Chinese hip hop

Chinese hip hop (Chinese: 嘻哈; pinyin xīha) is a relatively new phenomenon; in Chinese music; “Hip-Hop as a movement (initially in Beijing) emerged around the year 1990 via British, Filipino and Congolese DJ's. ” Some of the earliest influences of hip-hop in came from movies such as Beatstreet(1984) and "Beat Dis, a Hip Hop History" which entered China on video tape via embassy workers or foreign businessmen and their families.

Origins and development

The first DJ's in China to play rap music on a daily basis were residents at China's first nightclub/club 'Juliana's' in Beijing during 1984. At the time there were no other clubs in mainland China but Juliana's was already receiving monthly deliveries of records from London featuring labels such as Sugarhill, Tommy Boy and Morgan Khan's Streetsounds.

In 1992 China got its first regular Hip Hop nights (Fridays/Saturdays) at Beijing's Kunlun Hotel 'Crystal Disco' <DJ's Florient Obesse, Carol (Lu Li Hong)>. 1994 saw the first nightly Hip Hop club open in China (DJ's Jiggz and Mel "Herbie" Kent) at Shanghai's 'Broadway' club in the port area. This was the first phase of HIP HOP in China, developed by DJ's, Rap enthusiasts and B-Boys - it flourished without mass media support, sponsorship or exposure.

Hip hop

Hip hop or hip-hop is a sub-cultural movement that formed during the early 1970s by African-American and Puerto Rican youths residing in the South Bronx in New York City. It became popular outside of the African-American community in the late 1980s and by the 2000s became the most listened-to musical genre in the world. It is characterized by four distinct elements, all of which represent the different manifestations of the culture: rap music (oral), turntablism or DJing (aural), b-boying (physical) and graffiti art (visual). Even while it continues to develop globally in myriad styles, these four foundational elements provide coherence to hip hop culture. The term is often used in a restrictive fashion as synonymous only with the oral practice of rap music.

The origin of the hip hop culture stems from the block parties of the Ghetto Brothers, when they plugged in the amplifiers for their instruments and speakers into the lampposts on 163rd Street and Prospect Avenue and used music to break down racial barriers, and from DJ Kool Herc at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, where Herc mixed samples of existing records with his own shouts to the crowd and dancers. Kool Herc is credited as the "father" of hip hop. DJ Afrika Bambaataa of the hip hop collective Zulu Nation outlined the pillars of hip hop culture, to which he coined the terms: MCing or "Emceein", DJing or "Deejayin", B-boying and graffiti writing or "Aerosol Writin".