug E. Fresh and KRS-One in 2005 on Def Poetry
The classic song 'La Di Da Di' first dropped in 1985
Doug E. Fresh and KRS-One in 2005 on Def Poetry
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Korean-American Rappers
Started a brief search on a few contemporary Korean-American rappers. In part, prompted by a piece that came out on NPR about 'code switching' and Dumbfoundead - an up and coming underground artist. If you can listen to the NPR episode. But taking up the inclination to see what's been going around - I know some of these artists have gone on to Korea and some are working the industry in the States. Most of these songs are a bit old. But a good listen nonetheless.
The styles definitely range and you can definitely see their influences. They've come out of different geographical areas: Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, etc. I'm positive that there are plenty more Korean-American rappers out there but this is what I could find and knew of at the time of this post. I've also skipped Korean-American rappers who've gone to Korea and put in work on the music scene in the 90s and early 2000s. There is one or two Korean-American rappers in the group 'Far East Movement', who have definitely broken into the mainstream - so I'm going to leave them out as they seem to be well-known.
Dumbfoundead
DFD got some recognition on NPR: here
Snacky Chan
Decipher and Manifest
Jupitersciples
FlowSik (from Aziatix)
Jay Park
Shogunna
Gowe
The styles definitely range and you can definitely see their influences. They've come out of different geographical areas: Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, etc. I'm positive that there are plenty more Korean-American rappers out there but this is what I could find and knew of at the time of this post. I've also skipped Korean-American rappers who've gone to Korea and put in work on the music scene in the 90s and early 2000s. There is one or two Korean-American rappers in the group 'Far East Movement', who have definitely broken into the mainstream - so I'm going to leave them out as they seem to be well-known.
Dumbfoundead
DFD got some recognition on NPR: here
Snacky Chan
Decipher and Manifest
Jupitersciples
FlowSik (from Aziatix)
Jay Park
Shogunna
Gowe
Monday, October 21, 2013
Women of Korean hip hop
This list is a review of a more contemporary landscape and misses a huge figure in Korean hip hop in general.
Any list of rappers, let alone female rappers, in Korean hip hop has to include 윤미래 aka Tasha (T, Baby T, Lady T, Gemini). The person who made the video above obviously hasn't done his/her homework.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Styles of Dance
I've been thinking about how breakdancing (and other elements of hip hop) - when it first really started to take off in popular media - has been isolated, detached, extracted from the culture in which it originated. The previous post shows a contrast from 1984 to 2012 and how the artform itself has been refined and advanced in a discussion of its own.
Much like the study of cultures, it is possible to look only at the rituals and conduct analysis. Similarly, breakdancing has been separated and launched into its own platform as an art. Spurred by capitalistic motives and corporate desires for profit, breakdancing much like the other elements of hip hop (MCing/rapping, graffiti/street art, DJing) has been commodified and severed from its roots in which they originated. From this severence they have effectively become forms of art in which any body, any culture, can take and turn into their own. This is, on one hand, the beauty of what hip hop has done for the world, but on the other it has deprived the povershed neighborhoods in the boroughs of New York of its riches. Their ideas and cultures have been taken, commodified, capitalized, and stamped with a copyright by corporations while leaving the artists and the places of origin with very little. This is not an unfamiliar tactic. Disney is a classic example.
Despite the banality of vampires, cultures continue to remain creative. And breakdancing is no longer just breakdancing. It has not remained static - although it is easy to maintain that impression. New styles of dance have emerged from within the hip hop culture.
In any documentary or account of hip hop and breakdancing, it would be customary to discuss the origins of the b-boy and b-girl in New York (Bronx). Many of these crews are documented in various early 80s movies and documentaries; you can see an example below with the battle between NYC breakerz and Rock Steady in the movie Beat Street (1984). It would also be necessary to discuss the popping movement that came out of California along with its various styles.
But since then, a variety of other styles have emerged as well. Much has gone un-noticed outside of a momentary surge in media, random whatever television shows and movies, trying to showcase the dynamic styles marinating the streets today. Krumping became noticed with...I forget some dance crew tv show and other dance shows.
So given this background, I thought I'ld post a few videos of the various styles I've come across from random research on the internet. I'm sure I've missed a few styles and this is only an account from my own curiosity and investigation a few years ago. I can't attest to any accuracy of timeline or when it first came out but simply showcase the diversity. I will say that these styles have been out for a while now.
*NOTE: Before the styles below came out, there were several gang related dances with the Crips (C-Walk) and the Bloods (B-Walk), which I won't show here. But from what I understand with these styles, they are writing or tagging (a gang name) with their feet. So with the B-Walk you will see more spins. These styles, I believe, have actually been banned from California clubs due to their gang affiliation and what they represent. A good example of both styles is in the music video by X-Zibit, 'Get Your Walk On'. Also, there are influences from the Harlem Shake (before it became a ridiculous internet meme), which was first exposed to the mainstream with G-Dep's 'Let's Get It' music video
So without further ado:
KRUMP (showcased in the 2005 documentary 'Rize')
And of course Krumping took with several years later as it became showcased on television - and Tight Eyez really became one of the representative figures to have some national exposure.Dude was even on Ellen.
JERK
This style got some exposure through a music video by Audio Push - Teach Me How to Jerk
DOUGIE
This style really took off with Cali Swag District's - Teach Me How to Dougie
And of course, you see a lot of public figures - celebrities, athletes, do the dougie.
HYPHY
TURF
MEMPHIS JOOKIN
Lil Buck went on to do a piece with Yo-Yo Ma:
MEMPHIS BUCKIN
NEW ORLEANS BOUNCE
CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Now I'm sure there are more that have emerged since I did this research. I suppose this is really a taste of how culture can take off into new shapes and innovative forms. Not only does dance become a form of expressing personal identity, geographical and group identity in terms of group boundaries and an expansion to break and disrupt social boundaries by dancing in public. It is always, at a basic level, an expression of creativity and resilient fluidity of culture.
It would be good to see the geographical origins in which dance styles and cultures come from benefit, empowered, and enriched from their creations. It really blows my mind how some of the boroughs of New York, and especially the South Bronx, can remain in such povershed conditions when they created, perhaps, the most capitalized culture and forms of art on a global scale. Shouldn't these areas in which these forms came from benefit from their creativity? I mean, the Bronx should be one of the richest neighborhoods in the world now.
In a way, these forms of dance blur the boundaries of what is "breakdancing". But in my view, I would include them. I don't see "breakdancing" as a static singular form of dance but one that can change and continuously evolve. Quite simply, different styles and ways of expression are coming out; they're grooving to a different break.
Much like the study of cultures, it is possible to look only at the rituals and conduct analysis. Similarly, breakdancing has been separated and launched into its own platform as an art. Spurred by capitalistic motives and corporate desires for profit, breakdancing much like the other elements of hip hop (MCing/rapping, graffiti/street art, DJing) has been commodified and severed from its roots in which they originated. From this severence they have effectively become forms of art in which any body, any culture, can take and turn into their own. This is, on one hand, the beauty of what hip hop has done for the world, but on the other it has deprived the povershed neighborhoods in the boroughs of New York of its riches. Their ideas and cultures have been taken, commodified, capitalized, and stamped with a copyright by corporations while leaving the artists and the places of origin with very little. This is not an unfamiliar tactic. Disney is a classic example.
Despite the banality of vampires, cultures continue to remain creative. And breakdancing is no longer just breakdancing. It has not remained static - although it is easy to maintain that impression. New styles of dance have emerged from within the hip hop culture.
In any documentary or account of hip hop and breakdancing, it would be customary to discuss the origins of the b-boy and b-girl in New York (Bronx). Many of these crews are documented in various early 80s movies and documentaries; you can see an example below with the battle between NYC breakerz and Rock Steady in the movie Beat Street (1984). It would also be necessary to discuss the popping movement that came out of California along with its various styles.
But since then, a variety of other styles have emerged as well. Much has gone un-noticed outside of a momentary surge in media, random whatever television shows and movies, trying to showcase the dynamic styles marinating the streets today. Krumping became noticed with...I forget some dance crew tv show and other dance shows.
So given this background, I thought I'ld post a few videos of the various styles I've come across from random research on the internet. I'm sure I've missed a few styles and this is only an account from my own curiosity and investigation a few years ago. I can't attest to any accuracy of timeline or when it first came out but simply showcase the diversity. I will say that these styles have been out for a while now.
*NOTE: Before the styles below came out, there were several gang related dances with the Crips (C-Walk) and the Bloods (B-Walk), which I won't show here. But from what I understand with these styles, they are writing or tagging (a gang name) with their feet. So with the B-Walk you will see more spins. These styles, I believe, have actually been banned from California clubs due to their gang affiliation and what they represent. A good example of both styles is in the music video by X-Zibit, 'Get Your Walk On'. Also, there are influences from the Harlem Shake (before it became a ridiculous internet meme), which was first exposed to the mainstream with G-Dep's 'Let's Get It' music video
So without further ado:
KRUMP (showcased in the 2005 documentary 'Rize')
And of course Krumping took with several years later as it became showcased on television - and Tight Eyez really became one of the representative figures to have some national exposure.Dude was even on Ellen.
JERK
This style got some exposure through a music video by Audio Push - Teach Me How to Jerk
DOUGIE
This style really took off with Cali Swag District's - Teach Me How to Dougie
And of course, you see a lot of public figures - celebrities, athletes, do the dougie.
HYPHY
TURF
MEMPHIS JOOKIN
Lil Buck went on to do a piece with Yo-Yo Ma:
MEMPHIS BUCKIN
NEW ORLEANS BOUNCE
CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Now I'm sure there are more that have emerged since I did this research. I suppose this is really a taste of how culture can take off into new shapes and innovative forms. Not only does dance become a form of expressing personal identity, geographical and group identity in terms of group boundaries and an expansion to break and disrupt social boundaries by dancing in public. It is always, at a basic level, an expression of creativity and resilient fluidity of culture.
It would be good to see the geographical origins in which dance styles and cultures come from benefit, empowered, and enriched from their creations. It really blows my mind how some of the boroughs of New York, and especially the South Bronx, can remain in such povershed conditions when they created, perhaps, the most capitalized culture and forms of art on a global scale. Shouldn't these areas in which these forms came from benefit from their creativity? I mean, the Bronx should be one of the richest neighborhoods in the world now.
In a way, these forms of dance blur the boundaries of what is "breakdancing". But in my view, I would include them. I don't see "breakdancing" as a static singular form of dance but one that can change and continuously evolve. Quite simply, different styles and ways of expression are coming out; they're grooving to a different break.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Tupac (2Pac) and Black Jesuz
In Dr. Daniel Hodge's paper:
'No Church in the Wild: An Ontology of Hip Hop's Socio-Religious Discourse in Tupac's "Black Jesuz"'
He states, "The Church,as an institution, for Tupac and The Outlawz, is no different. In their estimation, if the cops beat you, schools lie to you, and systems fail you, why would the Church be any different?"
...
Quoting, African American studies and Hip Hop Scholar, Michael Eric Dyson:
"Black Jesus for Tupac meant for him that figure that identifies with the hurt, the downtrodden, and the downfallen. The Black Jesus is a new figure; both literally within the literary traditions of black response to suffering, but also religious responses to suffering. If this is the Black Jesus of history, it is the Jesus that has never been talked about and most people who talk about Jesus would never recognize."
I can't attest to what most people who talk about Jesus understand about Jesus but I think both Hodge and Dyson are poignant to point out the push Tupac was trying to make in his appeal to "Black Jesuz"
Dyson talks more here:
Black Jesuz (1999)
Now that I'm on a Tupac tip, there are quite a few songs in which Tupac utilizes religious themes to make social and political points and commentary:
Holler if ya hear me (1993)
So Many Tears (1995)
I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto (Posthumous;1997)
Only God Can Judge Me (1996)
Ghetto Gospel (2004)
And of course there are more by Tupac that plays on this: Hail Mary, Lord Knows, Death around the corner, Heaven ain't hard to find, and more.
'No Church in the Wild: An Ontology of Hip Hop's Socio-Religious Discourse in Tupac's "Black Jesuz"'
He states, "The Church,as an institution, for Tupac and The Outlawz, is no different. In their estimation, if the cops beat you, schools lie to you, and systems fail you, why would the Church be any different?"
...
Quoting, African American studies and Hip Hop Scholar, Michael Eric Dyson:
"Black Jesus for Tupac meant for him that figure that identifies with the hurt, the downtrodden, and the downfallen. The Black Jesus is a new figure; both literally within the literary traditions of black response to suffering, but also religious responses to suffering. If this is the Black Jesus of history, it is the Jesus that has never been talked about and most people who talk about Jesus would never recognize."
I can't attest to what most people who talk about Jesus understand about Jesus but I think both Hodge and Dyson are poignant to point out the push Tupac was trying to make in his appeal to "Black Jesuz"
Dyson talks more here:
Black Jesuz (1999)
Now that I'm on a Tupac tip, there are quite a few songs in which Tupac utilizes religious themes to make social and political points and commentary:
Holler if ya hear me (1993)
So Many Tears (1995)
I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto (Posthumous;1997)
Only God Can Judge Me (1996)
Ghetto Gospel (2004)
And of course there are more by Tupac that plays on this: Hail Mary, Lord Knows, Death around the corner, Heaven ain't hard to find, and more.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock
Album, 'Planet Rock' was released in 1986
'Renegades of Funk' was released as a single in 1983
Herbie Hancock - Rockit
Featuring Grandmaster DST, who introduced the scratch to a popular audience
First released as a single in 1983
First released as a single in 1983
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
Women of Latin hip hop
"We want to eradicate education as a business, education should be a social right"
*Update (Nov. 6): The students and teachers of Chile are still fighting
In one song on her new album, called Bruja (Witch), Mala boast about turning 33. "I am 33," she raps. "The job of a man cannot be done by a boy." When I meet with her in Mexico City she explains the song. "Today, as a 34 -year-old woman, I have a lot more power than I did when I was 19. I know myself. I know my sexuality. I know my thoughts. And that reflects on my work." She says titled her album Bruja because she wanted to re-appropriate a pejorative. "I like 'witch' because it symbolizes women who have been historically vilified for doing positive or strong things." - NPR article linked below
NPR has a nice piece on the women of latin hip hop: here
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013
Friday, October 4, 2013
"they learn to put barbeque sauce on it"
"Many other shows warrant mentioning here (e.g.
MTV’s “Total Request Live,” “Yo! MTV Raps,” etc). What all of the above
have in common is that their content is driven by the corporations, not
the people. The truth is that “[w]hat we hear, see and read is only a
fraction of what is produced and is owned by an ever-shrinking number of
companies.7
Furthermore, despite their attempts to make these programs seem like cultural traditions (with anniversary and reunion shows, etc), they do not represent or reflect art produced for or by real people. The processes of musical selection and promotion have nothing to do with audience choice, and everything to do with corporate social control and agenda. DMX once said,
“If you feed people dog shit long enough they will learn to put barbeque sauce on it.”
(*emphasis mine)
source
Furthermore, despite their attempts to make these programs seem like cultural traditions (with anniversary and reunion shows, etc), they do not represent or reflect art produced for or by real people. The processes of musical selection and promotion have nothing to do with audience choice, and everything to do with corporate social control and agenda. DMX once said,
“If you feed people dog shit long enough they will learn to put barbeque sauce on it.”
(*emphasis mine)
source
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Painting as Protest
Love this. After an older gentleman painted some stairs, the city went and painted over them - back to the grey color they were before. The people respond by picking up paintbrushes.
http://weburbanist.com/2013/09/29/painting-as-protest-rainbow-stairs-spark-guerilla-reaction/
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
1995 Source Hip-Hop Music Awards
This is now a part of that history,
some might even say pivotal as gangster rap was hitting its stride.
Some material missed from this event:
After the show via 411:
Interview with Common
with Dr. Dre
and the Luniz
Snoop dogg on the 1995 Source Awards in 2013 interview with Sway
The 1995 Source Awards has also been considered to be The Day the Music Died
More on the source awards here
some might even say pivotal as gangster rap was hitting its stride.
Some material missed from this event:
After the show via 411:
Interview with Common
with Dr. Dre
and the Luniz
Snoop dogg on the 1995 Source Awards in 2013 interview with Sway
The 1995 Source Awards has also been considered to be The Day the Music Died
More on the source awards here
Methodology: Cyber-ethnography
With any anthropological account of anything, and any attempted science for that matter, has to include a methodology.
I've waited on this for quite a bit to consider the aim of this blog and how to go about it. In the context of hip-hop, given its history and wide-ranging global influence, much of what goes into an anthropology of hip-hop and its method requires some detailed explanation.
My first inclination was to simply post the diverse expressions of hip-hop culture on this blog. That is, post videos of music, break-dancing, dj-ing, and graffiti as it has taken on new forms of creativity across the world.
However, I don't think that this does an anthropology of hip-hop much justice. Only posting its diverse expressions would simply be scratching the surface. Because I think the history and the geneaology of this culture is important including the sociological context in which it has emerged, an anthropological account requires qualitative accounts, narratives, of those who have been around to see how the culture has changed and evolved. To this end, I've also decided to post interviews that are included in documentaries and as single video clips. Some documentaries provide a Marxist critique of the transition from hip-hop culture to a limited definition of hip-hop restricted to the domains of the rap industry. Others provide a more focused account of a single element like dj-ing or break-dancing.
Within the history of hip-hop, it is also important to note the social phenomena that have stemmed and/or simply associated with it. This includes the influence of gangs on the music industry, the influence of money, rivalries, the influence of drugs and the active criminalization of african-americans as well as latino-americans.
I'm sure more thoughts will arise on this issue of methodology but broadly construed, my aim has been around this idea of a Cyber-Ethnography by which there are now video resources of what happened at particular events, interviews, recordings, and much more that can capture what happened beyond a linguistic narrative account (although I will link to articles that contribute to the discussion as well). This subtracts the limitations of language from the ethnographer and displaces those limitations to the construction of the video material itself. That is, what the producer of that video decides to show. Being aware of this, I will do my best to find material that fills in gaps or try to discuss what's been excluded. This is a perennial problem of method, which is the the construction of putting one and one together; an active exercise in affirming one thing and suppressing another.
So with the idea of cyber-ethnography in mind, I'll continue to post with the aim of compiling material and with time perhaps provide commentary and analyses from my own, albeit limited, perspective.
I've waited on this for quite a bit to consider the aim of this blog and how to go about it. In the context of hip-hop, given its history and wide-ranging global influence, much of what goes into an anthropology of hip-hop and its method requires some detailed explanation.
My first inclination was to simply post the diverse expressions of hip-hop culture on this blog. That is, post videos of music, break-dancing, dj-ing, and graffiti as it has taken on new forms of creativity across the world.
However, I don't think that this does an anthropology of hip-hop much justice. Only posting its diverse expressions would simply be scratching the surface. Because I think the history and the geneaology of this culture is important including the sociological context in which it has emerged, an anthropological account requires qualitative accounts, narratives, of those who have been around to see how the culture has changed and evolved. To this end, I've also decided to post interviews that are included in documentaries and as single video clips. Some documentaries provide a Marxist critique of the transition from hip-hop culture to a limited definition of hip-hop restricted to the domains of the rap industry. Others provide a more focused account of a single element like dj-ing or break-dancing.
Within the history of hip-hop, it is also important to note the social phenomena that have stemmed and/or simply associated with it. This includes the influence of gangs on the music industry, the influence of money, rivalries, the influence of drugs and the active criminalization of african-americans as well as latino-americans.
I'm sure more thoughts will arise on this issue of methodology but broadly construed, my aim has been around this idea of a Cyber-Ethnography by which there are now video resources of what happened at particular events, interviews, recordings, and much more that can capture what happened beyond a linguistic narrative account (although I will link to articles that contribute to the discussion as well). This subtracts the limitations of language from the ethnographer and displaces those limitations to the construction of the video material itself. That is, what the producer of that video decides to show. Being aware of this, I will do my best to find material that fills in gaps or try to discuss what's been excluded. This is a perennial problem of method, which is the the construction of putting one and one together; an active exercise in affirming one thing and suppressing another.
So with the idea of cyber-ethnography in mind, I'll continue to post with the aim of compiling material and with time perhaps provide commentary and analyses from my own, albeit limited, perspective.
Religion and Hip-Hop: 4 Principles of Hip-Hop
Peace
Love
Unity
Having Fun
Watch: What Ever Happened to Hip Hop
One of the more insightful documentaries on Hip-Hop I've seen
One of the more insightful documentaries on Hip-Hop I've seen
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