Building on the spatial theories of Murray Forman and Cheryl Keyes, special attention is given to how Afrika Bambaataa attempted to move hip-hop from street consciousness to Afrocentric empowerment.Woven throughout the narrative of this chapter is the theme of tension between knowledge and the commercial impetus of hip-hop. This chapter provides a revisionist historiog- raphy of hip-hop knowledge, specifically, its early normative development within the socio-economic realities of the 1970s’ South Bronx. The performance arts of MCing (“rapping”), DJing (“spinning”), breakdancing (“b-girling”), and graffiti (“writing”) are often identified as the “four core elements” of hip-hop, but less attention has been given to the central role of knowledge in the cultural formation of hip-hop culture. Jacques Diec '15 is a writer intern for the Cornell Chronicle.Knowledge of self” refers to the Afro-diasporic mix of spiritual and political consciousness designed to empower members of oppressed groups. The bottom line, he said, was "we could do whatever we wanted to do, because all of this is part of hip-hop." I worked with Johnny Rotten, George Clinton, UB40, Sting, James Brown, the list goes on."īambaataa said he tries to show people that they shouldn't put rules and regulations on rappers, "because you didn't put no rules and regulations on Mick Jagger when he wanted to do soul music, or Rod Stewart when he wanted to do disco." "In hip-hop I did so many mash-ups with different singers. "I had a progressive-minded crowd," he said of his career as a DJ. And above all: "Overcoming the negative to the positive."īambaataa also stressed the importance of freedom, flexibility and open-mindedness in hip-hop. "The Universal Zulu Nation stands for knowledge, wisdom, understanding, freedom, justice, equality, peace, unity, love, work and having fun," Bambaataa said. "We had people who would DJ and MC in another area, so I decided to tell them, 'Let's come together under this banner,' and this became the birth of the hip-hop movement and the hip-hop culture." "We had people who would do b-boy and b-girl someplace, and others who would do graffiti art in another area," Bambaataa said. Inspired by the Zulu people and their chief, Bhambatha, Bambaataa moved his gang and community in a positive direction, ultimately establishing a hip-hop awareness group called the Universal Zulu Nation.Īn eclectic combination of culture, dance and ideology, the Universal Zulu Nation united many youth communities in New York. And "you had another group that was crazy as hell, called the Weathermen, who was blowing up stuff all over the city." This was the time of the Black Panthers and the Young Lords, who were fighting for the people, Bambaataa said. There was "broken glass everywhere," he recalled. He later co-founded and led a gang called the Black Spades. Growing up in the 1960s in the Bronx, Bambaataa was exposed to social movements, crime and street gangs. " is as important a piece of Americana as any race-related or motivated cultural movement that any of us have experienced." "Hip-hop culture is as important a piece of Americana as baseball," Medina noted. "Many people didn't recognize it, but when it came to us, we recognized it," Bambaataa said. Bambaataa appeared with b-boy Richard "Crazy Legs" Colón of the Rock Steady Crew and photographer Joe Conzo.īefore its success and integration into mainstream culture, hip-hop was initially a response to social phenomena, gradually evolving into a movement for social change and cultural and ideological diversity. In a talk moderated by Richard Medina '92, Bambaataa discussed the origins of hip-hop and the necessity to preserve and maintain the university's hip-hop archives. 27 in the first visit of his three-year term as Cornell's first visiting hip-hop scholar. Often credited as the founder of hip-hop, disc jockey Afrika Bambaataa spoke on campus Nov. It has come in many different forms throughout our lifetime and many of the songs that you might have heard before. "Most people don't know that rap has always been here. From left, Richard Medina '92, Richard "Crazy Legs" Colón, Joe Conzo and Afrika Bambaataa discuss the roots of hip-hop.
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