Hip-hop is more than jus music it's a culture that was thought to be just a fad but has lasted over twenty years and has grown into a five billion dollar industry. The origins of hip-hop can be traced back to the mid 1970's. People started to recite written rhymes over the instrumental versions of records. But the instrumental version wasn't as long so they began mixing the records to make them last long enough for their rhymes to be said. This is how dj-ing started. This is one of the very important elements of the hip-hop culture or "movement". (www.blackenterprise.com).
There is four elements to the hip hop culture: Dj-ing, Mc-ing, break dancing and graffiti art. These elements have all played a role in hip-hop culture. These are the things that actually make it a culture and a movement. When the movement first started not all the elements were recognized together. Because of both the goals they were trying to achieve and the need for music support by each element to reach their goals they merged together to fight authority. From the 70's to today the hip-hop world has changed a lot. .
When the pioneers if hip-hop started to do their thing it was all about expressing ones self and showing off your skills. Though the pioneers of the music were faced with a society that didn't want anything to do with them they did not give up. Like any other culture in the world, hip-hop had to go through the trial and error stage. The elements were not accepted by everyday society. Hip-hop music was seriously criticized. Certain elements of the hip-hop culture became illegal in some areas. Writers or graffiti artists faced jail time if caught and break dancing became illegal in many areas.
There were some rules which all played by and if the rules were not followed a player would lose respect from other players and fans. Respect was everything in the game of hip-hop. To win you had to demonstrate your skills in front of the other players and fans and were judged by the size of your crowd when u played.