Harlem Renaissance & the Hip Hop Movement
Harlem Renaissance and the Hip-hop Movement
AN OVERVIEW The Harlem Renaissance and the Hip-Hop Movement are a culmination of co-related cultural art forms that have emerged out of the black experience. White people understood black people more through their expression of art during both movements. Both movements brought about a broad cross-racial following and, ironically, in both instances brought about a better understanding of the black experience for white America. The bridge between Be-Bop and Hip-Hop was made by Quincy Jones with the “Back on the Block” project; which featured such artists as Dizzie Gillespie, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Tevin Campbell, Ice Tea, Big Daddy Kane, Al B Sure, Barry White and many others. The artistic elements of both movements include literature, art, music, dance, musical theatre, film etc. Both movements were born out of a desire to find the best possible way of expressing their humanity.[1]
The Harlem Renaissance The 1920’s usually stir up images of speakeasies and flappers, but for one group of Americans the decade became a time of rebirth known as the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance or Negro Renaissance is the term applied to the movement of Black Americans from the South to the North during the 1920s and 1930s. The Harlem Renaissance, which is also known as the Black Literary Renaissance and The New Negro Movement, began in the neighborhood of Harlem in New York City in which the spirituality and potential of the African-American community was articulated through different forms of artistic expression. The Harlem Renaissance was one generation removed from the Civil War. This time period coincided with black migration to the northern cities to look for employment opportunities that became available after World War I because these types of opportunities were not as readily available to blacks in the South. In the Southern states there was a lack of freedom of expression for
AN OVERVIEW The Harlem Renaissance and the Hip-Hop Movement are a culmination of co-related cultural art forms that have emerged out of the black experience. White people understood black people more through their expression of art during both movements. Both movements brought about a broad cross-racial following and, ironically, in both instances brought about a better understanding of the black experience for white America. The bridge between Be-Bop and Hip-Hop was made by Quincy Jones with the “Back on the Block” project; which featured such artists as Dizzie Gillespie, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Tevin Campbell, Ice Tea, Big Daddy Kane, Al B Sure, Barry White and many others. The artistic elements of both movements include literature, art, music, dance, musical theatre, film etc. Both movements were born out of a desire to find the best possible way of expressing their humanity.[1]
The Harlem Renaissance The 1920’s usually stir up images of speakeasies and flappers, but for one group of Americans the decade became a time of rebirth known as the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance or Negro Renaissance is the term applied to the movement of Black Americans from the South to the North during the 1920s and 1930s. The Harlem Renaissance, which is also known as the Black Literary Renaissance and The New Negro Movement, began in the neighborhood of Harlem in New York City in which the spirituality and potential of the African-American community was articulated through different forms of artistic expression. The Harlem Renaissance was one generation removed from the Civil War. This time period coincided with black migration to the northern cities to look for employment opportunities that became available after World War I because these types of opportunities were not as readily available to blacks in the South. In the Southern states there was a lack of freedom of expression for
Bibliography: 1. Alexander-Thomason, Claudette, Personal Interview, December 6, 2009. Mrs. Alexander-Thomason is my Humanities professor and she advised me on including elements that would tie Hip Hop and the Harlem Renaissance to one another. 2. Wintz, Cary D., Black Culture and the Harlem Renaissance. Houston, TX: Rice University Press, 1988. Cary Wintz talks about black people being in vogue and creating their own “black Bohemia.” 3. Zelaya, Alicia, Personal Interview, December 10,2009, Alicia Zelaya (my great aunt) talks about living in Spanish Harlem, singing in a jazz band and she told me about the rent parties. 4. Edwards, Amber, Against the Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance (1993), Director, Amber Edwards gives us a rich history lesson on the Harlem Renaissance in this PBS home video. 5. Chang, Jeff; DJ Kool Herc (2005). Can 't Stop Won 't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. Macmillan. ISBN 031230143X. This book discusses the origin of Hip Hop and chronicles Dj Kool Herc as the originator of Hip Hop. 6. Castillo-Garstow, Melissa (2008-03-01). "Latinos in hip hop to reggaeton". Latin Beat Magazine. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FXV/is_2_15/ai_n13557237. This article referenced the inclusion of the Latino American in Hip Hop and the contributions that they’ve made to the movement. 7. Kugelberg, Johan (2007). Born in the Bronx. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-7893-1540-3. This article discusses the origin of Hip Hop and the elements of Hip Hop. 8. Brown, Lauren (February 18, 2009). "Hip to the Game – Dance World vs. Music Industry, The Battle for Hip Hop’s Legacy". Movement Magazine. http://www.movmnt.com/monsters-of-hip-hop-2_003332.html. This article highlights the origin of Hip Hop, the fashions and the vernacular/slang associated with the movement. 9. Hager, Steven (1984) Beat Street: A Hip Hop movie that features the New York City Hip Hop culture of the 1980’s, with Bronx, NY being the epicenter. 10. Gregory Lewis, “Hip Hop Gives Birth to Its Own Black Economy,”The San Francisco Examiner, December 6, 1998, E3. This newspaper article speaks to how Hip Hop evolved into big business, the money that the black community spends and how hip hop has affected the economy on so many different levels.