LUCIDMEDIA

And then there was Yo! Gabba Gabba

Written by Sebastian Frye Tuesday, 29 January 2008 00:00

I thought I'd introduce this little blog with posting a few videos. First I posted a whole slew of videos from different categories and styles, but then I realized a little cohesion would make for a more pleasurable viewing and reading experience.

So, here we are and I've got a whole bunch of dance videos, but not just any dance videos; a comparative study of dance as an integral form of Hip-Hop music.

Hip-Hop music, from whence it came, was comprised of several elements that worked together to create an alternative lifestyle that let the inner city youth arrange conflicts in a manner other than violence. That isn't to say the formative age of Hip-Hop, late 70's to mid 80's, wasn't strewn with violence. At clubs and venues violence would still break out and some people would use intimidation as a means of dominance. But DJ's responsible for running parties used Hip-Hop to unify youths. Prohibited at some of these parties were any kinds of weapons, gangs, any usually alcohol. The focus was on the music and the innovation of getting people moving across the dance floor. Once the break-beat was discovered, by pulling the second record back to play the break after the first ended, a new form of dance was created: break-dancing.

But break-dancing isn't the only form of dancing which Hip-Hop utilized. Break-dancing was largely individualistic style of dance, where one's arsenal of moves was of a widely accepted dance dictionary. What set one dancer apart from another was innovation on moves, combinations, agility, and endurance. Entire crews would still dance as a unit, but the real allure was individualism.

Rock Steady Crew - Up Rock (1984)

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=L3nYYXyTHmw]


As you can see, in this video of the Rock Steady Crew group dancing was another part of breaking. But my impression is that the flashier more impressive group dancing came from a commercial perspective. Before the advent of videos dancing was a seperate element, as was graffiti. The broader lifestyle was deemed Hip-Hop, not simply the music. Once artists started reaching wider masses they could introduce more elements at one time, proliferating two sections of Hip-Hop. I would argue that at times the colours of the video and the stylistic elements comprise the graffiti element; though it may not be blatant, it is implied.

Heavy D and the Boyz - We Got Our Own Thang (1989)

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=x6JT1-P5lmQ]


The Heavster is admired not simply for his commercial appeal. He was an excellent lyracist, and obviously a supreme dancer. Heavy D wasn't the only one dancing like this though, we can all remember the one hit from MC Hammer. But check out the inimitable legend Big Daddy Kane doing the same thing with his back-up dancers.

Big Daddy Kane - I Get The Job Done (On the Arsenio Hall Show)(1989)

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=_R8hvjpdw54]


So what happened to the dance troupe being so closely linked to the MC? Well, Gangster Rap. Once 1994 came along the focus titled heavily to the West-Coast. The proliferation of guns, drugs, and sex in Hip-Hop came to the forefront of the culture and the dance element got thrown far behind. The material aspect of the lifestyle, the congralutary or celebratory aspect, received the most attention. Of course, this is speaking in terms of popular culture, because underneath the mainstream, 'hardcore' Hip-Hop still reigned.

It wasn't until this video that Hip-Hop took a turn back onto the dance floor:

50 Cent - In Da Club (2003)




With 50 Cent gangsterism and club culture were brought together.You didn't have to be interested in sporting an AKA 47 or illegal drugs, you could just like the beat. The song was meant for the club, to be blasted aloud with neon lights shining and sweat dripping from every part of a dancers body. Thus began a new era for Hip-Hop, which is where this little video comes in:

Soulja Boy - Crank Dat (2007)




I don't dig this stuff, in-fact I find it pretty uni-dimensional, but it does fascinate me. It's bringing like-minded people together like nothing else. Soulja Boy connected people using available technology like a true opportunist. Soulja Boy's generation is completely compelled by this flavor of the moment.

I do wonder what someone like Afrikka Bambaata thinks of this. Isn't Soulja Boy fulfilling the purpose of Hip-Hop? To unite youths in their similarities? Even though his music may be less than intriguing.

So where do the generation after Soulja Boy's find themselves? Well, to get a glimpse into that, and it certainly is a friendly future for Hip-Hop, check out this:




Yummy yummy, indeed.