Black Arts Movement

The Black Arts Movement was the only literary movement in America to advance "social participation" as a requirement for its aesthetic in both natural and political contexts. The movement veered away from its recent history of protest and petition literature and hurriedly advanced toward Black Power, a choice that initially appeared ludicrous and impossible.
Richard Wright had earlier used the phrase "Black Power" in a political context to describe the emergence of independent African states in the middle of the 1950s. The civil rights activists Stokely Carmichael and Willie Ricks, who worked for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, are credited with coining the phrase in 1966. Quickly taken up in the North, Black Power was linked with a militant backing of armed self-defense, parting from "racist American domination," and pride in and declaration of the goodness and magnificence of Blackness. Black writers have always had to confront the subject of whether their work was mainly political or aesthetic. Moreover, Umbra itself had progressed out of similar circumstances. Umbra was primarily poetry- and performance-oriented established a significant and classic characteristic of the movement's aesthetics.

In his influential 1965 poem "Black Art," which quickly became the primary poetic policy of the Black Arts literary faction, Jones declaimed "we want poems that kill." He was not only speaking symbolically. During that period, armed self-defense and mottos such as "Arm yourself or harm yourself' created a social climate that promoted altercation with the white power structure, especially the police. Additionally, armed resistance was widely viewed as not only a lawful but often as the only efficient means of liberation. Black Arts' dynamism, impact, and successfulness are a direct result of its partisan characteristics and advocacy of artistic and political liberty "by any means necessary." America had never experienced such a militant artistic movement.

Rap and Hip-Hop Culture

Today's rap music reflects its foundation in the hip-hop culture of young, urban, working-class African-Americans, its roots in the African oral custom, its function as the voice of an otherwise underrepresented group, and, as its reputation has grown, its commercialization and appropriation by the music industry. Hip-hop music is considered to have originated in New York's South Bronx in 1973 pioneered by Kool DJ Herc. At a Halloween dance party hosted by his younger sister, Herc used an inventive turntable technique to extend a song's drum break by playing the broken piece of two identical records consecutively. The fame of the extended break lent its name to "break dancing," a style unique to hip-hop culture, which was assisted by extended drum brakes played by DJs at New York dance bashes. New York's hip-hop scene was taken over by original turntablists DJ Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, and Herc. The rappers of Sugarhill Gang created hip-hop's first commercially successful hit, "Rapper's Delight," in 1979'.

Rap itself, the rhymes spoken over hip-hop music, began as a commentary on the ability or "skillz" of a particular DJ while that DJ was playing records at hip-hop occasions. MCs, the forebearers of today's rap artists, introduced DJs and their songs and often identified the presence of friends in the spectators at hip-hop events. Their role was carved out by popular African-American radio DJs in New York during the late l96Os, who introduced songs and artists with fast rhymes. The advancement of MCs caught the interest of hip-hop fans. Their rhymes lapped over from the alteration period between the end of one song and the beginning of the next to the songs themselves. Their commentaries moved solely from a DJ's skillz to their understandings and stories. The role of MCs in performances increase steadily, and they began to be identified as artists in their right.

The local fame of the rhythmic music served by DJs at dance parties and clubs, combined with an increase in "b-boys," break dancers, and graffiti artists and the growing significance of MCs created a distinctive way of life known as hip-hop. For the most part, hip-hop culture was defined and accepted by young, urban, working-class African-Americans. Hip-hop music came from a combination of traditionally African-American types of music--including jazz, soul, gospel, and reggae. It was produced by working-class African-Americans, who took advantage of available tools, vinyl records, and turntables, to invent a new type of music that both expressed and shaped the customs of black New York City youngsters in the 1970s. While rap's history appears short its relation to the African oral tradition, which provides rap with much of its current social importance, also roots rap in a long-standing history of oral historians, lyrical fetishism, and political support. At the heart of the African oral practice is the West African thought of Nommo. In Malian Dogon cosmology, Nommo is the first human being, a creation of the supreme deity, Amma, whose innovative power lies in the generative property of the spoken word. As a philosophical concept, nommo is the animative skills of words and the delivery of words to work on objects, giving life. The importance of nommo in the African oral tradition has given control to rappers and rap music within many African-American societies.

Rap's general designation as "CNN for black people" may result from the inheritance of rappers from griots, respected African oral historians, and praise-singers. Griots were the keepers and suppliers of knowledge, including tribal history, family lineage, and news of births, deaths, and wars. Traveling griots spread understanding in an accessible form, the spoken word, to members of tribal villages. Similarly, in the US, many rappers produce songs that, through performances and records, convey news of their daily lives, dreams, and displeasure outside of their immediate neighborhoods. Rappers are viewed as the voice of poor, urban African-American youth, whose lives are misrepresented by the conventional media. They are the keepers of modern African-American working-class history and worries. Additionally, rap's potential for political support stems from the function of its predecessors, African-American rhyming games, as figures of resistance to systems of subjugation and slavery. Rhyming games programmed race relations between African-American slaves and their white masters in a way that allowed them to pass the scrutiny of doubtful overseers. Additionally, rhyming games allowed slaves to use their creative intellect to provide inspiration and entertainment.

Rap has developed as a form of confrontation to the subjugation of working-class African-Americans in urban centers. Though it may be seen mainly as a form of entertainment, rap has the powerful potential to address social, economic, and political matters and act as a unifying voice for its audience. Rap shares its roots with other styles of traditionally African-American music, such as jazz, blues, and soul. Rap may also be closely associated with reggae music, a genre that also expanded from the mixture of traditional African drumming and the music of the European ruling class by the youth of inadequate economic means within a system of African economic suppression. In an ironic circle of influence, Jamaican reggae was played on African-American radio stations in New York in the 1960s. DJs used rhymes to initiate reggae songs. These AM radio stations could be gotten in Jamaica, where listeners adopted the DJs' rhyming techniques, extending them over reggae songs to invent "dub," another forerunner of rap. Kool DJ Herc brought his dub style to New York, but it failed to gain acceptance. He concentrated on expanding his DJing skills, which later allowed for the recognition of MCing and, eventually, rap.

Though not new matters, many of the aspects of rap that have been highlighted by politicians as "objectionable" violence, misogyny, and homophobia in the lyrics and lifestyles of some rappers may be seen as a function of rap's commodification. While rappers struggle to "keep it real," a term which reminds those inside hip-hop to be faithful to their roots, some admit that many rappers do as their record labels wish by writing lyrics that sell. In an audience which has become more ethnically and economically diverse, business-minded rappers have been pressured to take on the small roles that have proven profitable for young, African-American male artists, that of the "pimp," the "gangsta," and the "playa." Violence in rap, and in other forms of self-expression, was the manifestation of a feeling of hopelessness and displeasure in America's working class, especially working-class minority communities. By pointing to rap as the cause of violence, politicians attempt to remove from the consciousness of their constituents the history of domination that has given birth to hip-hop culture.

Dress

Hip Hop emerged in the 1970s during the prime of disco and soul music. During this era, jumpsuits were in style, and this could be seen in disco and soul songs. Episodes of "Soul Train" and James Brown substantially showcased the use of the jumpsuits. Hip Hop took the idea of flashy jumpsuits and altered it to track suits. From that moment track suits became a well-liked trend that would last for a while. The track suit went on to be the dominating fashion in hip hop in the 80s. The 80s also initiated other sports brands into the way of hip-hop such as Kangols often worn by rappers and DJs. The success of the Kangol was mainly due to LL Cool J as he was one of the first people to be seen with it. The Kangol hat is now seen in everyday style. Other Sports brands like Adidas became requirements for hip hop. Adidas success in hip hop made them create their line of his inspired products.

Basketball also became very important to hip hop fashion in the 80s. Hightop sneakers became very trendy as well as basketball jerseys. Since then sneakers have been highly linked with hip hop. Because of basketball influences, Nike and Jordan became a huge success in the hip hop fashion market. Due to the massive sizes of the jersey, baggy clothes also started appearing consisting of a loose shirt with baggy sagging shorts. Baggy clothes became a statement. The late 80s also initiated hip hop to heavy jewelry. The jewelry was a big proclamation for many of these rappers as many of them grew up unfortunate and the jewelry was a way to brag about their new wealth. Expensive leather jackets also became trendy. The 80s also initiated hip hop to products that have always related to the working place. Hip Hop has always been about making a statement. That's why without a doubt the Black Nationalism movement became a component of Hip Hop. The Black Nationalist colors showed up with many rappers, as well as African jewelry and clothing.

Gangs are often associated with deprived urban areas which are the same place most rappers come from. The early 90s the mode of dressing like a gangster became very fashionable and consisted of plaid shirts, baseball caps, and Dickies. The manner of clothing was changing, but it continued to be baggy. Another iconic item was introduced during the era, the starter jacket. The gangster image did change in the mid-90s. It became glorified. The film "Scarface" significantly influenced the late 90s gangster era. This was the start of the double-breasted suit and the don suit. The traditional gangster rapper look was changing to a cleaner more classic gangster. The modern fashion trend in hip hop has had many variances, but it is part of the traditional style. Hip Hop Artist now wear what's trendy, and people look up to them to see what's hip. Major designer brands like Gucci, Louie Vuitton, Dolce and Gabbana, and Armani are considered as the top of the notch products, and today they are closely related to hip hop fashion. Hip hop artists try to portray a living a better life, and they do this by wearing high-class products. Earlier, women used to be seen trying to copy the old styles of men of baggy clothes and try to look hard like them. Nowadays, women have also lead the way in fashion and have also used high-end brands to look sexy and high class.

Hip Hop has always salvaged fashion and gave them new meanings to them. They have taken on many styles associated with where many of the artists lived and gave them a more uptown feeling. Hip Hop has advanced into one of the most influential genres of music. It has revolutionized music so much that you can see hip hop influences in all of the forms of music. The fashion industry has capitalized on the rise of hip hop and even adopted styles from it. The insurgency hip hop has caused it to be very dominant in clothing. What started out as a subculture in the Bronx, New York has turned into one of the central authorities in Popular Culture.

Conclusion

In addition to supporting political commitment and self-regulating publishing; the Black Arts movement was inventive in its use of language. Speech (mainly, but not entirely, Black English), music, and performance were key elements of Black Arts literature. Black Arts aesthetics emphasize orality, which comprises of the ritual use of call and response both inside the body of the work itself as well as between performer and audience. This same course is visible in rap music and 1990s "performance poetry." When people come across the Black Arts movement, they are thrilled and stirred by the most daring, creative, and socially connected literary movement in America's history.

Bibliography

Beardsley, Monroe C. "The aesthetic point of view: Selected essays." (1982).

Belt, Black. "Black arts movement." The Cambridge Guide to African American History (2016): 32.

Davies, Stephen. "Definitions of art." The Routledge companion to aesthetics (2001): 169-179.

Goodman, Nelson. "Languages of Art (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1968)." GoodmanLanguages of Art1968 (1927).

Hebdige, Dick. "Rap and Hip-Hop." That's the Joint! The Hip-hop Studies Reader (2004): 223.

Mendenhall, V. "Dickie and Cohen on What Art Is." Journal of Aesthetic Education 16, no. 2 (1982): 41-54.

Shusterman, Richard. Pragmatist aesthetics: Living beauty, rethinking art. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2000.

Wittgenstein, Ludwig. Philosophical investigations. John Wiley & Sons, 2010.