The Forgotten Art of Breaking

I have really been looking forward to this week’s reading, as b-boying is simultaneously the area of hip-hop I know the least about and the most intriguing. And while the Schloss reading was not particularly poignant or revealing about b-boying as a whole, it was easily one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read so far in the class, ranking up at the top alongside Toure.
My favorite chapter in the book was the chapter on battling. To me, when I think about b-boying I automatically think about the battles. And while I have never seen a battle in real life (I have seen several solo performances, including one in New Orleans that was absolutely fantastic) I have seen several of those cheesy break dancing movies. And that obviously makes me an expert! Schloss went into deep detail regarding the mindset of b-boys as they prepare for and compete in a battle. Particularly the section where he discusses the strategies involved in battles, as a lot of it can be related to any other strategic endeavor.
Schloss also gave some insight into why b-boying isn’t as popular today as it used to be, which was welcome and something I haven’t seen in readings before. Among other things, he mentions that as rap has become more mainstream the tempo has also slowed down. As this happened b-boying became less and less interesting, as the best breaks are fast and demand the most out of the dancer. Because of this b-boys eventually stopped dancing to new songs, focusing solely on the older music that was more fitting to the spirit of b-boying. Schloss said that this was the reason that we see comparatively little breaking in modern hip-hop, as the art has been left behind. Which is a shame, as to me there is very little more enjoyable than watching a talented b-boy dance to a solid beat. I enjoy rapping or listening to a good deejay as much as the next person, but there is something particularly fun about watching a dance.

Understanding Graffiti

I have a hard time looking at graffiti art and not thinking about gangs. I have spent a lot of time studying gangs/gang life in my major and have put no small amount of effort into looking at gang tags. However, once I actually started looking through Spraycan Art I was able to really differentiate between the two. When looking at gang tags it is almost always a warning about something. Whether or not it is telling someone that this is your turf or that other people aren’t wanted in the area, it is almost always something simple like a name or a symbol. Graffiti art, on the other hand, is really and truly something of beauty. I’m not entirely sure how so few people can look at some of the stuff these people do and not consider it art. I guess I just feel the same way about this as I do about hip-hop as a whole. I’ve never really understood how so few people can not see it as legitimate.
Since I love posting my favorite quote from a book or reading I will do the same this week. From Spraycan Art, “You ask someone, ‘Do you like birds singing in the morning, do you think it’s beautiful?’ and the person will most probably answer, ‘Yes.’ And then you ask the person, ‘Well, do you understand them?’ and the person will go, ‘Well, no.’ And then you say, ‘You don’t have to understand something for it to be beautiful.” I really do feel this about graffiti art, and actually art as a whole. I always have a hard time trying to figure out what an artist is ‘saying’ in one work or another, and the problem is only exacerbated in graffiti art where I sometimes cannot even make out what a work is even saying. And I mean that literally, as sometimes with all of the colors and things going on it is actually difficult to see. But just because I don’t really know what’s going on doesn’t mean that I can’t see that it is something special.

Rhymes and Lyrics

For the most part I was unimpressed with the readings for this week. However, that is only because they didn’t really tell me much that was new, especially the excerpts from the Book of Rhymes. That entire reading just seemed like it was my 12th grade English class put into hip-hop’s perspective. But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy them. I actually gained a fair amount from this week, even if it was not a ton of factual knowledge. I did take away more information about rappers in general, which is always good since my knowledge base was weak to begin with.
The quote I most enjoyed from this week’s readings and felt like it described hip-hop the most was out of Book of Rhymes. This quote was, “It’s not what he’s saying, it’s how he’s saying it.” The author was saying this in response to being questioned about the vulgarity in hip-hop language, but it could also be interpreted to describe rhyming. While you won’t find many people who question language more than I do, the quote really spoke to me. It makes you understand that even though some people may find the rap lyrics offensive; they are usually not being used for the sole purpose of their vulgarity. They are being used because that is the language of the medium. If a rapper were to not use the language it isn’t likely that he would be popular at all, if for very long. While I may not approve of or believe that rappers should believe in what they say, I understand the need for them to say it.
For the most part I thought it was a waste of time when reading about the different types if rhymes. While it did give me a little technical knowledge in that I now have all of the names of the different types of rhymes, I could (for the most part) describe the different rhyme forms without doing the reading. The best thing it did was give me a feeling for how different rappers used different rhyme schemes in their rap.