Hipnotik
The essence of hip hop truly is the transformation of existing objects and forms.
– KRS-One
A quick hip-hop lesson courtesy of BBC:
Hip hop encompasses music, dancing, art, poetry, language and fashion. Its originators were from the inner-city immigrant strata of society: frustrated young people who felt disenfranchised by the system, excluded from mainstream culture, and desperate to express themselves.
So the hip hoppers utilized what was around them. They spray painted the walls, they danced on street corners, they hooked-up to lamp-posts to power their sound systems.
They took what already existed and turned it into something new, exciting and different. Popular songs were transformed by ‘deejaying’ techniques. Martial arts were incorporated into dance styles. ‘Emcees’ manipulated the language into a new nomenclature.
Much of what these cultural entrepreneurs did was illegal, condemned, or otherwise disapproved of. But hip hop is now a global multi-billion dollar industry, and those same entrepreneurs who contributed to its success are now engaged in a desperate attempt to maintain the roots of hip hop and, in the now-familiar phrase, ‘Keep it real’.
As with any maturing culture, hip hop has spawned its own theory. This theory is based around the four elements of hip hop:
* Deejaying
* Emceeing
* Breaking
* Graffiti art
So this past Saturday in Barcelona was the 7th annual Hipnotik Festival, celebrating the culture of hip-hop. Check out the site at hipnotikfestival.com if you’d like.
Being a missionary of the culture for years, spreading the words, theories, teachings, and music that it has to offer to all those who crossed my path, I felt obligated to attend. To my surprise and delight, they put on a really impressive event. It definitely was ‘Hip-Hop’.
Let’s take a look.
This was the main stage area where most of the ‘popular’ acts performed. These dudes were on stage for about 90mins. They roll pretty deep. Maybe they’re the Spanish equivalent of wutang.
When I was buying my ticket to walk in the door, some grimey looking dude approached me and asked for some money to get inside the festival. He must have appealed to my soft side when he said, ‘I really love music man’, cause I then gave him 5 euro, which combined with what was crumpled up in his dirty hand, got him inside. About 1 hour later I saw the dude inside. Money well spent.
The B-boy battle room where dance crews went head-to-head in a tournament.
A battle (well, half a battle cause my arm got tired from holding the camera).
These guys are from Miami, named ArtOfficial. Live hop-hop group, a la The Roots. Pretty solid.
They even had ‘real’ shit going on too, like this panel discussion called ‘hip-hop without borders’. There were more of these going on all day about a variety of topics, but since I had no idea what the fuck the people were saying, I found better ways to spend my time. Still had to check it out though to see what goes on.
A 4-person deejay crew called ‘Skratch Commando’.
I was most looking forward to Qbert when I saw the lineup. He’s been around the game for a long time, winning a # of ‘turntablist’ competitions. Here’s a little excerpt from his bio:
He is often referred to as the Jimi Hendrix of the turntables, known to make them sing in complex and unimaginable ways. He has invented the most scratching techniques and musical innovations than any DJ in history. QBert is credited for being the world ambassador of the DJ as a musician and turning the turntable into a respected musical instrument.
The best thing about this event for me, was simply the fact that it exists. Seeing young people from a different part of the world, embracing a NY based culture that my generation was at the forefront of, is a great thing to see.
Great article. I am dealing with some of these issues as well.. Lenna Dugald Jamilla