Wecan find hip-hop everywhere we go, from streets to shopping mall, from Brazilto France and even Japan have their own hip-hop culture. Where does hip-hopcome from?Hip-hop music also calledrap music, is one of the popular music genre developed in the United States inworldwide. It consists of strong rhythm and usually come with rapping.

HistoryCenturies ago, in WestAfrica, traditional storytellers played musical instruments while they weretelling stories. When this tradition traveled from West Africa to the USA, itdeveloped into different musical styles. For example, blues and jazz. These stylesall started in poor African-American areas. And in the 1970s, there were manypoor areas in New York.

There wasn’t any money for music lessons in schools, sokids made their own music. African teenagers and DJ here played their recordsoutside in the streets.OnAugust 11, 1973, a DJ named Kool Herc threw a birthday party for his sister inthe Boogie Down Bronx.

Instead of playing a full song, he played in breaks,sections where he found out the people would went high: “I was noticing peopleused to wait for particular parts of the record to dance, maybe to do their specialtymoves.” Using two turntables, he extended the instrumental breaks, allowingpeople to dance longer, a dancing style that came to be known as breaking. Nextcame to the MC, or the master of ceremony, who added rhymes over the beats toget the party going and flowing.

Since then, Hip-Hop culture was born and raised.In the years since DJ Kool Herc’s first party, hip-hop culturehas become a major force across music, dance, art, fashion, and whole lot more.Hip-Hopas a cultureHip-Hop as a culture, ismore than music. In 1982, hip-hop group “Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five”release a song called “The message”, which is the first outstanding hip-hop songthat deliver social commentary rather than the self-congratulatory boasting orparty chants of earlier hip-hop. Over the past three decades, Hip Hop hasinfluenced and boosted the United States, passing on from generation togeneration and providing a voice to a group of people trying to deliver themessage. Opponents of hip-hop culture believe that the music is intrinsicallyaggressive and promotes social rebellion – yet the provocative lyrics do notdeny that hip-hop is the vocal outlet of many in the United States. Hip Hopprovides a platform for MCs and rappers to express their views on thedecades-long treatment of society, government and African Americans in theUnited States.

This way out is crucial to the revitalization of the blackcommunity and benefit to the entire community. Although Hip Hop is popularin the United States, there is still a strong voice that Hip Hop stands forsocial subversion, aggression, vulgarity, blasphemy and more. One argument isthat the hip-hop community is means of combating social upheaval rather than acredible method of productive social restraint. This argument attempts toundermine the intentions of the hip-hop and its effects. There are manyarguments against hip-hop. However they still cannot stop the trends of Hip-Hopas a cultural affectation, especially in black and other marginalized community.

Music, not only hip-hop music, in some situation, are not just entertainmenttools but also powerful technique that can be used to arise social awareness.Music reveal trends, value, social issues at the time, and inspiring people forthe good desire. Therefore, Hip-hop music, in this case, become a socialrevolution of marginalized groups that expose the social conflict at that timesuch as poverty, discrimination and disempowerment… “Traditionally oppressedgroups are able to use the music to convey their plight and circumstances, andin that way rebel against both overtly and covertly oppressiveconventionalities within that society.”(Kathleen 2016)