by Cody Keeble

Created on: June 16, 2009   Last Updated: June 17, 2009

The hip hop cultural movement has brought forth many newer, or changed ways of self expression. Hip Hop started in America and has had a large impact on the American culture itself. The cultural movement has gone through many changes which have reflected on the times of America.

Hip hop started out in the Bronx in New York City, in the 1970s. The hip hop cultural movement was created due to a new highway system that separated the Bronx from the rest of the city. The neighborhood was mostly African-American and Puerto Rican then, and the people created their own ways of self expression because they felt alienated from the rest of the city. They came up with hip hop, containing four main elements: DJing, MCing, graffiti art, and break dancing. With the four main parts of the culture the neighborhood was now very distinct from the rest of the city in a way they were proud of.

DJing is when a person controls the music played at an event. They usually mix the tracks and create remixes that are faster paced and easier to dance to. There isn't much talking or verbal input from the DJ. MCing is very similar; a person controls the music played and mixes songs, but the MC puts more of his or her own words into the mix of things. They help control the mood of the crowd with their words as well as the music. Graffiti is a form of self expression where the person, or people, often use spray paint to make illustrations or pictures on public buildings and property. At the time when graffiti was created in the 70s, the pictures were not explicit, but beautiful works of art. Break dancing is when a person dances, spending a majority of their time on the ground, and uses their body to make a statement about their abilities. Break dancing often involved dance-offs.

Another main component of hip hop is the experimentation with new forms of self expression. People are always trying new things, and because of the experimentation, there is a constant change of styles in the music and dancing. The need for new ways of self-expression was in part the biggest reason for creating the culture.

During the late 80s and the 90s, hip hop created a new world. With a mix of the Italian Mafia and hip hop, a world of drugs and violence was adopted. Many people supporting the hip hop lifestyle also supported the crime and gang scene as well. Hip hop took the dark turn, and many things had become a part of hip hop. Mainly gangs were founded and became bigger. Gang violence and drug selling became huge in the 90s. Luckily, today many of those problems have become a little less of a threat, and hip hop has been able to return to the way of different self expression with all its beauty and brilliance.

The way America is shaped now, the music we listen to, the way we live our lives, and the things we like have all been influenced because of the hip hop culture. Hip hop may be the only all American culture there is, and many people adopt it as their way of life. With the changing ways of hip hop, the American culture is also in a constant change. Our country's culture has been greatly effected because of hip hop, and how hip hop effected the lives of so many people living in the United States during the times when hip hop was created and today.

Learn more about this author, Cody Keeble.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.