Blog Assignment 1 Vetta S

Just from reading a few chapters of Changs book I realized how much gangs have changed over the years, and how they had a huge impact on Hip

Hop. When they 1^st got started it was all about people wanting to have their own territory or “representing” for their own territory. Where Gangs would fight over who would have the most territory. To tell others where their territory stated and ended it was. Gangs also had a type a style to distinguish who was from whose gang, so they would know when it was time for them to defend what they own and love. But then when people started feeling music and wanting to be more into the music industry gangs fell off it was all about if you could be the best tagger from there where you can put your artwork up, so everybody can see where you came from. It was something that was so your name was out there and that was how it lead into the hip hop culture. The DJs and the MC started tagging as well…..

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…. But once the hip hop industry got big the gangs were pretty much nonexistent and the DJ and MC went to do parties where kids would break dance and pop, these crews became the “new gangs” where they would dance to see who was the better group rather than who was the best fighter. THIS was the beginning and what hip hop was all about how people came together to enjoy one sound one beat and not about fighting or arguing, but enjoying oneself with freestyle dancing and following what beat was being dropped.

The youth of this day and age just went with the crowd wanting to be in the “in crowd” at the time, the gangs were done and over, so the next best thing was going to those house and street parties and learning the styles of being a beboy

and breaking and popping. They were essentially following in the footsteps of the older generation, but at their own pace. The older generation would break dance up and then go down, but the kids switched it and started from the bottom to the top.

 I don’t think that you can talk about hip-hop without talking about gangs because it was all meshed together to make one complete era. That generation of time is only the beginning of the hip hop nation these days hip hop is so big

that it runs the world if you will. Children and some adults hang off of every word that an artist may say because they are so influenced by the beat and when really listening to the lyrics they want to go out and be like the artists.