Rap is something you do, hip-hop is something you live

Matthew Robert Chicoine (scooby@umich.edu)
Mon, 19 Feb 1996 03:11:52 -0500 (EST)

I undertsand somewhat the importance of locating the origin of hip-hop
and whatever, but at this point I'm saying " the shit is universal, why
am I riffing about where it came from? Where's it GOING? " See what I'm
saying here?
And speaking of hip-hop, I really don't understand anybody coming
from a purist stance on this music. Crews say shit like " keep it real,
kid", what does that mean? There is no room for conservative viewpoints
in hip-hop; if this is the case, the shit is dead, straight up. Origins:
individuals tweaking and freaking recorded music in a musical manner,
using words in a musical/rhythmic format, testing the bounds of what we
think of as "proper" music, saying fuck all to people that don't
understand, and deriving material/influence/inspiration from an array of
sources. The geography isn't nearly as important as the motivation and
purpose. Now how has it come from this to what we see on MTV? Its a
fucking formula! Is that real? I sure as hell hope not. What would the
godfather, Afrika Bambaataa, say to a hip-hop purist? He would laugh in
their face.
Just some recurring thoughts. Peace-
Bubblicious

On 19 Feb 1996, araya,juan carlos wrote:

>
> Yeah, if you listen to the early SKA record of that time they were
> definitely inspired by R&B and motown but toasted is Jamaican. Not all is
> U.S.A.-centric.
>
> Juano
>
> ----------
> From: vibes
> To: araya,juan carlos
> Cc: acid-jazz
> Subject: Re: Origins of Rap
> Date: Sunday, February 18, 1996 2:50AM
>
> You know what though, those early Jamaican DJs were, for the most part,
> inspired by Black American R&B radio DJs...
>
> >>From NYC
> >
> >I like to add to "DJ Shadow article from Chris Hilker from SF Weekly"
> e-mail
> >that Rap, the musical form associated with the Hip Hop culture, does not
> >have its origins in NYC as most people believe. They believe wrong. This
> >honor belongs to a tropical island called Jamaica. The Rap form has its
> >origins in Jamaica as toasting which has its origins way back to the late
> >'50s. It was brought to the South Bronx, NYC by Janaican immigrants.
> >Understanding your history is important.
> >
> > Juano
>
> ____________________________________________________________________
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> Paul E. Lopes vibes@inforamp.net Toronto, Canada
>
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>
>
>
>