Today I’ll be discussing the Jamaican Influences that contributed to the origin of hip hop known as: Popularizing American Culture, Blending other International Experiences, and Dancing Styles.
Popularizing American Culture
Popularizing American Culture is one of the byproducts of Jamaican cultural influence in the United States. Because Hip Hop was discovered in America in the early 1970s, it’s technically an American product. Look at the sounds that developed from the likes of a DJ Kool Herc and Run DMC.
The beats that they would help build goes on to reveal a Jamaican influence that couldn’t be denied. But since it would be most familiar in America, it would easily get picked up and understood by the members of these communities that hip hop would be present in. So we’re talking about the different Burroughs in New York. Specifically the Bronx.
What this did is trickle on over to what type of clothes would be worn. This would lead to where some of the most defining looks that would be considered a staple in the culture are your denim heavy clothing and accessories in specific styles such as Rope Chains.
Blending other International Experiences
One of the influences that Jamaican culture had on hip hop culture was the blending of other international experiences.
To understand that best, it takes understanding how important what areas of the USA would host most immigrants. You would get Haitians, Africans, Bohemians, and plenty of others in these regions. They would all have to agree on what would be the experience that dictates the community most of them would live in.
Because most people think of dark skin colors when thinking of Black Culture, they assume it’s limited to only the cultures I mentioned. That doesn’t even include some Spanish cultures that ended up being contributors to hip hop, whether they began their experience in Jamaica or migrated to New York and would link up with authentic Jamaicans. Voila! That’s when you get Reggaton and Afro Reggae. Inclusion suddenly became a real moment of hip hop culture.
Reggae Music and its Dancing Style Impacting Hip Hop Music
Reggae Music has a birthplace in Jamaica which has its own dancing style, and once Jamaicans migrated to America with a contribution to hip hop culture, it impacted the dance scene.
Take Ska for example. It’s a traditional Jamaican dance style that easily made its way into the development of choreographed hip hop performances. We can look at the development of most dance routines and can see it doesn’t delve away too much from what was considered the hottest dances at the time of their prime.
Entertainment was and still is a crucial point of stitching community culture together for that feeling of union. To understand it best takes understanding what a typical party in Jamaica’s like. That includes dance battles and dancing lines as well, which would turn the experience into a challenge for many.
Do we need to mention the great Bob Marley? Probably. But checking out one of his shows and looking into the crowd to see how people would dance there would put things in perspective. It might not be aggressive in execution, but the experience itself would encourage dancing that would unite.