Hip-hop celebrates its roots
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Read the following story by John Clewley from Bangkok Post’s Life section. Then, answer the questions that follow.
On Aug 11, New York City celebrated the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop with exhibitions, concerts and street art across the five boroughs.
According to the NYCtourism site, the genre, now a global movement, traces its roots to a Bronx party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue on Aug 11, 1973, hosted by DJ Kool Herc.
Birth of a culture
In the 70s, New York City’s South Bronx area already had DJs spinning vinyl from two decks, hitting "breaks" to keep kids dancing in parks and community centres. B-boy dancers invented breakdancing and a new kind of graffiti began to appear on trains in the city. Hip-hop culture was born.
I was living in London during the time all of this was happening in the late 70s/early 80s and word spread quickly of these new kinds of parties and DJs (and MCs as some were called), who "scratched" records (often from mum and dad's record collection -- plenty of James Brown, too, one of the most sampled musicians on the planet). I bought Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's single 'The Message’ (1982) and Afrika Bambaataa's ‘Planet Rock’ the same year. The latter DJ was the first US hip-hop artist to tour overseas in 1982.
Rap takes over the world
Fast forward 50 years, and hip-hop is everywhere. For instance, rap is an established genre in Thailand with musicians like Joey Boy and Thaitanium. Buri Ram native Lalisa Manoban of the K-pop band Blackpink and a global star, raps in English and Korean and uses breakdance moves in her dancing. Hip-hop's influence extends across Asian pop music and Asian popular culture in general.
Another aspect of hip-hop's 50-year development is the creation of all kinds of different forms. Think of a band like Massive Attack in Bristol, England, and their fusion of hip-hop and electronica -- or trip-hop as it was called -- on their ‘Blue Lines’ album in 1991.
But though the genre has become globally popular, the spotlight this month is back to the roots of hip-hop in South Bronx. Time to dust off your beatbox and join the party. Find more info on hip-hop in NYC at nyctourism.com.
Section 1: Write the correct answer in the space provided.
1. How many districts does New York have? …………….
2. Who hosted the first ever hip-hop party? …………….
3. Where was the writer living when hip-hop began? …………….
4. What year was Planet Rock released? …………….
5. Who was the first hip-hop artist to tour overseas? …………..
6. Who released the album ‘Blue Lines’? …………….
Section 2: Read the following passage. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct words from the choices given.
Rap is …7… popular in Africa, too, and country has its own big stars. Central and South America, and the Caribbean, all have …8… own hip-hop scenes, as does Europe. …9…, North African rap that developed in French cities …10… become a big part of urban music in France.
7. __A. huge __B. big __C. hugely
8. __A. they’re __B. there __C. their
9. __A. Interesting __B. Interest __C. Interestingly
10. __A. have __B. has __C. had
Section 3: Find words that match the following definitions.
11. a style of music, film or writing ……………
12. the place where something comes from ……………
13. a group of people who live in the same area ……………
14. the power to affect or change someone …………
