The Elemental Session: Microphone Fiend

Nuu Elementz honors the fourth and most popular element of hip-hop, the MC.

MC, which stands for master of ceremonies, has become synonymous with rap paving a way for MCs not only being DJs but performers as well.

In Jamaica, MCs have been around since the late 1960s. As Jamaican DJs invested in high quality music equipment, the MCs job was to enliven the crowd and insult rivals.

MCs talk over the beat as a guide to the crowd telling them what dance moves to do, resembling 'Simon Says'.

"You will never see anyone standing on the wall, someone is always dancing," says Jocelyn (@18UntoldStories).

In the 1970s and 1980s, with the help of DJ Kool Herc, MCing was brought to New York.

The term MC is closely associated with what is called rapping in hip-hop music.

The MC is responsible for moving the crowd and to keep them entertained aside from the music that's being played. An MC is able to embody the English language to where everyone can adhere to its catchy phrases.

In the middle of a party, the MC shout out the hometowns of all people. As time progressed MC became more creative in the chants, eventually overshadowing the music with rhymes and complex raps.

Rapping can be traced back to Africa  centuries before hip-hop existed. The griots, or storytellers, of West Africa delivered stories in a rhythmical manner about their history.

Griot Vanessa Johnson shares stories of African Amerian history with children in Worawora, Ghana.

Coke La Rock is often credited as hip-hop's first MC. La Rock performed alongside DJ Kool Herc. His original raps were shout-outs to his friends. He soon was able to add a little poetic flavors in his shout-outs. He originated phrases like "You rock and you don't stop" and "Hotel, motel, you don't tell, we won't tell" which was used in Sugarhill Gang's single Rapper's Delight.

Coke La Rock (left) and DJ Kool Herc (right) together in the late 1970s. 

"As an MC you must be fearless. Nobody will listen to you if you're timid. Confidence in who you are will sell whatever you say," says Ephrum (@Intricate93) an MC himself.

Rob (@ROBstayRAMEN) believes that an MC is someone who writes conscience lyrics. A rapper is someone who is trying to be catchy or to use it as a 'get rich quick' scheme.

Through his vividly intense rhythmic skills, Nas is considered an MC. Emerging as Queens 'Finest', Nas educates listeners of the African culture through the Five Percent Nation, the Bible and the Quar'n. His lyrics range from telling stories growing up in Queens to politics, justice and spreading peace.

Ice Cube came on the scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s as N.W.As hottest rapper with songs like Fuck Da Police and Straight Outta Compton telling stories from his point of view through his ice cold lyrics.

Lil Wayne grew up in the music scene starting off at the age of nine with Cash Money Records. At the age of 17, debuting his solo album The Block Is Hot, Wayne used MCing as a way to share stories about his wild lifestyle.

Today, MCs range from all sorts of styles.Whether intending to teach mass audiences, telling peoples stories or simply having fun on the microphone, the MC is the most celebrated and known element of hip-hop.

The Elemental Session: Breakin'

Nuu Elementz celebrates its fourth elemental session on the third element of hip-hop, breakdancing.

According to the dictionary, breakdancing, also known as b-boying and breaking, is a style of acrobatic dancing characterized by intricate footwork, spinning headstands, tumbling and more. It's the most popular form of hip-hop dancing.

Breaking originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the South Bronx by African American and Latino youth.

James Brown is noted as the 'Godfather' of breaking with his unique dance style. His hit "Get on the Good Foot" created a dance called the 'Good Foot' which soon was renamed the 'B-Boy'.

Kung fu also had its influence in breaking with moves like the "headspin" and the "windmill".  B-boys watched and imitated the physical abilities of the kung-fu actors.

DJ Kool Herc gave dancers the chance to break battle as rappers would do when rap battling. Herc was interested in the break section of the song where the vocal would stop and the beat itself would play for a short period.

Flashdance was the first major movie to feature breaking. Afterward, breaking continued to star in hit movies such as Breakin, Breakin 2 and Beat Street. 

Beat Street made a great impact because of its battle scene between Rock Steady Crew and New York City Breakers.

Breakdancing has grown from a trend to its own worldwide culture. 

In 1990, a series of international b-boying competitions known as Battle of the Year began. It's grown as the biggest b-boying competition in the world, often referred to as the 'world cup of breakdancing'. 

The best crews go through a series of competition for the ultimate prize. 

The 2014 finalists include crews from Africa, Greece, Italy, Japan, and South Korea. The grand finale competition will be held Oct. 18, 2014 in Germany.

Although breaking originated in New York, media coverage mistreated the culture of breaking causing for its popularity to die down. People had a sense that it was only a fad.

Founder of Nuu Elementz, Lance (@JetLifeLidz) believes that people aren't interested in break beats anymore. 

"Once its been capitalized and companies figure out they can profit from it, the whole culture gets exploited," he explains.

"The elements of hip-hop that usually don't sell well are pushed to the side," described Frank (@MrPresident522A)

However a few years later, breaking came back with a new generation of Puerto Rican b-boys who put new life into breaking taking it to the next level. 

The culture resurfaced with the support of b-boys who never quit. 

Breakdance teams like Quest Crew from Los Angeles were declared winners of the third season of America's Best Dance Crew. They've made appearances on So You Think You Can Dance and is currently helping with choreography for artists like LMFAO. 

"Tony Hawke Skating Pro had hip-hop and breakdancing all throughout the game," says Rob (@ROBstayRAMEN)

Now a day, b-boy events such as Bboy Summit and Rock Steady Anniversary are organized every year. 

The Bboy Summit encompasses knowledge of the history of Hip-Hop culture with the skills of b-boying and b-girling. The summit serves as a platform in which break dancers come together to dance and pay homage to the traditional dance of hip-hop. 

Throughout the world are breakdancing societies at universities like Portland and United Kingdom. Lessons and trailings are offered as well as social events. 

The Elemental Session: Wheels of Steel

Friday night, @NuuElementz hosted it's third Elemental Session: Wheels of Steel, the education of the DJ.

A diverse group of people from all over Tallahassee gathered together to be educated and to discuss the significance of the most important element of hip-hop, the DJ.

President of Nuu Elementz, Tallahassee native Lance Farmer known as @JetLifeLidz, opened up the educational and entertaining presentation on the history of the DJ.

The letter's DJ stand for disk jockey who mixes recorded music for an audience. Several types of DJ's are found on the radio, at the club or is mobile.

http://www.pitt.edu/~kaz44/anything.html

Hip-hop DJs use multiple turntables to back up one or more song and perform scratches to create percussive sounds.

DJ Francis Grasso popularized beat matching and developed slip-cuing, creating a continuous flow of music. Grasso was the first DJ outside of radio broadcasting to require headphones as part of his setup. Grasso passed away on March 2001. However, the techniques he pioneered remain the foundation of what is heard in a modern nightclub.

http://ped111251.tripod.com/francis.htm

Clive Campbell  AKA @DJ Kool Herc, the Father of Hip-hop, is credited with originating hip-hop music in the early 1970s. Herc developed a technique of mixing two identical records to extend the instrumental segment. His announcements throughout the music helped lead rhymed spoken words support what became rapping. DJs like Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash were influenced from Herc's style.

DJ Grand Wizard Theodore discovered the scratching technique when he accidentally touched the needle and realized it made a cool scratching sound. Every form of music has at one time or another used the scratching sound in its music. Wizard Theodore explains the origin in the documentary, Scratch.

"The first DJ I consciously heard was DJ Canon," said @Rob_Yhung.

SS is short for Scratchenstein, the name he used when he was a hip-hop scratch DJ. He got his big break DJing at the big British raves of the early 1990s. Since then, he has gone on to DJ world wide.

"DJ SS used to come on the radio all the time," said @Back_Pack_Beatz.

"Like Jedi in Star Wars fighting against evil, enduring strenuous training, accepting a life-long commitment to obtaining the knowledge of the universe and being heard but never seen, the hip-hop DJ has very much the same destiny." described Grandmixer DXT about the underrated commitment of a DJ.

DJs are more important than ever. Many DJs have become international superstars and have changed the music industry forever.

http://www.magneticmag.com/2012/07/theres-more-to-picking-a-great-dj-name-than-you-might-think/

A great DJ can take the energy of a room from a one to a 20 in a set. A DJ not only has to be proficient in music, but also has to be able to read the crowd.

Due to the advancement of technology, many people are calling themselves DJs. However, DJing is a structured form of art and study. Most DJs are technologically savvy, have the skill to take apart and put back together a turntable quickly while under pressure, and must hold a musicologist's knowledge of names, dates, tunes and styles of music.

During the discussion it was established that DJ mixes are what brings awareness to a song.

"I heard most of Gucci Mane songs through DJ Spinatik mixes," said Vice President of Nuu Elementz, Vanity Duran (@vanitynosin) from Tampa.

You have a canvas of art, without color, there is no art. Without a DJs tools, there is no music, related Rob metaphorically. "DJ is a form of art, without turntables and music there is no DJ."

http://satisfyingretirement.blogspot.com/2010/12/start-with-blank-canvas.html

It requires a vast amount of knowledge to control music.

If DJing was a form of art, much of the audience agreed that it would be graffiti. "You can put anything together," said Lance.

"It'd be sculpted. You got the slab and you break it down," said @mkkenny13. 

DJing even plays a major role in the fashion model industry. Many models started off their glamorous career as a DJ.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/fashion/djs-make-the-music-to-move-fashion-shows.html?_r=0

Some DJs started off DJig after having breaking records, mixtapes and winning competitions when they were younger.

BET honored the 50 most influential DJs paying homage to all the legendary DJs of hip-hop history.

"DJ E-Zone did a mix on Micheal Jackson after he passed away. It had me tear up," said @NikeSmilez.

Shout out to all of the DJs listed about, DJ Screw, Mix Master Mike, Micheal Wattz, A-Trak, Jam Master Jay, Jazzy Jeff, DJ Trawe, DJ Lou, DJ Premier, DJ Mustard, DJ Lidz, and all DJs contributing to the music industry.

 Shout out to @CK_Lakers, @RaspyRapz, @gustavobyrdz, @knik_94, @mkkenny13, @frankreefa, @nikesmilez and @back_pack_beatz.

Shout out to the Nuu Elementz team @sundaedip4ya, @vanitynosin, @JetLifeLidz, @18UntoldStories, and @Rob_Yhung.

Graffti takes over National Railroad Museum

A new exhibit opened up at the National Railroad Museum in Greenbay, Wisconsin.

greenbaytour.blogspot.com

"From Big Boys to Boxcars: The Good & Bad of Railroad Graffiti" allows the museum to showcase professional photographs of railroad graffiti. 

The exhibit explores graffiti both as art an vandalism in a social and historical context.

postcresent.com

Graffiti originated in ancient times and is one of the four elements of hip-hop. 

The art form is somewhat controversial in modern life and railroading.

The museum is home to a Union Pacific Railroad Big Boy whose world famous name derive from graffiti.

yorkpress.co.uk

The executive director of the museum, Jacqueline D. Frank hopes the community will use the exhibit as a place to examine the fine art photography and to use as a basis of social discourse about graffiti's role in the community.