Hip Hop and the Bronx Express

 “to be modern is to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth , transformation of ourselves and the world-and at the same time that threatens to destroy everything we have, everything we know, everything that we are. Modern environments and experiences cut across sll boundaries of geography and ethnicity, of class and nationality, of religion and ideology…” 

This written piece comes from the Communist Manifesto, it describes modern culture and how its constantly changing. It can also be related to urbanization. Urbanization is when a rural environment becomes urban. When some type of destruction occurs that creates a  process of destruction and renewal. 

During our lesson on Tuesday, we learned how the Cross Bronx Express way helped create Hip Hop and was essentially the essence of Hip Hop culture. It all started with Robert Moses, the man responsible for building the expressway through the heart of the South Bronx. The result of this project forced middle class Italians, Irish, and Jewish neighborhoods to disappear practically overnight; and were quickly replaced by poor black and Hispanic families. This drastic change brought construction of co-op apartment complexes that were built near the expressway. As a result of mass vacancy rates, landlords that were considered reputable began selling out to professional slumlords-resulting in the Bronx becoming a neighborhood full of unkept and vacant buildings. 

Through the destruction within the Bronx, an "artistic" development occurred-the creation and direct development of the Graffiti aspect of hip hop culture. Street gangs and the ones who couldn't cope found an outlet that let them express their voice and their words through street art. 

I wanted to learn more about how graffiti became popularized and who was really behind the rise of this incredible and dangerous artwork. I did some digging and found that a group of seven teenage boys who began terrorizing the surrounding area of Bruckner Boulevard, in the southeast Bronx. This group of teenagers laid the groundwork for the sudden surge of street gang activity that overwhelmed the Bronx for many years. The group at first was known as the Savage Seven, however, when more members joined the group changed its name to the Black Spades. The leader, and warlord of the group, was Hip Hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa. I found on YouTube a video that captures the precursors of Hip Hop, the many members of the Black Spades and their original leader Bambaataa, also known as "Bam Bam". 

Enjoy!