The History of Hip Hop Dance Culture
Hip hop dance culture grew from New York street dancing staged by DJs and MCs. The earliest known use of the term "hip hop" was in 1974 by MC "Love Bug" Starski. A string of popular hip hop songs in the 1980s pushed the music into the mainstream as breakdancing became a widespread craze along with popping and locking then clowning and krumping in the nineties. The original purpose of hop hop was to replace ghetto violence with community education and dancing.
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DJ Kool Herc
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The term "break beats" was coined in 1973 by DJ Kool Herc of the Bronx. Throughout the 1970s he threw dance parties at his house in which he was the DJ and his dancers were called "b-boys" and "b-girls" with "b" standing for "break." He extended instrumental breaks in songs by using the same record on two turntables and "looping" the break sections together.
Early Hip Hop
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The first hip hop events were in the African-American neighborhoods of New York in the 1970s. A dance called "uprocking" acted out song lyrics. The original idea featured an MC who talked over funky beats about community issues. Rap was a technique for DJs and MCs to introduce themselves.
Popping and Locking
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Popping, which would become an element of breakdancing, was crafted in the late seventies by Sam Boogaloo, who popularized the dance on the West Coast with his group the Electric Boogaloos. The dance involved robotic pauses. Later, a similar dance called "Locking" was developed in Los Angeles by Don Campbell. These dances to hip hop music inspired dance groups that toured the United States.
Hip Hop Hits
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The first hip hop hits to appear on the American pop charts included "Rapper's Delight" by Sugar Hill Gang in 1979, "Double Dutch Bus" by Frankie Smith in 1981 and "Rapture" by Blondie, which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981. Early hip hop artists included Afrika Bambaataa, Curtis Blow and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. "Walk This Way" by Run-DMC and Aerosmith in 1986 brought rap and rock audiences together.
Hip Hop Dances
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Breakdancing became a popular trend in the mid-1980s. A popular song celebrating the dance was "Breakin...There's No Stopping Us'" by Ollie and Jerry in 1984. The dance involved people spinning on their heads and creating wave-like appearances with body movements. Clowning and krumping were hip hop dances that developed in the early 1990s that emphasized high energy through breakdancing, gymnastics and sudden movements responding to music.
Hip Hop Films
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In the 2000s Eminem became the best-selling hip hop artist. His popular movie "Eight Mile" was built on the theme of rappers challenging each other in front of hip hop crowds to see who could gain the most favorable response. Another popular hip hop film called "Rize" documented the development of clowning and krumping in the early 1990s.
Hip Hop Significance
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Hip hop has now been around for over a generation and continues to grow as a culture. In the 2000s hip hop artists Jay-Z, Eminem and 50 Cent have dominated popular music. Legends of hip hop, such as Public Enemy, NWA and 2 Pac were honored by the Rock Hall of Fame in 1999 with the exhibit "Roots, Rhymes and Rage: The Hip Hop Story."
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