Thursday, April 8, 2010

Media

I realized that the impact of the media on hip hop is way bigger than I actually thought. First of all, it "revolutionized" breaking. The term "breakdance" didn't exist until the media came up with it. Now, everyone calls it breakdancing. I personally rdon't like that term and only use it when I really need to (for example if I tell someone that I b-boy or break, and that person has no idea what that means). Another way in which it changed b-boying is that in most cases, the media only shows powermoves. The result of this is that the image people get about breaking is that it's all about headspins, windmills, airflares, etc. which is totally wrong. So much emphasis in this dance is about toprock (introductory "dance" while standing, before going down on the ground), footwork (I think this term should be clear), and STYLE. I also think that upcoming b-boys, who don't know anything about the background of breaking, get the wrong image to start with. They focus immediately on doing powermoves. I've seen way too many people who don't have any tops or footwork. That is just wrong, because it shows the lack of basics, foundation.
The media had a big influence on the music of hip hop too: rap. Almost everyone I talk to distinguishes in music between hip hop and rap. What's wrong with that? It's simple: hip hop = culture, rap = music. I know that nowadays they just use hip hop in the same sense as rap. Probably noone cares about this, but it bothers me. A few weeks ago I had an argument over exactly this thing. A friend of mine said that Eminem's music is rap, and that Gym Class Heroes are hip hop. All I could say is "WHAT??"

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