Hip Hop, DJ-ing and Turntablism

Hip hop is a cultural movement that was formed during the early 1970's by African-American, Caribbean, and Latino young people living in the South Bronx in New York City.

Read and watch the videos linked below then have a go at mixing on digital turntables linked at the bottom of page. Practice the techniqies listed.

There are four main parts to Hip Hop Culture...

Spoken Word in Music

Rapping and Beat Boxing: The origin of the hip hop culture comes from the Block Parties or street parties of the street gang called the ‘Ghetto Brothers’. The Ghetto Brothers would plug amplifiers and speakers into the lampposts on the street. Their philosophy was to use music to break down Racial barriers. Rappers would compete with each other to see who had the best lyrics.

Turntablism:

DJiing, Mixing and Skratching Records: DJ Kool Herc was one of the original hip hop DJ’s, playing from 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, now considered to be the home of hip-hop culture. Herc mixed Samples taken from existing records. Hip Hop music was often competitive too.

(Scratching is spelt Skratching in turntable terms).

Graffiti Art

Graffiti: Just like Hip hop music, graffiti was competitive game, where artists tried to make better work than their peers.

Dance: B-Boying known as Breakdancing

The word B-Boying now known as Breakdancing came from 'Break Boy and Break Girl'. This originated from DJ’s only playing the beat of songs. The DJ would only play parts of the songs, where it was beat only, no lyrics. People would then dance in the break. Girls and guys who danced in the 'breaks' were called 'Break Boy’ and Break Girl' or 'B-Boy; B-Girl.’

During the 1970's martial arts were very popular, especially Capoeira. Breakdancers incorporated martial art stunts into their dances. Today b-boying has become a highly demanding dance physically and mentally, with massive b-boy dance competitions being held around the world.

The Art of the Skratch: DJs Celskiii + Deeandroid | PBS LearningMediaDJs Celskiii and Deeandroid have been staples of the Bay Area hip-hop scene for over 15 years. Products of the fertile turntablism movement of the late-90s, Celskiii and Deeandroid have been tour DJs for KRS-One and have twice competed in the US DMC Team Battles, placing second in 2010. Since 2003 they've also fostered a space for other DJs to collaborate and advance their craft with the monthly event Skratchpad. In this episode of Art School, we visit Celskiii and Deeandroid in their Vallejo studio. Listen in as they talk about their Bay Area influences, their responsibility to their audience, and why vinyl records still reign supreme. Check out the entire collection of KQED Art School videos here!

Learn the basics with DJs Celskiii + Deeandroid

Click this link to watch the instructional video. Click on the second video on the screen!

Now have a go yourself on the digital turntable, YOU.DJ (click here for access)

See if you can complete the following:

A Baby skratch
A Tear skratch
The Forward skratch, using the fader
The Transformer

Stuck? Check out this tutorial!

Check out this youtube tutorial showing how to use YouDJ, including effects and mixing tracks.

How to hand in your work...

Once you have tried out the online turntables and practiced the 4 scratches make a screen recording to send to Mrs Watson and add a link to your music in google docs or slides.

Click here to use Screencasify to make a screen recording. Screencasify is a chrome extension:]

Game Time: Try this hip hop quiz to test you knowledge (click on the green button).

Another turntable online

Here is another online turntable you can use. This has rap and record beats. Please note some of the music has band language in it, so choose wisely.

Report abuse