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HISTORY
 As
we complete the third decade of what has been decided "hip-hop
culture," much has yet to be explored about its roots,
history, and essence. Deciphering theories from facts is a
gradual, endless process since many resources are scattered,
leaving missing links in history. Nevertheless, it is safe
to say that there are authentic facts, proven by sound evidence,
regarding "hip-hop" history.
In order to properly report the history of hip-hop dance
forms, you must journey both inside and outside of New York
City. Although dance forms associated with hip-hop did develop
in New York City, half of them (i.e. popping and locking)
originated and developed on the west coast as part of a different
cultural movement. Much of the media coverage in the 1980s
grouped these dance forms together with New York's native
dance forms (b-boying/girling and Brooklyn up rocking), labeling
them all "break dancing." As a result, the west
coast "funk" culture and movement were overlooked
and underrated as the public ignorantly credited "hip-hop"
as the father of the funk dance forms. This is only one example
of misinformation that undermines the individuality of each
dance form, as well as their origins and make-up.
In the early 1970s, the culture known today as "hip-hop"
was forming in New York City's ghettos. Each element of this
culture had it's own history contributing to the development
of a cultural movement. The culture was identified in the
early 1980s when DJ Afrika Bambaataa named the urban movement
"hip-hop." The words, "hip-hop," were
originally used by MCs as part of a scat style of rhyming,
for example: "Hip-Hop ya'll and ya don't stop, rock on,
till the break of dawn."
At about the same time, certain slang words also became titles
of the dance forms, such as "rockin'" and "breakin',"
used commonly, to describe actions with great impact. Just
as one could rock dance floor, one could rock a basketball
game. The term "break” had more than one use in
the 70s. It was often used as a reaction to an insult, for
example, "Why are you breakin' on me?" Break was
also the section on a musical recording where the rhythms
were most aggressive. The dancers anticipated and reacted
to these breaks with their most impressive moves.
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