University of Washington Hip Hop article brought to you by Mindskillz of Bad Habitat and Surreal Music, Northwest hip hop journalist, artist, producer and promoter. Props to Nick Feldman for this article published in the UW online newspaper. Props to SOL for his hard work and for doing his thing well enough to get an article written about him. Check out the in depth interview/review below.
SOL: Artist looks to make his mark with debut album
By Nick Feldman
March 12, 2009
Hip-Hop’s Rejection of Inferior Social Group Status
Henri Tajfel, a social psychologist who developed a theory of inter-group relations and social change, argues that members of a social group deemed inferior by a majority class can either accept or reject their inferior position in society. If a group refuses to accept its inferior position in society as just, it will attempt as a group to change things (Coates, 8-9). A large number of hip-hop artists have used their musical lyrics to reject the inferior social status placed upon them by the majority class.
Breakdancing is considered as one of the significant elements that make up hip hop culture. Also known as breaking, b-boying, or b-girling, this street dance was developed in the 1970s among the African-American and Hispanic youths of South Bronx, New York. It is widely believed that breakdancing began as a means of rival street gangs to resolve differences or to set the location for rumbles. Others say it was an offshoot of or was heavily influenced by capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art/dance.
Breakdancing was brought into the mainstream through the proliferation of various dance groups, most notably Rock Steady Crew. Soul and funk legend James Brown also popularized the dance style with his high-energy performances. In the 1980s, breakdancing faded from pop culture and went back to being an underground phenomenon. It made a comeback in the 1990s and since then has become a fixture of pop culture.
Underground Hip-Hop Reviews by Hip-Hop Linguistics. Mama used to say, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” This statement is the basis of our reviews section. Unlike many hip-hop review publications, HHL does not publish negative reviews. Our goal is to recommend only the best hip-hop in the underground, and our reviews section contains only albums recommended by our staff of reviewers. So if it’s in this section, it’s worth checking out!
This is a nice little FREE EP from Sunspot Jonz and Luckyiam aka Mystik Journeymen, who haven’t dropped an album in like a decade now. “Return 2 The Love” was appropriately released on Valentine’s Day. Apparently, this EP is a preview for their upcoming album “Return to Eternia,” though no official release date exists at this point. “Return 2 The Love” has features from fellow Living Legends crew members The Grouch, Murs and Scarub.
unky Buddha: Monk MC Has Hip-Hop Habit – Yahoo! News UK
Kansho Tagai was blown away when he first heard hip-hop because even though he couldn’t understand the English lyrics he still felt the vibes.
He likened it to reading sutras at his temple – as most of his audiences are unable to understand the ancient language in which the sacred texts are written.
Inspired by the accessibility of rap, he set about trying to spread the word of Buddha to a younger generation by writing rhymes that teach old-skool lessons in modern Japanese.
He began inviting children, students and artists to visit his temple for some untraditional teachings – and they were impressed by his mad skills.
Buddhist follower Yuriko Watanabe said: “He really amazes everyone with his talent. When I first saw him on the stage, I was like ‘Wow!’”
Tagai now holds it down in front of audiences full of streetwise kids dressed head-to-toe in sportswear.
But he isn’t stopping there – he has big plans for the future.
He’s perfected the moonwalk, he plans to break out his first freestyle rap any day now and soon he is hoping to drop bombs on the dancefloor with a new twist on the genre – hip-hop tap dancing.
