“Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation,” a brilliant exhibition at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, reveals the centrality of visual art to hip-hop’s thrilling beginnings. The show prompts fresh consideration of the origins of hip-hop and the “post-graffiti” movement, which saw the street artists who had transformed New York’s urban landscape adapt their work for display in high-end galleries, as well as in music videos and fashion.
Un corto animato su Rosa Parks
L’impegno di Rosa Parks nella lotta per i diritti civili degli afroamericani non si limitò allo storico gesto dell’autobus, quando la donna si rifiutò di…
How Nina Simone Became Hip Hop’s “Secret Weapon”
In 1996, the Fugees burst on the scene with “Ready or Not,” and most listeners were not ready: for the ominous, eclectic, Caribbean-inflected production, the…
From a Bronx Party to a Global Force
Many, many people with an internet connection, including yours truly, spent a fair amount of time on 11 August 2017 entranced by a Google Doodle.…
The story of the funky drummer:
“Give the drummer some”, said the voice of funk soul pioneer James Brown as it rang out above his band on the 1967 recording…
A History of American Protest Music
On June 12, 1963, in the early morning after president John F. Kennedy’s Civil Rights address, activist Medgar Evers was shot in the back as…
The origins of hip hop
When we hear “hip-hop” or “rap” (we hardly hear just one of those term separately, because of their common origins), we talk about a musical…
#HipHopDance
How the B-Boy and B-Girl Became Choreographed Count-By-The-Numbers Dancers Prologue: Ihave a dilemma. Every time I pull up old clips of Def Comedy Jam’s first…
PHASE 2’s Party Flyers
In the South Bronx in the 1970s, hip-hop culture was just beginning to form at large musical gatherings called jams. In abandoned buildings packed with…
From Prodigy to KDot
Legendary photographer Estevan Oriol has taken more than a half-million photos throughout a career that has spanned over 25 years. The legendary photographer sat down…