Welcome to Gaia! ::

i listen too...

rap
hip hop
R&B
rock
classical
gospel
old school
well i guess everything ,but country

I love my r&b, and soul but i love rock, jrock, and indian music

Music!<3
Rap; Kanye West... Mmm! Lol
R&B; Gotta luv Brian McKnight and Boys II Men
Hip-Hop; Mariah
Rock
Emo; The Used, MCR
Alternative
Punk; Fallout Boy
Metal; Atreyu
Country; Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, Big N Rich, Gretchen Wilson, John Mayer...
Dem Oldies; Temptations, Earth Wind & Fire
Techno
Reggaeton
Dancehall...
Gospel; Kirk Franklin

Ha. Okay. The only things I don't really like is Bluegrass country and Pop... that Brittney Spears crap. ^_^

Rap R&B Gospel that is about it.

Anything and everything that I listen to. That includes Jrock, Metal, Rap, Country, Classical, Punk, music in Spanish and French, Hip Hop, Oldies, you name it I got it biggrin But because I listen to music I get a lot of crap like "Wow. Your not the kind of person I would think listens to this type of music" Pure Bullshit from this white kid I know because I told him I listen to System of a Down.

hmm...somehow that turned into a rant ninja

I feel the need to clear this up to all of you people.

Contrary to what MTV and BET says...

HIP-HOP IS NOT A MUSIC GENRE SO QUIT CLASSIFYING IT AS SUCH!

Thank you. whee

Now as for Jeckal's musical interest:

Rap, mostly underground. My favorite rap artist are: Jedi Mind Tricks, Styles P, 7L&Esoteric, Jean Grae, MF Doom, MF Grimm, Aesop Rock.

I like some rock too, my favorite rock bands are: NIRVANA, Pearl Jam, Monster Magnet and Death Cab For Cutie... Although tome consider DCFC pop.

Actually any regular of the Rap subforum, and any member of the Pimps Guild (as we all originated from the rap subforum) or the Gaian Battledome would say we're both right.

There is a difference between Rap and Hip-Hop. Rap is a music Genre and Hip-Hop is the culture influenced by rap.





Hip-Hop is a culture based around four things.

Emceeing

B-Boying (Or Girling)

Graffitti

Turntablism
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Hip Hop is not only a way of expression, a way of life, an art form, a style, a ghetto love or a cultural phenomenon, it is all of the things above, and then some. If Hip Hop is classified as a type of music, it is called Rap. But there is a whole underlying culture behind what we see and hear on television, magazines and in person. Hip Hop is a way of life. It has rules, guidelines on which it was founded, sub- divisions, and most importantly freedom of expression and creativity. This is why it is the most explosive thing to hit worldwide youth culture since the invention of the telephone.

Hip Hop began on the streets of New York City in the mid 1970's. It is disputed to this date exactly where in New York it began, some say Queens and others swear by the Bronx. In any matter it began in the Big Apple, New York City. Since there is no real documentation on its exact start date, and it was not recognized as a form of music until Corporate America got its hands on it and started making money, it is hard to lay a stamp on its actual time of conception. Through what is know simply by word of mouth and some video footage kids started rhyming in the mid 1970's to drum breaks in disco records. DJ Kool Herc is the first documented person to rhyme over a record; this is what spawned the phenomenon as Hip Hop music as we know it today.

DJ Kool Herc would use two turntables and between them have an audio mixer which allowed him to go back and forth between what is know as the drum breakdown of a record, (the part of a song where there is no lyrics, just a drum beat) He would cue a certain part of this record and continuously let it play constantly switching back and forth from turntable to turntable. As the drum break played he would say things over the microphone like "I'm DJ Kool Herc and I'm gunna rock this party to your booty hurts". It was these simple rhymes that eventually escalated into kids challenging each other rapping on the microphone, which in turn led to kids putting out records with there recorded raps and giving birth to Hip Hop music as we know it today. Once this form of music was recorded and radio played it, and people were able to buy it, and it spread to the masses, causing a cultural phenomenon know as Rap or Hip Hop music.

Hip Hop is made up of four elements: Graffiti, Mcing, Djing and Breakdancing. Graffiti being the written word of Hip Hop music, Mcing being the spoken word of Hip Hop music and Breakdancing and DJing being the physical words of the culture.

Graffiti started in New York City in the late 1960's when a kid named TAKI whom lived on 183rd street in Manhattan's, Washington Heights neighborhood, began to write his name on surfaces everywhere he went. TAKI was a bike messenger and because of this he traveled across the city on a frequent basis and his name started to appear everywhere, TAKI183. As other kids saw this they began to write their names wherever they went as well. This spawned the phenomenon of Graffiti Art. As time progressed and the invention of Spray Paint came along it wasn't long before kids began to "tag" their names on subway cars. All of a sudden bigger and more became the standards, and graffiti art spread like wildfire in and around New York City with these "writers" leaving their marks everywhere they went. This element of Hip Hop plays a major role because like all of Hip Hop's four elements this is a unique form of expression through visual art. Graffiti art as well as Hip Hop are worldwide now, but it's roots, as does all of Hip Hop culture lay in the depths of New York City.

The next element is Emcing, or rhyming on the microphone. This is one of the most important elements because it is the spoken word of Hip Hop culture, and without it we would not have a classification of what Hip Hop music is. MC stands for Master of Ceremonies. The ceremony being the rhymes, and the Master being the person on the mic. Mcing has evolved little from its birth in the mid 1970's. The main objective is to "spit" or say the cleverest and smooth flowing rhymes over a beat. It is a constant battle between rappers to come up with the best material on the microphone.

The third element of Hip Hop culture is B-Boying. Breakdancing is another form of physical expression in Hip Hop culture. Breakdancing is a form of freestyle dance to Hip Hop beats that was formed by a crew of dancers that called themselves the Rocksteady crew. It consists of various floor acrobatics and spins all in a coordinated but improvised way. It is a unique form of dance that belongs to and has its origin in Hip Hop culture.

The next element we will focus on is the Turntablist. The art of DJing has evolved within the hip-hop genre to something very unique and innovative. The DJ is no longer just a sound provider, but a musician using turntables as instruments. "Turnablism" is a growing phenomenon that has replaced the guitar and piano as the most popular instruments among young people. As illustrated in our video, modern day turntablists perform together as three or four piece bands with a kind of chemistry that is undeniable.

Within the modern day hip-hop world, the art of turntablism has divided into numerous sub genres giving the DJ multiple forums to choose from. The kind of performance shown in the video could be classified as a more battle oriented showcase. DJ battles are worldwide events in which individual DJ's and group DJ's battle each other for the title, which usually includes cash, equipment, and publicity. These competitions allow DJ's to showcase their skills in front of a large audience under a restricted time slot. The overall sound of the DJ's in our video encompasses a battle aesthetic consisting of mostly scratching, mixing, and beat juggling.

Much of the dj footage was shot at WERS during the hip-hop show, which broadcasts to a very large audience. The other kinds of DJ's include radio DJ's and club DJ's. These artists focus less on scratching and technicalities and more on blending songs that sound good together to provide a show that sounds like one long flowing song. These kinds of DJ's are just as important and talented as the before mention and their strength lies in their seamless segue ways. The introduction of turntablism has gained international acclaim and must ultimately be accepted as a legit musical format that will last because of its constant evolvement.

Hip Hop culture is growing day by day and lies founded on these four elements: Graffiti, Mcing, Breakdancing and DJing. No matter where we look today Hip Hop is everywhere, television, newspapers, street corners and cities and towns across the globe, but it can all be tracked back to its roots on the streets of New York City.