fter the hurricane’s Archive offers a very Cervecs Broke"; J Tie My Needs"; and are-yourselffkatrina- 1 the slogan “Vote or gistration Event that the cause tthe local an important source iom items that might ferent hip-hop con- Action Network, see e concept of a“post- 4 Society, vol. 11, no, describing the deci 133), ation. New York St. fop Sumit Action worship Today, edit Culture New York stice. Minneapolis: sic Civitas Seattle, WA: Bay Politics of deny W Bole? The Boston American Culture titude” CNN.com son, pp. 153-156. Yorke Theee Rivers utures of Hip-Hop | Morley and Mira Hop—and Why It h, ut the Youth Vote, . Part I “Hip-Hop Ya Don’t Stop” Hip-Hop History and Historiography Murray Forman “Back in the day" remains a common expression within hip-hop. It is most frequently employed to describe the past and to mark moments in the evolution of the hip-hop culture. The phrase is often imbued with a certain nostalgia, acknowledging benchmarks, transitional phases, or influ- ential aesthetic innovations realized within general historical contexts. Yet for all of its rhetorical potency and casual utility it remains an inexact expression, like a form of shorthand that commu- nicates information but lacks precision or accuracy. Over the years the phrase has been applied widely and wildly, and itis not rare to hear discussions about 1970s Bronx block parties, the 1982 release of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's “The Message” (Sugar Hil), the 1988 rise of N.W.A., or the 1993 launch of Bad Boy Entertainment all framed as occurrences from “back in the day,” depending on one's generational vantage. The contributions in this part address hip- hop's nascent phase, tracing some of the attitudes, trends, and policies that influenced and informed hip-hop in moments described as “back in the day.” Hip-hop's development and expansion are the topic of considerable scholarly analysis (Hager, 1984; Toop, 1984; Hebdige, 1987; Rose, 1994; Chang, 2005), and there is much value in revis- iting its history and historiography, including articles published in an industry trade magazine such as Billboard or in the popular press. Essays and social commentary on the New York City hip-hop scene written in the late 1970s and early 1980s offer a real time feel, evoking the crackling ener- gles and broader sensibilities of an emergent cultural sector. Testimonials by hip-hop's pioneers ‘and groundbreaking artists from this formative era serve a similar purpose, reminding us about the key people and places that influenced hip-hop culture at the beginning. While they may opt for a ‘temporal perspective—positioning the erupting hip-hap phenomena within a historical context— ‘these writings benefit from an immediacy and proximity to events, detailing transitional forces at the instant they occur. They isolate key elements of innovation and socio-cultural change, provid- ing insights on the undulating composition of the cultural terrain and identifying the ruptures from Which hip-hop's alternative practices emanated, The evolution of hip-hop corresponds with cultural theorist Raymond Williams's observation that the process of “formal innovation” is gradual, and, while “residual” cultural practices from prior eras continue, new “emergent” cultural forms and practices may arise that challenge or dis- rupt the cultural dominant. Hip-hop constitutes an emergent cultural form, but so, too, does early writing about hip-hop, for as Williams explains in reference to innovation and emergent cultural forms there are always important works which belong to these very early stages of particular forms, and itis easy to miss their formal significance by comparison with preceding or succeeding10 + MURRAY FORMAN mature examples. ...It is then easy to miss one of the key elements in cultural production, innovation as it is happening; innovation in process. (Williams, 1981; 200) Though they were written well before hip-hop's influence and authority were guaranteed—when the shouted declaration “hip-hop, ya don't stop” expressed a combination of defensiveness and willful optimism—several of the articles featured here reflect an awareness that change was stir- ring. They offer a chronicle of an era when hip-hop still constituted an unknown “emergent” force ‘that was being processed and aligned with prevailing cultural experiences and meanings. These articles and essays are, thus, also crucial facets of hip-hop's emergent cultural practices, Robert Ford, Jr. and Nelson George are among hip-hop's earliest commentators who observed and participated in its cultural manifestation, attending events and writing about them for a wider ‘audience; both went on to establish careers in the music, film, and video industries primarily catering toa hip-hop audience. Jorge “Popmaster Fabel" Pabon, too, was more than a casual spec- tator of the changes occurring in his midst, acquiring a visceral and cognitive relationship with hi hop's unique rhythm and flow at a young age. These writers provide dacumentation of hip-hop's formative moments from a first-hand point of view while presenting visual descriptions of hip-hop in its earliest stages. Theirs are not abstract narratives culled from inconsequential sources but a series of accounts framed by individuals whose immediate environments were under radical revi- sion when hip-hop’s style, vernacular, and sensibilities spread, gradually informing the lingua franca of an entire generation. Participatory engagement is significant in hip-hop, and one’s documented presence lends an important element of authenticity to accounts from the past. We obviously were not all in atten: dance at DJ Kool Herc’s 1973 Bronx parties at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue or at the subsequent park, schoolyard, or street jams, but the ongoing circulation of participant testimonials (and, similarly, ‘the establishment of photographic archives, collections, and books: Shabazz, 2001; Paniccioli, 2002; Cooper, 2004) help to forge links between the past and the present, facilitating our con ‘temporary understanding of the landscapes within which hip-hop's pioneers lived, loved, and labored. Though it may have fallen out of favor and, thus, out of use in recent years the expres- sion “keepin’ it real” still resonates, enunciating a pledge of fidelity and a commitment to accu- racy that are evident in the explanation and discussions about localized contexts and conditions at hip-hop's inception, There are many ways of relaying hip-hop history, but the essays and articles included in this part also emphasize the relational aspects engendered within the various practices of DJing, MCing, 8-boying and graffiti or aerosol art. By delineating the points of competition and conflict as well as the connective lines of artistic collaboration the authors remind us about where hip- hop's cultural forms were spawned and how they evolved together. The streets figure prominently here, as they were—and remain—a crucial signifier of hip-hop identity and authenticity. Having, long been portrayed as an undisciplined space that is prone to Its own codes and standards, the streets also often constitute the unruly Other to proper, mainstream, or cultured society. In a more antagonistic dynamic, the streets harbor threat and chaos, the source of revolutionary unrest and disturbance; these values have, for better or worse, been grafted onto hip-hop throughout its evolution This perspective surfaces in Craig Castleman's account of the clashes between urban teens and ‘New York City’s civic authorities through the 1970s. Relying on reports in The New York Times, Castleman describes events from hip-hop’s gestational phase, capturing the contexts and condi tions within which early graffiti was defined in the media for the public at large. Here, we see how the force of authority came to bear on youths in particular ways, including direct repression by Police and the criminal justice system as well as via discursive violence that is extended through the vilification and dehumanization of youths armed with nothing more than magic markers and ‘2erosol paint cans. In this account itis obvious that the media, too, are implicated in the tensions of the moment, amplifying the crisis and promoting an image of urban youth as part of what basa Stanley Cohen t fiti was politicis ized, leading cx making the coi assault, and mt predators seem: These early should not be t flourished at vir capacity for int that it has surv Well, especially of race and clas ceive of hip-hor practices assoc jc intentions an While the ar hip-hop culture Grandmaster Fl territorial battle that was highly instances actue creative artists er, for while he hip-hop he is e sion of political commercial inte lective activism the values of a1 ly aligned with play an importa nizations, but t mercial realm, There exists hip-hop heads < the Fresh Princ Understand”) g ssonance is the socio-cultural v: history. The ess ward for reflect of existence ani REFERENCES Chang, Jeff. (20 Martin's Pr Cohen, Stanley. Cooper, Martha Glazer, Nathan, Hager, Stepher Graffiti, Ne Hebdige, Dick.ultural production, liams, 1981: 200) re guaranteed—when of defensiveness and that change was stir own “emergent” force and meanings. These sral practices. intators who observed bout them for a wider 0 industries primarily re than a casual spec- relationship with hip- lentation of hip-hop's ascriptions of hip-hop lvential sources but a under radical revi- informing the lingua 2d presence lends an were not all in atten- the subsequent park, anials (and, similarly, zz, 2001; Paniccioli, facilitating our con- ers lived, loved, and ent years the expres- ymmitment to accu- itexts and conditions cles included in this practices of Dding, petition and conflict tus about where hip- ts figure prominently authenticity. Having s and standards, the ed society, In a more revolutionary unrest p-hop throughout its en urban teens and whe New York Times, contexts and condi . Here, we see how direct repression by is extended through | magic markers and ated in the tensions. uth as part of what “HIP-HOP YA DON'T STOP" « 11 [Stanley Cohen terms a “moral panic” perpetrated by teenage “folk devils” (Cohen, 1972). As graf- Fe, policizd, ts young perpetrators were concurently demonized, criminalize, and racial jegdingconserative cite Netan Glazer to calm “while | donot find myself consciously Fe the comection between grafit-makers and the edminals who oscesonal rb, ape Mand murder subway] passengers, the sence tat all ar part of one word of uncontrollable These early accounts and historical retrospectives illustrate that hip-hop's continued vitality id not be taken for granted. Antagonisms between the social mainstream and hip-hop have Mvished st vtvally ever stage of hip-hop's evolution, and itis only through the resilience and ity for innovation among its proponents—artists, audiences, and street-evel supporters— has survived. These various points of conflict have an undeniably ideological character as {eeive of hip-hop outside of an ideological analytical mindset, since the genre of rap music and the tices associated with B-boying and graffiti are each capable of articulating counter-hegemon- While the appropriative apparatuses of late capitalism have exerted considerable influence on hip-hop culture at various moments, as the “founding fathers” Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and indmiaster Flash indicate, hip-hop's commercial character is nothing new. There were always tances actually enabled hip-hop's survival, atthe very least introducing the means for young ative artists to receive remuneration for their efforts. Greg Tate's critique is instructive, howey- "et {or while he cites the many problems associated with large-scale corporate incursions within hip-hop he is even more concerned about what has been lost or left behind, identifying the ero- nf political values among the hip-hop generation as a particular point of crisis. In his view, Seommercial interests have eroded much of hip-hop's radical potential for social change and cok tive activism. Moreover, contemporary hip-hop artists are increasingly losing @ connection with values of previous generation in which cultural practices and the ats were much more close- “Wy aligned with political objectives and socially responsive commitments. Hip-hop does, in fact, play an important role in many street-level youth advocacy agencies and grassroots political orga. zations, but these initiatives often stand alone and are almost nowhere to be seen in the com- ercal realm. There exists a sharply defined set of generational differences that form a gulf between younger © tip-hop heads and aduits. Yet while this phenomenon is common across society (DJ Jazy Jeff and | the Fresh Prince summed it up adequately in 1988 with their recording “Parents Just Don't Understand”) generational dissonance is now also clearly evident within hip-hop itself. Such dis- sonance js the outcome of distinctly seperate experiences and attitudes toward hip-hop and its socio-cultural values, the product of often radically different understandings of hip-noo’s cultural © history. The essays in this part bring some of the old school themes, issues, and sentiments for | Ward fr reflection and analytical discussion as hip-hop culture evolves toward its fourth decade Of existence and impact. REFERENCES Chang, Jett. (2005). Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History ofthe Mp-Hop Generation. New York: St lartin’s Press, Cohen, Stanley. (1972). Folk Devils and Moral Panics. London: MacGibbon & Kee. Cooper, Martha. (2004). Hip Hop Files: Photographs, 1979-1984. Berlin: From Here to Fame. Glazer, ‘Nathan. (1979). “On Subway Graffiti in New York,” Public interest, 54, Winter, pp. 3-11 Hager, Stephen. (1984). Hip-Hop: The Illustrated Histary of Break Dancing, Rep Music, and Graffiti. New York: St. Martin's Press. Hebdige, Dick. (1987). Cut 'n’ Mix: Culture, Identity and Caribbean Music. New York: Routledge.12 * MURRAY FORMAN Paniccioli, Ernie. (2002). Who Shot Ya? Three Decades of Hip Hop Photography. New York Amistad. Rose, Tricia, (1994). Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America ‘Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Shabazz, Jamel. (2001). Back in the Days, New York: powerHouse Books Toop, David, (1984). The Rap Attack: African Jive to New York Hip Hop. Boston, MA: South End Press, Williams, Raymond. (1981). Culture. London: Fontana Press, j Craig Castien York City, co explains, grat pastime, sim authorities. T white and Pi evolved, its y Castleman aesthetic and taining to Ne targeting mai implementati ‘eventually en