Hip Hop Turns 40: You Are The Perfect Verse Over A Tight Beat

You don't know where you are going until you know where you have been.  Well, it appears hip hop is not going anywhere in the foreseeable future.  But, how did hip hop begin?  Was there a singular moment that sparked the culture?  Yes.  On August 11, 1973, exactly 40 years ago today, D.J. Kool Herc hosted the first ever "hip hop" party (the copy of the original flyer for this party is depicted above).  That moment is often cited as the beginning of hip hop.  Although I have not been around since the beginning of hip hop, I have witnessed its widespread growth and I witnessed the golden era of hip hop.  

Despite hip hop's international popularity in 2013, it was not always a popular art form.  In fact, when it was being formed, many people did not want to see it succeed.  Some people believed it was not an art form at all; these naysayers believed it was a fad, with no staying power.  Boy were they wrong; thank God.  Others wrongly categorized hip hop as a form of expression for thugs and criminals.      I suppose the culture's founders should not have been surprised by the push back because people tend to be afraid of things they do not understand.  I think its safe to say that was the case with hip hop.

My personal experience with hip hop began during the early 1990's.  Considering I was born and raised on the East Coast, my first memories of hip hop are from West Coast artists.  In retrospect, however, it makes perfect sense that I was introduced to NWA, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.  The West Coast artists dominated the airwaves around the time I began listening in 1992.  A year or so after my introduction to hip hop, I began hearing more East Coast music and that is when I embraced the culture.

By the time I reached high school in the late 1990's, I was fully immersed in the culture.  Hip hop influenced the way teenagers dressed, spoke and interacted with each other.  Many of the more influential hip hop artists told stories of struggle.  They painted a picture that certain circles did not want to see.  They told stories that people did not want to hear.  The music transcended race, class, and gender.  It enabled a group of otherwise voiceless individuals to have a stage and audience to tell their stories.  That captures the very essence of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and its guarantee of a  Right to Freedom of Speech.

Hip hop is a resilient culture that has endured multiple attacks on its legitimacy and place in the music industry.  40 years later, it is still here, it is still a force to be dealt with and it is still defiant in the faces of critics.  Hip hop captured my attention at a young age and my love for the culture has only grown over the years.

I will end this post with one of my favorite hip hop quotes: "You are the perfect verse over a tight beat."

Peace