Hip Hop is a broad conglomerate of artistic forms that originated as a specific street subculture within urban communities communities during the 1970s in in New York City, then later spread its influence to Latin American communities and then the world.  It is characterized by four distinct elements, all of which represent the different
manifestations of the culture: rap music, turntablism, breaking, and graffiti art.  Despite their contrasting methods of execution, they find unity in their common association to the poverty and violence underlying the historical context that birthed the culture. It was as a means of providing a reactionary outlet from such urban
hardship that "Hip Hop" initially functioned, a form of self-expression that could reflect upon, proclaim an alternative to, try and challenge or merely evoke the mood of the circumstances of such an environment. Even while it
continues in contemporary history to develop globally in a flourishing myriad of diverse styles, these foundational elements provide stability and coherence to the culture.  The term is frequently used mistakenly to refer in a confining fashion to the mere practice of rap music. The origin of the culture stems from block parties where people would mix samples of existing records with shouts to the crowd and dancers. Kool Herc is credited as the "father" of the art form.  mporary disc jockeys and imitators creating rhythmic beats by looping breaks (small portions of songs
emphasizing a percussive pattern) on two turntables, more commonly referred to
as juggling. This was later accompanied by "rap", a
rhythmic style of chanting or poetry often presented in 16-bar measures or time
frames, and beatboxing, a vocal technique mainly used to
provide percussive elements of music and various technical effects of hip hop
DJs. An original form of dancing and particular styles of dress arose among fans
of this new music. These elements experienced considerable adaptation and
development over the course of the history of the culture.


Hip hop is simultaneously a new and old phenomenon; the importance of sampling to the art form means that much of the culture has revolved around the idea of updating classic recordings, attitudes, and experiences for modern audiences - called "flipping" within the culture. It follows in the footsteps of earlier American musical genres blues, jazz, and rock and roll in having become one of the most practiced genres of music in existence worldwide, and also takes additional inspiration regularly from soul music, funk and rhythm and blues.