It seems that hip-hop music is ubiquitous1 these days, from popular radio to TV commercials. Whatever your opinion of hip-hop music may be, there is no denying it has impacted pop culture around the world, and shows no signs of slowing down.

Hip-hop brings with it its own unique terminology. “Rap” is the literal action of speaking over a beat. “Hip-hop” is both a kind of music and a culture, which includes four main elements: “emceeing” (rapping over a beat), “deejaying” (spinning records and mixing samples), “breaking” (an acrobatic form of dance), and “graffiti art”. Along with these are other distinctive.htmects of hip-hop culture such as language and fashion.

Hip-hop has its roots in the African traditions of percussion and oral storytelling. Its modern origins, however, can be found in New York City’s crime-ridden South Bronx in the early 1970s. Fed up with the insipid2 disco of the times, youth who were short on money but rich in ingenuity3 created a new, dynamic art form: verbally competing and chronicling life in the ghetto by rapping poetry over a beat.

The person regarded as the father of hip-hop is Kool Herc, a Jamaican who immigrated to New York at age 12. Around 1973, he began deejaying at house parties in the Bronx. To his infectious4 playlist of R&B, soul, and funk he added the Jamaican customs of “toasting” (talking to the crowd) and “dub talk” (speaking rhythmically over a beat).

Hip-hop culture’s positive energy was fostered5 by Afrika Bambaataa, a former gang leader and dj who is regarded as the godfather of hip-hop. His efforts brought together the burgeoning6 hip-hop community and inspired gangs to battle creatively through rapping and breaking rather than through violence.

In the 1980s, as hip-hop became more popular, new offshoots developed. East Coast styles were generally hard-core,7 with rappers espousing political and social ideals, often from an afro-centric perspective. West Coast hip-hop was heavy on gangster rap, filled with references to gangs, guns, and the inescapability of street life. The West Coast style caught the larger public’s imagination, and became wildly popular in urban and suburban areas alike.

While some fans complain that today’s hip-hop has lost its edge and political message, the genre continues to expand, innovate, and influence. Through its brief history, hip-hop has gone from just two turntables8 to samplers and live musicians; from rapping on a four count to increasingly complex verbal gymnastics; and from its roots in the South Bronx to the four corners of the world.

“Run” of the East Coast hip-hop band Run DMC once said that when people called hip-hop a fad, they had no idea of the passion that lay behind it. Once considered a flash in the pan, hip-hop is set to continue its path of creation and celebration, bringing more and more converts along for the ride.

1. ubiquitous a. 無所不在的

2. insipid a. 枯燥乏味的

3. ingenuity n. 發明的才能

4. infectious a. 易傳染的

5. foster v. 助長，培育

6. burgeon v. 萌芽，迅速發展

7. hard-core a. 核心的

8. turntable n. 轉盤

現在，從大眾廣播到電視廣告，嘻哈音樂似乎無所不在。不管你對嘻哈音樂的看法怎么樣，無可否認它已經對世界各地的通俗文化造成沖擊，并且沒有減弱的跡象。

嘻哈風帶來了一些專有術語：“說唱樂”是指配合節奏念文字的動作?！拔奔仁且环N音樂，同時也是一種文化，嘻哈文化包含四大要素：“MC”（隨節奏說唱）、“DJ”（轉動唱片及混音）、“霹靂舞”（一種特技般的舞蹈），和“涂鴉藝術”。除此之外嘻哈文化還有其它一些特殊的方面，如語言和服裝時尚等。

嘻哈文化起源于非洲傳統的打擊樂和口述故事。然而，現代嘻哈則是70年代初期來源于紐約市犯罪行為猖獗的南布朗克斯區。那些口袋空空卻富于創新的年輕人，厭倦了當時流行的乏味的迪斯科音樂，便創造出了一種新的動感十足的藝術形式：通過配合節奏念詞的方式，在言辭上相互較量，并且記錄了貧民區的生活。

被公認為嘻哈之父的庫爾·賀克是牙買加人，他是12歲移民到紐約的。1973年左右，他開始在布朗克斯區的家庭宴會中擔任DJ。在他主持的節奏布魯斯、靈歌和方克舞等極富感染力的節目里，他還加入了“toasting”（對群眾說話）和“dub talk”（跟著拍子有節奏地講話）等牙買加風俗節目。

培養嘻哈文化的正面力量要歸功于曾做過幫派頭目和DJ的阿弗里卡·班巴塔，他被公認為嘻哈文化的教父。他不僅努力把迅速發展的嘻哈音樂團體團結起來，而且還激勵幫派份子在說唱和霹靂舞上進行創造性的互相較量，而不是通過暴力。

80年代，隨著嘻哈風更加盛行，新的流派發展起來?？偟膩碚f東岸風格是核心力量，說唱歌手擁護以非洲為中心觀點的政治和社會理想。西岸的嘻哈風主要是幫派份子的說唱，充滿了關于幫派、槍枝和不可避免的街頭生活等內容。西岸風格引起了更多群眾的興趣而為之激動，所以在都市和近郊地區都很受歡迎。

盡管有些嘻哈迷抱怨說，現在的嘻哈文化中，原有的銳氣和政治信息已經沒有了，但這種類型仍在不斷擴展、革新并且發揮其影響力。在他短暫的歷史中，嘻哈文化從僅有兩個唱機轉盤發展到了混音器和現場演奏的樂手；從四拍子的說唱到越來越復雜的嘴上功夫；從南布朗克斯的發祥地到世界的每個角落。

東岸嘻哈樂團“Run DMC”中的“Run”曾說：在有些人稱嘻哈只是一種時尚時，他們根本不了解它背后的熱情。一度被視為曇花一現的嘻哈風，卻決心繼續走他的創造與贊美之路，帶領更多的歸附者上路。