by Digs Daily

Created on: August 10, 2009   Last Updated: August 11, 2009

Born out of the slums of Bronx, New York, the earliest hip hop gatherings date back to the 1970's. Then, in its most natural state, hip hop was designed to promote peace and unify the people of this impoverished community. DJs like Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa would rock community parties with no more than two turntables and a microphone. Herc, because of his Jamaican descent, would use massive speakers that closely resembled those used by Jamaican sound systems. A Jamaican sound system is simply another term for a collective of DJ's. The Jamaican sound systems and hip hop parties both served similar purposes, and thus a relationship between hip hop and reggae music was born.

In the beginning, DJ's spun disco records that contained extended beats. The DJ would flip back and forth between two records of the same type, which provided a makeshift beat for the MC to rap to. This creation was directly extracted from hip hop culture, and became known as rap music. Many within the hip hop community feel Disco music sucks, but the earliest form of rap music was based heavily upon disco music.

Hip Hop is a culture that has never accepted mediocrity. However, if one were to judge by the list of top ten hits, it seems its fans now accept it willingly. There is no coincidence that while many new rappers find it easy to make a hit record and enjoy the lavish life, many also find themselves irrelevant after one or two albums. Lyrical content, believable style that represents one's true life and creativity are the life preservers for hip hop culture and rap music.

As the culture pulls further away from its foundation, the music has evolved into something that many old school patrons have a hard time recognizing. No longer a haven for sampling and scratching, emerging DJ's and producers have gotten savvy in figuring out ways to incorporate other styles into the genre. Despite being very resourceful, if one were to ask these same producers who made songs like "Roxanne, Roxanne", "The Bridge Is Over" or "The Message", you might find yourself disappointed. If you don't know where you've been, how on earth will you know where to go?

Legendary Bronx MC, KRS-One, is an excellent point of reference when attempting to validate the current relationship between rap and hip hop culture. Over the years leading to rap music's demise, when asked by various media outlets and publications, on more than one occasion the teacher has clarified that "rap

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