I will freely admit that I do not know anything about hip hop at all. The very little music that I have come across that falls in this category has not particularly interested me, as I am more of a classic rock fan. This is why I wanted to delve a little further into the music and culture. Interestingly enough, I was immediately sucked into “That’s the Joint!”, particularly the chapter on the history of breaking. Being a dancer myself, more of the ballet variety, I was fascinated to find that tap dance was developed through the creation of breaking. Whenever I go to tap dance, I have never even considered a connection between what I am doing in a traditional studio and what people have been doing on the streets in the 1850’s.

Beyond the reading on dance, I struggled with the vernacular of hip hop. I don’t know what a “B-beat”. I know nothing of creating one’s own music or movement and running with it. I kind of feel like this is learning a whole new language, like taking French or Spanish, except there are more rules and loopholes. The rules aren’t really rules; they are general sayings that some people go by and other deviate from. There seem to be rules regarding the fact that there aren’t a lot of rules. Styles shift and change and are expressed differently as generations change. What used to be considered hip-hop is not viewed as a whole different style and culture; the connections are not always made. Either way, it’s still hip-hop.

It was interesting to see Kool Herc in the “Yes, Yes Ya’ll” section. He described himself as an individual that didn’t want to cause trouble; he just wanted to get people together. The part t hat intrigued me was comparing it to how many see hip hop today. Many see it as a connection to gangs; Kool Herc made it clear that he had no connection to gangs. Many see it as rabble rousing or some sort of trouble; Kool Herc didn’t want any trouble. He just wanted the music and the people and to make people happy with the music.