Thread by @_StillTheShawn

The false narrative circulating around that Caribbeans & Latinos created Hiphop couldn't be further from the truth...

HipHop has always been rooted in Black American culture with little to no outside influences... So here's a thread about HipHop history & it's foundation.

When discussing the history of HipHop you must always start with the 5 elements which are:

GRAFFITI(Art)
B-BOYING(Dancing & breaking)
MC'ING(Emcee, Rap, Beatbox)
DJ'ING(Producing & scratching)

"GRAFFITI"

Philadelphia is the birthplace of graffiti which was started by a Black American man named Darryl McCray who was born in North Philly in 1953. Known by his tagging name "Cornbread", he's credited with being the first modern graffiti artist in America

During the late '60s, he and a group of friends started tagging Philly by writing their nicknames on walls across the city. The movement eventually spread to New York & blossomed into the modern graffiti movement, which reached its peak in the U.S. in the '1980s & then spread

into Europe. Since his tagging days, McCray has developed a close relationship with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. He is a public speaker & youth advocate today.

Now the creator of the "wildstyle or bubble letter" style of aerosol writing, also known as "softies" was a Black American by the name of Michael Lawrence Marrow. Started tagging that style around 1971...

PHASE 2’s masterpieces were revolutionized the graffiti game.

"B-BOYING"

As far as breakdancing & footworking is concerned, that style of dance has been apart of Black American society & culture since slavery.

While diverse in the amount of variation available in the dance, breakdancing mainly consists of four kinds of movement:

toprock, downrock, power moves & freezes...

One of the earliest "recorded" forms of Breakdancing is a 1894 silent short film by Thomas Edison called "Pickaninny Dance" which showed 3 black youths doing a breakdown of a jig on a southern plantation before the Civil War...

Another early form of Breakdancing along with beatboxing was displayed in a music video in 1938 by the Mills Brother called "Caravan". The Mills Brothers were the first Black American artists to have their own show on national network radio on CBS in 1930.

Other forms of breakdancing were done by Blk American teens in the 1930s-1950s... including early forms of Twerking in the 1940s.

Another pioneer of early HipHop Breaking & footworking is the late great King of Funk & Soul James Brown... twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Breakdancing essentially is just an amalgamation of Tap & Swing dances cultivated between the 1800s-1950s.

Only difference is that Black American Teens in NYC performed them to Soul & Funk record breaks in 1967 to 1974 to present creating HipHop dance culture. NOT Latinos!

"MC'ING"

Exceeding & Rapping has been apart of Black American culture since the early 1900s(maybe even longer)... The term "rap(Rhythm & Poetry)" used to be a 60s/70s Black American slang term for "talking & discussing something freely with another person"...

One of the earliest forms of rapping I could find was "Blue Christmas" by jive singer Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon in 1925 along with earlier pieces from other Black Americans. Excerpt of the 1925 single "Blue Christmas"... twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

The True Pioneers of HipHop were the "Jubalaires", an American gospel group from Florida who are remembered for rhythmic rhyme patterns & verses which would later evolve into rapping thus laying the foundation. Here's the group rapping gospel music... twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Another foundational pioneer of the Rap element of HipHop was Rudy Rat Moore, a comedian/actor from Fort Smith, Arkansas. He created the famous character & movie "Dolemite". He came to be regarded as a major influence by many rappers from the Bay Area, and even Snoop Dogg.

We also can't forget the late great & greatest of all time boxer Muhammad Ali who was known for his witty trash talk & heckling of his opponents... twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Now as far as true rap over a beat, you have to thank comedian Pigmeat Markham with "Here Comes the Judge", recorded in 1968.

There's also Funk legend Clarence Reid also known as Blowfly from Miami, FL by way of Cochran, GA... according to himself he created "Rap" with his 1965 album Rap Dirty. His biggest single "Rapp Dirty" although written & produced in '65 was officially released in 1980.

The rap element of HipHop has been a staple in Black American culture before the artform existed, LITERALLY! There were black Grannys in rural towns in the North & South Carolina rapping before anyone, including Southern churches doing call & responses. See Jocko Henderson below.

Speaking of black grannies, there were freaky great great-grandmothers rapping about sex on wax in the 1920s & 30s... Yes Lil Kim, Meg the Stallion, & the City Girls better thank Lucille Bogan. Lol

Now according to Kurtis Blow & Pete DJ Jones, the very first rapper & "Father of the HipHop style" at the block parties was an Anthony Hollywood also known as "DJ Hollywood" from Harlem... he created the phrase "Throw ya hands in the air & wave en like ya just don't care"...

Other unsung heros that rap or syncopated before the term HipHop was coined were Oscar Brown Jr.(1960), Jocko Henderson(1964), The Last Poets(True Godfathers of Rap), Gil Scott Heron, & the Watts Prophets. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"DJ'ING"

The final & most important yet controversial element of HipHop is DJ'ING which is the production side of the genre... Black American DJs have been a staple in the culture going back to the 1920s...

The first Blk American DJ in America was Jack L. Cooper who was born in

Memphis, TN in 1888. He became the first Black radio broadcaster in the U.S... Cooper was posthumously inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2012.

Now contrary to popular belief, Jamaican born DJ Kool Herc was NOT HipHop's first official DJ, let alone was the sole creator of the genre... There were other Black American DJs who came before Herc & even influenced him like Grandmaster Flowers, Pete DJ Jones, & Disco King Mario

Grandmaster Flowers from NC is known as one of the earliest pioneers of HipHop to mix records together under a sequence. He also opened up for James Brown in 1969 at Yankee Stadium. He's cited as having a "formative influence" on Grandmaster Flash & Afrika Bambaataa.

Originally from Raleigh, NC. Pete DJ Jones moved to Brooklyn in 1970 in search of basketball opportunities. He began throwing block parties before Kool Herc, putting together makeshift Disco tables in restaurants & rec halls. He taught himself how to DJ & developed new techniques twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Last but not least, we have legendary Disvo King Mario from the Bronx by way of Edenton, NC... He was known to have the best sound system in all of NYC. He influenced both Herc & Bambaataa who was under his tutelage and the Black Spades gang

Other Unsung FBA DJs before and during the early days of HipHop were DJ Divine, Infinity Machine, Sweety Gee, & most Grand Wizard Theodore who invented scratching, even taught Grandmaster Flash how to scratch.

Now back to legendary DJ Kool Herc of Jamaican descent, according to himself he's not the creator of HipHop & neither was it influenced by Jamaican culture.

He said he was influenced by James Brown & that Jamaican toasting & sound systems didn't influence his sound because

Black Americans in the Bronx at the time didn't accept Reggae. The "Funk" was king at the time which is why he was spinning James Brown records at his block parties... He used Black American rhythm base. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

According to the OGs who were present during the genesis of HipHop, there wasn't any Caribbean influences in the Bronx, Brooklyn, or Queens at the time because ppl weren't listening to reggae, they were into Disco, Funk, & James Brown

They actually thought they were corny twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Also speaking of reggae & ska music, that particular sound of music was solely influenced by a Black American man from Memphis, TN names Rosco Gordon. His offbeat rhythmic style shaped their early sound because he toured widely in the 50s, reaching South America & the Caribbean.

Also according to Jamaican DJs & toasters like Sir Coxsone Dodd, King Stitt & Count Machuki, he was influenced by American DJs like Vernon Winslow, Tommy Smalls & Douglas Henderson... They learned Blk American "Jive" style which influenced their own jives & sound. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Btw if you hear the narrative that Caribbeans, particularly Jamaicans came over with their sound systems & block parties which created HipHop... It's a lie, Black Americans been throwing block parties even in the Deep South before HipHop was even a thing.

Kool Herc is credited with the creation of HipHop because he was the popular DJ at the time in 1973, at which time he threw the block party on Sedgwick where all the elements combined... the birth of HipHop really started in 1967 with Grandmaster Flowers..

Grandmaster Flowers was the first popular DJ, then it was Pete DJ Jones followed by Herc who was Jamaican & started off as a graffiti artist first... He just got lucky at the time, HipHop was always there before Herc came to America.

In other words, HipHop has always been in the fabric of Black American culture before any group immigrated here, there was little to no Caribbean influences whatsoever.

HipHop is the child of Funk/Soul that was procreate thru infidelity with Disco. Jazz/R&B are the grandparents.

Btw, Tell Busta Rhymes & Fat Joe to stop lying about the history of HipHop... it was always a Black American artform they they both benefitted from. Show some respect. 💯

Sorry forgot to add the most important Element of HipHop which is Knowledge/Consciousness...