![]() Police brutality was bubbling to a boiling point, off the back of authorities who had their hackles up that rap lyrics and graffiti had to be stopped. ![]() In response, records and art got angrier and more politically charged to help articulate the situation for a raucous spectrum of punters under pressure and looking to release. But it was met with fierce resistance from President Reagan whose agenda was locked on the crack epidemic, increasing class divide and criminalising urban youth. Through film, TV, and exhibition, hip-hop culture’s fame transcended the streets to become a global phenomenon and flipped the negative depiction of New York’s City’s marginalised creatives. Dozens more national and international shows followed in the mid-1980s. This was the first time many members of the Bronx hip-hop scene had appeared in the downtown New York City art world. It showcased the works of over 100 street artists, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Fab 5 Freddy, Lee Quiñones, Keith Haring and Jenny Holzer. In 1980, a landmark exhibition took place in a shuttered massage parlour entitled ‘The Times Square Show’. That move opened the doors for more urban artists to get their artwork seen in the burgeoning ‘No Wave’ scene and places other than the street. One of the most significant moments in the merging of hip-hop and art was when Fab 5 Freddy got his and Lee Quinoñes’s work into an Italian exhibition in 1979. Fab 5 Freddy was hell-bent on cross-pollinating graffiti and hip-hop from the street into the fine art world and illustrious spaces no one deemed possible. Freddy famously emblazoned his own cartoon depiction of Andy Warhol's Cambell's soup cans.īy 1979 the underground hip-hop movement was gaining traction with the mainstream masses. And rappers like Fab 5 Freddy and his Brooklyn-based graffiti group, the 'Fabulous 5', painted the entire side of New York City Subway cars. In those early days, seminal graffiti writers tried their hand at rapping – like Futura and Lee Quiñones. ![]() Whether graffiti covered the DJ booth or was plastered on nearby buildings, it became the aesthetic that linked between the quartet. It was rare to see any hip-hop function without a street art backdrop. Rap and breaking battles were a way to hone skills and an alternative for rival crews to settle their differences. Each element cut its hip hop chops at block parties, clubs, park jams and freestyle sessions in skating rinks. Lack of cash was no barrier to creativity or DIY spirit. MCs like Grandmaster Flash spit bars out of boomboxes, B-Boys and B-Girls flexed fly moves, pioneers of turntablism, like DJ Kool Herc, mixed records and looped rhythmic breaks for the very first time, that pumped out the soundtrack of the streets. All four mediums united and empowered marginalised groups to express themselves and deliver powerful sociopolitical messages with their craft. Breaking, DJing, MCing, and graffiti made up the four elements of the culture and formed a way of life for disenfranchised Black and Latino communities. Hip-hop exploded onto Bronx blocks in 1973.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |