david M. rubensteinChairman

Michael M. KaiserPresident

darrell M. AyersVice President, Education andJazz Programming

garth rossVice President, Community Engagement

OneMic: Hip-Hop CultureWorldwide,a program of Arts Across America,is made possible through thegenerosity of the Charles E. smithFamily Foundation.

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge

ArtsEdgE is an education programof the Kennedy Center. to learnmore about education at theKennedy Center, visit:www.kennedy-center.org/educationthe contents of this guide have been developedunder a grant from the U.s. department ofEducation and do not necessarily represent thepolicy of the U.s. department of Education. Youshould not assume endorsement by the Federalgovernment.

© 2014 the John F. Kennedy Center for thePerforming Arts

“Whether you trace it toNew York’s South Bronx orthe villages of West Africa,hip-hop has become thevoice of a generationdemanding to beheard.”—author James McBride

Hip-HopAKENNEDY CENTER

GUIDE

“To me, hip-hop says,‘Come as you are.’We are family… It’s aboutyou and me, connecting oneto one. That’s why it hasuniversal appeal.”—Hip-Hop pioneer DJ Kool Herc

For more on Hip-Hop and its impact on thearts and culture, connect to ArtsEdgE, theKennedy Center’s digital learning project:www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org/students/hip-hop

W henever a generation starts tofind its voice, people listen.And nothing today has gotten

people’s attention like Hip-Hop. thiscultural and artistic movement hasemerged to express the hopes, fears,styles, and dreams of a generation—onemaking the most of its turn at the mic.

Nothing comes from nothing, andHip-Hop is no exception—except thatHip-Hop is all about making somethingout of nothing. so, while its youngoriginators were living in urban America,its roots reach back into the storytellingtraditions of West Africa, sound systemsin 1960s Jamaica, the fearless word-work of Harlem’s Last Poets in the 70s,and dance parties in the Bronx in the70s and 80s.

It was at such a party in 1973 wheredJ Kool Herc earned his pioneeringreputation. He introduced the blueprintfor a new style of music by spinning twocopies of the same record at the sametime, manipulating them to isolate andextend the percussion breaks in songs.Other dJs—notably Afrika Bambaataaand grandmaster Flash—embraced Herc’stechniques to fill the dance floor, raisethe roof, and plot a fresh cultural course.

soon, others joined the movement—rappers, breakers, and graffiti artistsamong them—to turn what could havebeen a craze into a culture. today,40 years after its start, Hip-Hop hashelped generations mature their talentsand elevate their voices.

MUSIC. the most high-profile ofHip-Hop’s art forms, its music is built ontwo disciplines: dJing and rapping.dJing is the realm of the turntablist whomixes, matches, juggles, and extendsmusic and beats. rapping, aka MCing,takes improvised and lyricized spoken-word poetry and lays it atop a beat.

DANCE.Originally known as “breaking,”Hip-Hop’s dance style is a fluid,sometimes ferocious choreography ofsteps, spins, acrobatics, and martial arts.Classic moves include popping, locking,freezes, and power moves. the dancersare known as b-boys and b-girls—withthe b equaling “break.”

THEATER ARTS. Hip-Hop culture sendsall its artistic elements onstage in pursuitof cooperation and collaboration. Music,dance, and the visual arts combine tocreate multimedia reflections on life’strials, triumphs, and wonders.

LITERARY ARTS. Hip-Hop evolved fromstreet slang into a growing performancepoetry scene where wordsmiths createnew literary forms that are embraced byeducators and schools, the publishinghouse, and the playhouse.

VISUAL ARTS. graffiti, or “writing,” isthe most familiar expression of Hip-Hop inthe visual arts. Commonly cursed by cityofficials, graffiti displays urban artists’fearsome and funny visions on walls,overpasses, water towers, subwaytrains—whatever and wherever the artistcan reach. today, Hip-Hop inspires theworking worlds of fashion, video, film,and commercial art.

KNOWLEDGE OF SELF. spreading itsmessage of personal responsibility andidentity, Hip-Hop has become a sharedculture of knowledge, wisdom, andunderstanding that transcends barriers ofrace and religion, gender and generation,class and nationality, and is transforminghow people worldwide engage art,society, and life.

The BirthofaMovement What to Look and Listen For

H ip-Hop has impacted everything from music and dance, to visual, literary, andtheater arts—with an underlying code of agency and empowerment. Here aresights and sounds—known as the “elements” of Hip-Hop—at play today:

W henever a generation starts tofind its voice, people listen.And nothing today has gotten

people’s attention like Hip-Hop. thiscultural and artistic movement hasemerged to express the hopes, fears,styles, and dreams of a generation—onemaking the most of its turn at the mic.

Nothing comes from nothing, andHip-Hop is no exception—except thatHip-Hop is all about making somethingout of nothing. so, while its youngoriginators were living in urban America,its roots reach back into the storytellingtraditions of West Africa, sound systemsin 1960s Jamaica, the fearless word-work of Harlem’s Last Poets in the 70s,and dance parties in the Bronx in the70s and 80s.

It was at such a party in 1973 wheredJ Kool Herc earned his pioneeringreputation. He introduced the blueprintfor a new style of music by spinning twocopies of the same record at the sametime, manipulating them to isolate andextend the percussion breaks in songs.Other dJs—notably Afrika Bambaataaand grandmaster Flash—embraced Herc’stechniques to fill the dance floor, raisethe roof, and plot a fresh cultural course.

soon, others joined the movement—rappers, breakers, and graffiti artistsamong them—to turn what could havebeen a craze into a culture. today,40 years after its start, Hip-Hop hashelped generations mature their talentsand elevate their voices.

MUSIC. the most high-profile ofHip-Hop’s art forms, its music is built ontwo disciplines: dJing and rapping.dJing is the realm of the turntablist whomixes, matches, juggles, and extendsmusic and beats. rapping, aka MCing,takes improvised and lyricized spoken-word poetry and lays it atop a beat.

DANCE.Originally known as “breaking,”Hip-Hop’s dance style is a fluid,sometimes ferocious choreography ofsteps, spins, acrobatics, and martial arts.Classic moves include popping, locking,freezes, and power moves. the dancersare known as b-boys and b-girls—withthe b equaling “break.”

THEATER ARTS. Hip-Hop culture sendsall its artistic elements onstage in pursuitof cooperation and collaboration. Music,dance, and the visual arts combine tocreate multimedia reflections on life’strials, triumphs, and wonders.

LITERARY ARTS. Hip-Hop evolved fromstreet slang into a growing performancepoetry scene where wordsmiths createnew literary forms that are embraced byeducators and schools, the publishinghouse, and the playhouse.

VISUAL ARTS. graffiti, or “writing,” isthe most familiar expression of Hip-Hop inthe visual arts. Commonly cursed by cityofficials, graffiti displays urban artists’fearsome and funny visions on walls,overpasses, water towers, subwaytrains—whatever and wherever the artistcan reach. today, Hip-Hop inspires theworking worlds of fashion, video, film,and commercial art.

KNOWLEDGE OF SELF. spreading itsmessage of personal responsibility andidentity, Hip-Hop has become a sharedculture of knowledge, wisdom, andunderstanding that transcends barriers ofrace and religion, gender and generation,class and nationality, and is transforminghow people worldwide engage art,society, and life.

The BirthofaMovement What to Look and Listen For

H ip-Hop has impacted everything from music and dance, to visual, literary, andtheater arts—with an underlying code of agency and empowerment. Here aresights and sounds—known as the “elements” of Hip-Hop—at play today:

david M. rubensteinChairman

Michael M. KaiserPresident

darrell M. AyersVice President, Education andJazz Programming

garth rossVice President, Community Engagement

OneMic: Hip-Hop CultureWorldwide,a program of Arts Across America,is made possible through thegenerosity of the Charles E. smithFamily Foundation.

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge

ArtsEdgE is an education programof the Kennedy Center. to learnmore about education at theKennedy Center, visit:www.kennedy-center.org/educationthe contents of this guide have been developedunder a grant from the U.s. department ofEducation and do not necessarily represent thepolicy of the U.s. department of Education. Youshould not assume endorsement by the Federalgovernment.

© 2014 the John F. Kennedy Center for thePerforming Arts

“Whether you trace it toNew York’s South Bronx orthe villages of West Africa,hip-hop has become thevoice of a generationdemanding to beheard.”—author James McBride

Hip-HopAKENNEDY CENTER

GUIDE

“To me, hip-hop says,‘Come as you are.’We are family… It’s aboutyou and me, connecting oneto one. That’s why it hasuniversal appeal.”—Hip-Hop pioneer DJ Kool Herc

For more on Hip-Hop and its impact on thearts and culture, connect to ArtsEdgE, theKennedy Center’s digital learning project:www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org/students/hip-hop