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6.6: Crossing Cultural Boundaries

  • Page ID
    294318
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    Hip-hop has crossed cultural boundaries that other music genres had never crossed before. In Germany, immigrants from Northern Africa, Turkey, Morocco brought with them traditional music and mixed with the imported American hip-hop rap, contributed to Germany's hip-hop culture. The Neue Deutsche Welle band Fehlfarben released a song called, Militürk (1980), acknowledging and inspired by the presence of Turks in Germany. In 1982, JaJaJa toured with a large graffiti canvas she spray painted with the band's name and a giant reptile/dragon/dinosaur. JaJaJa's I Am An Animal video released in 1983 featured breakdancing youths costumed as dinosaurs.

    Hip-hop music became very popular amongst Māori and Pacific Islanders although many of the early crews were of Pākehā (white New Zealanders). In 1984, Dalvanius Prime’s Poi E –regarded by some as the first New Zealand hip-hop song – became a hit and was entirely in Māori language. By the late 1980s strong hip-hop scenes had developed in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. The first New Zealand hip-hop DJ competition took place in Auckland in 1989 where American hip-hop was coalesced with Māori language and traditional songs to create something unique to New Zealand.

    Break dancing arrived in Brazil, followed by graffiti and rap, the hip-hop movement spread from the main centers of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro across Brazil, and the doors were opened to the national rap movement in the late 1990s. Mixing rap with samba, soul, reggae, bossa nova, acid-jazz, poetry and rock, Brazil’s hip-hop is a sampling of hybrid of “Brazilianess” and imported hip-hop culture.

    Definition: Hybrid

    Something that has two or more components of mixed origin or composition, such as a word whose elements are derived from different languages, a hybrid vehicle that uses gas and electric power, or a dance that combines classical and contemporary elements such as modern ballet.

    The hybridic nature of hip-hop makes it an accessible and malleable expressive form for street youth and now many demographics around the world. It is obvious that no singular locale owns hip-hop anymore. Not only has hip-hop music travelled globally, but appearances of graffiti and dance illustrate the absorption of cultural influences. While American hip-hop dance tends to be rough around the edges and improvisational, for the French-North African Compagnie Kafig, hip-hop dance movement is a fully choreographed hybrid incorporation of French, North African, and Spanish – specifically Andalusian – movement elements. Kafig’s dancers have Algerian roots, making their experience as immigrant minorities in France not unlike that of the Latino, Caribbean and African American populations who originated hip-hop in the United States (Samuels, 1999).

    A person dancing on a stageDescription automatically generated
    Figure 6.8. Korean hip-hop has taken the competition dance scene by storm

    (Jounarl. (19 April 2013). singer parkjaebum. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:N1366446006831.jpg)

    In South Korea, hip-hop expanded into a cultural phenomenon in Seoul, and Pusan. The movement has been growing since the mid-90s, and has been gaining attention internationally, as Koreans have won various dance championships around the world since the early 2000s. Aside from mainstream K-pop infused hip-hop, there is also an underground scene that has developed throughout South Korea. Online webzines like Hiphop Playa have contributed to spreading the culture.


    This page titled 6.6: Crossing Cultural Boundaries is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Debra Worth.