Nasir "Nas" Jones released hsi classic Hip Hop Album "Illmatic" in what year? 

A. 1988[image]

B. 1990

C. 1994

D. 1997

Answer: 

C. 1994

For more info see: "Sampling Soul" in the New Timbuktu Hip Hop Channel. 

From Wikipedia: "Illmatic is the debut album of American rapper Nas, released on April 19, 1994, by Columbia Records. After signing to the label with the help of MC Serch, Nas recorded the album during 1992 and 1993 at Chung King Studios, D&D Recording, Battery Studios, andUnique Recording Studios in New York City. Its production was handled by Nas, Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, L.E.S., and DJ Premier. Styled as a hardcore hip hop album, Illmatic features multi-syllabic internal rhyme patterns and inner city narratives based on Nas's experiences in Queensbridge, New York." 

Name the Rapper credited for this hip hop iconic verse: 

"I take 7 emcees put 'em in a line

And add 7 more brothers who think they can rhyme
Well, it'll take 7 more before I go for mine
Now that's 21 emcees ate up at the same time!"

A. Big Daddy Kane

B. Rakim 

C. Kool Moe Dee

D. Kool Herc 

Answer

B. Rakim 

[image]

Learn More Hip Hop History

From KRS One in the New Timbuktu Hip Hop Channel. 

From: Wikipedia: William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim, is an American rapper. One half ofgolden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential and most skilled MCs of all time.^[1][2][3][4]

Eric B. & Rakim's classic album Paid in Full was named the greatest hip hop album of all time by MTV in 2006,^[5] while Rakim himself was ranked #4 on MTV's list of the Greatest MCs of All Time.^[6] Steve Huey of Allmusic stated that "Rakim is near-universally acknowledged as one of the greatest MCs -- perhaps the greatest -- of all time within the hip-hop community."^[7] The editors ofAbout.com ranked him #1 on their list of the 'Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007)'.^[8] Rakim began his career as the emcee of the rap duo Eric B. & Rakim, who in 2011 were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[9] In 2012, The Sourceranked him #1 on their list of the 'Top 50 Lyricists of All Time'.^[10]

Which of the following is one of the 5 Core Tenates of Hip Hop: 

A. Political Conciousness [image]

B. Skateboarding

C. Break Dancing

D. Meditation 

Answer: 

C. Break Dancing

Hear KRS-One break down Hip Hop history. New Timbuktu Hip Hop Channel. 

From Wikipedia: 

DJing[edit]

Turntablism is the technique of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.^[62] One of the first few hip hop DJs was Kool DJ Herc, who created hip hop through the isolation of "breaks" (the parts of albums that focused solely on the beat). In addition to developing Herc's techniques, DJs Grandmaster Flowers, Grandmaster Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore, andGrandmaster Caz made further innovations with the introduction of scratching.

Traditionally, a DJ will use two turntables simultaneously. These are connected to a DJ mixer, an amplifier, speakers, and various other pieces of electronic music equipment. The DJ will then perform various tricks between the two albums currently in rotation using the above listed methods. The result is a unique sound created by the seemingly combined sound of two separate songs into one song. Although there is considerable overlap between the two roles, a DJ is not the same as a producer of a music track.^[63]

In the early years of hip hop, the DJs were the stars, but that has been taken by MCs since 1978, thanks largely to Melle Mel ofGrandmaster Flash's crew, the Furious Five. However, a number of DJs have gained stardom nonetheless in recent years. Famous DJs include Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Mr. Magic, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Scratch from EPMD, DJ Premier from Gang Starr, DJ Scott La Rock from Boogie Down Productions, DJ Pete Rock of Pete Rock & CL Smooth, DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill, Jam Master Jay from Run-DMC, Eric B., DJ Screw from the Screwed Up Click and the inventor of the Chopped & Screwed style of mixing music, Funkmaster Flex, Tony Touch, DJ Clue, Mix Master Mike and DJ Q-Bert. The underground movement of turntablism has also emerged to focus on the skills of the DJ.

MCing[edit]

Rapping (also known as emceeing,^[64] MCing,^[64] spitting (bars),^[65] or just rhyming^[66]) refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics with a strong rhythmic accompaniment".^[67] It can be broken down into different components, such as “content”, “flow” (rhythm and rhyme), and “delivery”.^[68] Rapping is distinct from spoken word poetry in that is it performed in time to the beat of the music.^[69][70][71] The use of the word "rap" to describe quick and slangy speech or repartee long predates the musical form.^[72] MCing is a form of expression that is embedded within ancient African culture and oral tradition as throughout history verbal acrobatics or jousting involving rhymes were common within the Afro-American community.^[73]

Graffiti[edit]

In America around the late 1960s, graffiti was used as a form of expression by political activists, and also by gangs such as the Savage Skulls, La Familia, and Savage Nomads to mark territory. Towards the end of the 1960s, the signatures—tags—of Philadelphia graffiti writers Top Cat,^[74] Cool Earl and Cornbread started to appear.^[75] Around 1970–71, the center of graffiti innovation moved to New York City, where writers following in the wake of TAKI 183 and Tracy 168 would add their street number to their nickname, "bomb" a train with their work, and let the subway take it—and their fame, if it was impressive, or simply pervasive, enough—"all city". Bubble lettering held sway initially among writers from the Bronx, though the elaborate Brooklyn style Tracy 168 dubbed "wildstyle" would come to define the art.^[74][76] The early trend-setters were joined in the 1970s by artists like Dondi, Futura 2000, Daze, Blade, Lee, Fab Five Freddy, Zephyr,Rammellzee, Crash, Kel, NOC 167 and Lady Pink.^[74]

The relationship between graffiti and hip hop culture arises both from early graffiti artists engaging in other aspects of hip hop culture,^[77]Graffiti is understood as a visual expression of rap music, just as breaking is viewed as a physical expression. The 1983 film Wild Style is widely regarded as the first hip hop motion picture, which featured prominent figures within the New York graffiti scene during the said period. The book Subway Art and the documentary Style Wars were also among the first ways the mainstream public were introduced to hip hop graffiti. Graffiti remains part of hip hop, while crossing into the mainstream art world with renowned exhibits in galleries throughout the world.

Breaking[edit]

Breaking, also called B-boying or breakdancing, is a dynamic style of dance which developed as part of the hip hop culture. Breaking is one of the major elements of hip hop culture. Like many aspects of hip hop culture, breakdance borrows heavily from many cultures, including 1930s-era street dancing,^[78][79] Afro-Brazilian and Asian Martial arts, Russian folk dance,^[80] and the dance moves of James Brown, Michael Jackson, and California Funk styles. Breaking took form in the South Bronx in the 1970's alongside the other elements of hip hop.

According to the 2002 documentary film The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-Boy, DJ Kool Herc describes the "B" in B-boy as short for breaking, which at the time was slang for "going off", also one of the original names for the dance. However, early on the dance was known as the "boing" (the sound a spring makes). Dancers at DJ Kool Herc's parties, who saved their best dance moves for the break section of the song, getting in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive, frenetic style. The "B" in B-boy also stands simply for break, as in break-boy (or girl). Breaking was documented in Style Wars, and was later given more focus in fictional films such as Wild Style and Beat Street. Early acts include the Rock Steady Crew and New York City Breakers.

Beatbox[edit]

Beatboxing, popularized by Doug E. Fresh,^[81] is the technique of vocal percussion. It is primarily concerned with the art of creating beats or rhythms using the human mouth.^[82]The term beatboxing is derived from the mimicry of the first generation of drum machines, then known as beatboxes. As it is a way of creating hip hop music, it can be categorized under the production element of hip hop, though it does sometimes include a type of rapping intersected with the human-created beat. It is generally considered to be part of the same "Pillar" of hip hop as DJing—in other words, providing a musical backdrop or foundation for MC's to rap,over.

Beatboxing was quite popular in the 1980s with prominent artists like the Darren "Buffy, the Human Beat Box" Robinson of the Fat Boys and Biz Markie displaying their skills within the media. It declined in popularity along with b-boying in the late 1980s, but has undergone a resurgence since the late 1990s, marked by the release of "Make the Music 2000." by Rahzel of The Roots.

Before changing is name, Hip Hop poineer Afrika Bambaataa lead a street organization known as:

A. The Black Panthers[image]

B. The Warriors

C. The Trainhoppers

D. The Black Spades

Answer:

D. The Black Spades

From Wikipedia: Donovan grew up in The Bronx River Projects, with an activist mother and uncle. As a child, he was exposed to the black liberation movement, and witnessed debates between his mother and uncle regarding the conflicting ideologies in the movement. He was exposed to his mother's extensive and eclectic record collection.^[3] Gangs in the area became the law in the area, clearing their turf of drug dealers, assisting with community health programs and both fighting and partying to keep members and turf.^[3] Donovan was a member of the Young Spades. He quickly rose to the position of warlord of one of the divisions. As warlord, it was his job to build ranks and expand the turf of the young Spades. He was not afraid to cross turfs to forge relationships with other gang members, and with other gangs. As a result, the Spades became the biggest gang in the city in terms of both membership and turf.^[3]

After Donovan won an essay contest that earned him a trip to Africa,^{[citation needed]} his worldview shifted. He had seen the movie Zuluand was impressed with the solidarity exhibited by the Zulu in that film. During his trip to Africa, the communities he visited inspired him to stop the violence and create a community in his own neighborhood.^[3] He changed his name to Afrika Bambaataa Aasim, adopting the name of the Zulu chief Bhambatha, who led an armed rebellion against unfair economic practices in early 20th centurySouth Africa that can be seen as a precursor to the anti-apartheid movement. He told people that his name was Zulu for "affectionate leader".^[3] Donovan formed The "Bronx River Organization" as an alternative to the Black Spades.^[3]