Frequently Asked Questions
What is Hip-Hop?
Hip-Hop is a cultural movement born in the Bronx, New York in the late 1970's. At that time different cultural elements converged to form a new and dynamic urban art. Party DJ’s were placing two turntables next to each other to mix and splice songs and were even beginning to manipulate the record by hand (scratching). MC’s (master of ceremonies, i.e. the person with the microphone) would sometimes front for these DJ’s, pumping up a crowd by rapping rhyming lyrics. Athletic dancers invented a new freewheeling dance style called break dancing. And graffiti artists were using spray cans to create enormous works of art on Subway cars and throughout the urban landscape.
Originally relegated to urban areas, hip-hop music has spread during the eighties and nineties, so that it now enjoys world-wide popularity. A truly global phenomenon, you’ll find emcee crews in France, break dancers in Poland, DJ’s in Pakistan, and hip-hop fans in rural Africa, urban Moscow, and suburban Tokyo.
Isn’t rap music violent, sexist and profane?
While there is plenty of rap music that supports the unfortunate stereotype that hip-hop is always expletive-laced, violent, and derogatory towards women, there is also an enormous amount of hip-hop that is positive, beautiful, nerdy, eloquent, soft-spoken, weird, and funny. The more you probe hip-hop, the more you will find these elements in the music. Hip-Hop, in fact, is as diverse as life. There have been rap songs that are essays on inequality and the danger of drug use, meditations on violence and beauty, admonishments for corporate greed and keeping a proper diet, odes to lust and friendship, braggadocio-laced ego-trips, and nostalgic journeys through memory and time.
What is the difference between rap and hip-hop?
This question is tricky because it really depends on who you ask. To some people there is no difference. Others consider rap music just one element of the culture known as Hip-Hop (which also includes break-dancing, graffiti-writing, fashion, a way of talking, etc...). As SOHHO.com notes, “Rap is what you listen to. Hip-hop is what you live.”
What if I don’t feel confident talking about hip-hop in my class?
We are well aware that you might not be a hip-hop scholar, that you probably didn't take a course in Old School Rap in graduate school, and that there will undoubtedly be students in your class that know a lot more about rap music and hip-hop culture than you do. Our advice is to use this fact to your benefit. Be honest with your class about trying something that you don't necessarily know a whole lot about. We suggest that you introduce Flocabulary to your students with a class discussion of rap music as it relates to poetry. This is a great opportunity for the students in your class who do know a lot about hip-hop to share their knowledge and feel empowered about what they do know. The goal of Flocabulary is really two-fold: teach kids SAT words, and also get kids motivated and confidant with the knowledge that this English language is theirs. The more empowered they feel with their knowledge, the more they will learn what you want them to learn.
If I had to buy three hip-hop albums to introduce myself to the music, what should I buy?
*Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest
*Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Blackstar - Blackstar
*Aquemeni - Outkast
What is an emcee?
An emcee or M.C. is a rapper. M.C. stands for master of ceremonies, or sometimes Move the Crowd.
What is a b-boy?
A b-boy is a male break-dancer. A b-girl is a female break-dancer.
Where can I learn more about rap music?
Check out our hip-hop research and resources page.
What if my question didn't appear in the list above?
You can email info@flocabulary.com. We'll do our best to answer any question on hip-hop education, rap or Flocabulary.
