Introduction to hip hop culture Hip hop is a subculture that has spread rapidly over the past 30 years, pioneered by the DJ Kool Herc who introduced hip hop music in the Bronx, New York City, from where it has spread across the globe to listeners and performers, gathering a solid fan base along the way. There are four primary elements of hip-hop culture: MCing, DJing, graffiti, and breakdancing. Other secondary elements of this culture are beatboxing, hip hop fashion, and hip hop slang. DJing DJing existed before hip hop did, but hip hop’s contribution to the concept of DJing was significant because it gave it greater scope and more techniques than it previously had. Kool DJ Herc was the first hip hop DJ as he separated “breaks” in albums, i.e. the part which emphasized the beat, and created hip hop this way. Following his techniques, other DJs such as Grandmaster Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore, and Grandmaster Caz also introduced new elements such as scratching. Scratching is a technique which in hip hop culture is used to gauge the expertise of a DJ, as he is expected to produce new sounds simply by moving a record back and forth while it is playing on a turntable and at the same time manipulating with the crossfader on a DJ mixer. DJ Grandmaster Flash described scratching in Toop (1991, p.65) as “ nothing but the back-cueing that you hear in your ear before you push it [the recorded sound] out to the crowd.” As convention dictates, DJs usually use two turntables at the same time, which are connected to many other electronic musical tools and equipment such as a DJ mixer, an amplifier, and speakers. The DJ then produces distinctive sounds by manipulating and working tricks on the two albums playing simultaneously such as isolating breaks or scratching. Hence the two songs then become one unique sound. When hip hop first originated, the DJs were very popular, and considered the stars of hip hop, but since 1978 MCs have taken over this status largely due to the contribution of Melle Mel, who was part of the crew of DJ Grandmaster Flash (Rosen, 2007). Nevertheless, in recent times there have been a number of noteworthy DJs who have gained a massive following. Popular names include, aside from the above mentioned, Mr. Magic, DJ Premier, DJ Scratch, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Scott La Rock, DJ Pete Rock, DJ Muggs, DJ Clue, and DJ Q-Bert. The popularity of turntablism, described as “A phonograph in the hands of a ‘hip-hop/scratch’ artist who plays a record like an electronic washboard with a phonographic needle as a plectrum, produces sounds which are unique and not reproduced – the record player becomes a musical instrument” (Cox & Warner, 2004), has led to a renewed focus on the skills of the DJ. MCing/Rapping MCing is also known as Emceeing, Rapping, Spitting, Rhyme spitting, and even simply as Rhyming. This is one of the most fundamental aspects of hip-hop culture in general and hip-hop music in particular. In the 1960s, the word rap was present in the African American English dialect and it meant “to converse”. Soon after, it became associated with the musical style which has originated with the West African folk poets who were known as griots. Rapping is accompanied by a beat and can be delivered even without one, simply as rhythmic verses (Toop, 2000). Graffiti Graffiti is another cultural pillar of hip hop. In the 1960s it was used as a tool of expression by people wishing to make a political statement, s