Popular Culture Review 30.1
ciples of using rap music as a non-traditional pedagogical tool ( i . e ., “ peace , love , unity , and having fun ”). Early rappers in New York composed lyrics in ways that would bring to life issues that others in more elevated societal positions were afraid to discuss ( Chang ; Rose , “ Black Noise ,” “ The Hip-Hop Wars ”). Thus , the MC who spoke into the microphone had to “ drop science ” ( i . e ., teach ) the audience how to consume the given message . In this way , hip-hop has much in common with the African narrative tradition of the village griot , a person whose job as the village librarian of sorts was / is to educate citizens about their history and culture . Early hip-hop artists in the United States have continued this legacy of “ griot education ” in regard to their lyrics .
The origins of the entire hip-hop movement can be traced to rhythms popular in Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s . During those decades , the Jamaican musical style known as dancehall served as the primary motivator for the birth of hiphop in the United States . Dancehall was created by youths from “ the Yard ” ( socioeconomically marginalized areas ) of cities like Kingston . Dancehall arrived to New York City via immigration , and it was there that younger Jamaicans , street gangs , melded with other individuals with direct immigrant origins in the Bronx and produced a sound mixed with African-American soul and R & B that would soon be called “ rap .” Popular street DJs such as Kool Herc , Africa Bambaata , and Grandmaster Flash pioneered this new musical genre in 1970s New York City , and from this nascent stage of street parties , a larger hip-hop movement that consisted of four elements was born . In its embryonic period in the United States , hip-hop culture and the vocal art of rapping were viewed as effective ways in which to discuss topics facing people of color living in what was referred to as the “ inner city ” ( Hebdige ; Rose , “ The Hip-Hop Wars ”). For example , in 1982 a song
60