DEINDUSTRIALIZATION AND CRIMINALIZATION

One of the greatest things to come out of the South Bronx during such a terrible time (late 20^th century) is Hip-Hop.  Hip-hop consists of four elements: MCing, DJing, B-boying, and Grafitti.  It was a culture created in the inner cities by African Americans and Puerto Ricans, side by side expressing themselves through music, dancing, and art. It created a way for expression amongst the youth who lived in the inner city to help make a social statement against the harsh realities they must deal with on a daily basis but it was also meant for a culture gaps in between minorities as most early hip-hop artists recalled.  In the beginning hip-hop was very diverse and many of the original hip-hop groups which had Puerto Ricans MCs. But as time progressed, hip-hop became more commercialized and more African American dominated, so what happened to Puerto Ricans and their recognition in the Hip-Hop culture?

As discussed in Chang’s Can’t Stop Wont Stop, New York was in turmoil during the late 20^th Century especially with Robert Moses’ urban renewal plan.  All of the urban areas were being destroyed in order to clear way for the expressway to connect the different boroughs together were hundreds of apartment complexes were burned down by hired arsonists in order for the complex owners to gain money instead of spending it on maintaining the building. This was the time in which the phrase “the Bronx is on fire” was born. Garbage filled the streets, education was poor, and drugs were funneled into the barrios by the government itself. The people most affected by this were African Americans and Puerto Ricans so they shared the same anger and struggle for space and expression.  Hip-hop took features from both African and Puerto Rican other musical styles such as plena or güiro, which is the scratching sound, heard on a turntable. Timbales and congas heavily influenced the break beat aspect of hip-hop and bomba is when people used their voice as an instrument, which is also found in hip-hop. Many early hip-hop groups had both Latino and Black people MC’ing side by side but they slowly broke up due to ethnic/racial tensions as well as MC’s becoming solo artists for record deals.

Puerto Rican’s were more deeply involved in the graffiti and b-boying aspect, which has not been seen since the late 80s, early 90’s.  As Raquel Rivera says in her interview, hip-hop has overlooked Puerto Ricans because “Ethnic groups have a history of struggle over 'cultural property' and this is no different”. There were always tension amongst African Americans and Puerto Ricans solely because of whom they identify with. African Americans mostly celebrate their African roots whereas Puerto Ricans were known to celebrate their European roots. Puerto Ricans were known to draw a sharp distinction amongst African Americans and “us”.  This gave way to African Americans dominating the culture and along the way the true culture and meaning of hip-hop has been convoluted by the entertainment industry.  It was not until the late 1990s in which Latinos were again recognized in the Hip-Hop culture in which Big Pun was the first Latino rapper to go platinum.

  

Chang, Jeff. Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-hop Generation. Chapter 1. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005. Accessed September 22, 2016. Accessed Through Blackboard.

Flores, Juan, and Renato Rosaldo. A Companion to Latina/o Studies. Chapter 31. Oxford: Blackwell, 2007. Accessed October 03, 2016.

"Hip Hop Roots: Interview with Raquel Rivera (print Edition)." Political Affairs. Accessed October 06, 2016. http://politicalaffairs.net/hip-hop-roots-interview-with-raquel-rivera-print-edition/.