The factors that go into the creation of a cultural era are explored and brought to life in the Hip Hop Revolution exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York. The exhibition includes multiple seen and unseen facets of the contributions to the hip hop culture that arose in New York City in the early 1970s. The exhibit is divided by the respective photographers and their own perspectives of the revolution. Janette Beckman’s photographs incorporate the popular, mainstream images of the faces behind the movement, or rather the artists that perpetuated a new era of music. Photographs autographed by some of hip hop’s top artists such as Salt N Pepa, Afrika Bambaataa, LL Cool J, and Flava Flav welcome the viewer upon entering the exhibit. Additionally, Beckman’s photographs reveal a different side to hip hop, for its origins began as an outlet to promote positive messages to the youth.
It was interesting to see that the early development of hip hop was supportive of anti-drug campaigns, and some of the earliest pioneers sought out to promote this to the youth, such as Big Daddy Kane who went on to tour throughout New York City high schools with this anti-drug sentiment. This sharply contrasts what hip hop’s reputation encompasses today, for many songs promote violence and the acquisition of drugs, money, and women.
Of course, not every movement is ushered in without a few obstacles along the way, and so the second part of the exhibit, photographs by Martha Cooper and Joe Conzo, display the realities behind the struggles for those in the hip hop revolution. One photo in particular by Martha Cooper caught my attention, for it showed transit cops holding confiscated items from break dancers.
Often times, the gatherings for early hip hop goers were considered to be riots by the authorities. In Cooper’s photographs above, authorities found weapons and graffiti paraphernalia at one such “riot” in Washington Heights. The realism of hip hop came to light as such gatherings became more popular.People came together to celebrate a new platform for new talent and musical innovation but were met with charges of public disturbance in the process.
Hip hop brought a voice to address issues of racism and prejudice which eventually led to its success, as a genre and culture that people could relate to. Hip Hop has expanded today to serve as an outlet for contemporary emotions for artists of all races and genders, and sometimes this means serving as a platform for promoting negative messages. However, the origins of hip hop serve as remnants of ideas of positive messages to address issues that call for action.
