I’ve been noticing the cultural effects of HipHop on our society, and how much hiphopper dress is like a tribal one.
While HipHop has died down in the USA since its peak in the late 90s early 2000s, it has had a lasting effect on our culture and society far bigger than a muscical phenom.
It is also bigger than ever in Europe, especially Eastern Europe and former Soviet sattellites.
As much as it may sound fantastic, in countries where religion was outlawed, culture rewritten, and families broken apart, there lies a great vaccuum to be filled with a modern cultural development. In 20-30 years, do you think the effects of HipHop in places like Eastern Europe will be powerful and longlasting?
Will baggy pants and ball caps representing the local culture replace traditional clothes and business casual as the pervasive dress?
Check out this videos by Albanians…tell me what you think…
These videos were produced by people of the poorest country in Europe, which endured the harshest most restrictive totalitarianism of any communist state for half a century.
Yet they express nationalist and folkloric sentiments with US quality production, the audience of this music is the 6 million large Albanian population and diaspora.
I think hip-hop appeals as an instrument for cultural artistic development because of it’s scalability.
It costs nothing to beatbox and freestyle to it. Higher levels of quality are more expensive, but still pretty cheap on an absolute scale. Even for rap videos, you don’t need to shoot in high quality HD: cheap camcorders work, so long as you’re filming enough titties and ass and cut twice each second.
Because it’s so cheap to produce, one can engage in the art form without needing to already be a member of the upper economic strata. So hip-hop can truly reflect the voice of the working class.
I think it more accurately represents the cultural dreams of wealth and power for the working class, and therein lies the difference between what is quality art and what sells.
You pose an interesting question. I think that hip hop is more accessible to the displaced youth of most countries. It’s original place in society was to be a soapbox for the poor urban youth. With the majority of the world living below the poverty line and dealing with some form of political oppression, rap (in it’s truest form) is a way for them to express themselves.
I was watching a B-Boy competition yesterday on MTV2. It was a huge breakdancing competition. The contestants were from all over the globe. In fact the two finalist were from Japan and Korea. One of the semi-finalists were from Romania. Hip Hop has become the voice of the worlds youth. They have taken the original pure mold of hiphop and ran with it.
Looking at it from a purely American perspective that is a scary thing. With the trash that passes for actual hip hop nowadays you would be tempted to dig a hole and stick you head in it. There IS a saving grace. The hip hop influence overseas is that of PURITY. It is the Mos Def it’s the Commons it’s the Jedi Mind Tricks, its the De La Souls, its the Jurassic 5’s that get the most recognition and the heavy following. Yes mainstream artist like 50cent and Kanye West are very popular but on a case by case basis its the underground rappers that get the most play out in the European and Asian markets. No Ring tone rappers overseas thank god.
Honestly I don’t see baggy pants and fitted hats becoming corporate casual in Romania, but I do see them using their new found interests to speak up about their feelings about their role in society.
Something I find kinda interesting, is many people in this country and others see the ‘ghetto ware,’ as an offense to conservative white culture…
I think this is kind of ironic because the whole walking around with big baggy clothes things, was more prevalent and common in renaissance europe than now. Magellan style anyone? I can see the hiphop wear evolving into something more meaningful, harkening back to something classical or cultural.
Haha what’s up with picking on the Albanians? To be honest I don’t think rap is that famous back home, this is the kind of music that’s more popular. - YouTube
Hellfrost, you are a shqiptare? Mind doing me a favor? What the hell is the song they sing at 3:50 about? It’s really beautiful honestly, is that traditional music, or is it just for the song? Is there a genre of music that is just like that? What is the lyric he keeps repeating there?
[quote]SpartanX wrote:
Hellfrost, you are a shqiptare? Mind doing me a favor? What the hell is the song they sing at 3:50 about? It’s really beautiful honestly, is that traditional music, or is it just for the song? Is there a genre of music that is just like that? What is the lyric he keeps repeating there?[/quote]
Yea, are you greek? I use to live in greece for a couple of years. Which song are you talking about btw?
[quote]GetTheHIT wrote:
Wow, those videos were MAD GAY![/quote]
That’s enough out of you, no reason for the rude remarks. I am pretty sure I can find white american children doing worse. There will always be people mimicking what they think is cool. We appreciate and respect american culture for what it’s worth and thus we look up to it.
The first one wit Noizy of OTR.
No I’m not get Greek, I’m something else entirely, you could consider me a slavic beaner… My girlfriend is Bosnian so I know all about all the balkan city-states and the drama that goes on between them.
