The words “hip” and “hop” have a long history behind the two words being used together. In the 1950s, older folks referred to teen house parties as “hippity hops”.[22] The creation of the term hip hop is often credited to Keith Cowboy, rapper with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.[23] However, Lovebug Starski, Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was still known as disco rap.[24] It is believed that Cowboy created the term while teasing a friend who had just joined the U.S. Army, by scat singing the words “hip/hop/hip/hop” in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of soldiers marching.[23] Cowboy later worked the “hip hop” cadence into a part of his stage performance. For example, he would say something along the lines of “I said a hip-hop, a hibbit, hibby-dibby, hip-hip-hop and you don’t stop.”[22] which was quickly used by other artists such as The Sugarhill Gang in “Rapper’s Delight“.[23] Universal Zulu Nation founder Afrika Bambaataa, also known as “The Godfather” is credited with first using the term to describe the subculture in which the music belonged; although it is also suggested that it was a derogatory term to describe the type of music.[25] The term was first used in print to refer to the music by reporter Robert Flipping, Jr. in a February 1979 article in The New Pittsburgh Courier,[26][27] and to refer to the culture in a January 1982 interview of Afrika Bambaataa by Michael Holman in the East Village Eye.[28] The term gained further currency in September of that year in another Bambaataa interview in The Village Voice,[29] by Steven Hager, later author of a 1984 history of hip hop.[30]
There are disagreements about whether or not the terms “hip hop” and “rap” can be used interchangeably. This even happens amongst hip-hop’s most knowledgeable writers, performers, and listeners.[6] The most common view that is seen, is that hip-hop is a cultural movement that emerged in the South Bronx in New York City during the 1970s, with MCing (or rapping) being one of the primary four elements.[6] Hip hop’s other three essential elements are graffiti art (or aerosol art), break dancing, and DJing. Rap music has become by far the most celebrated expression of hip hop culture, largely as a result of its being the easiest to market to a mass audience.[6]
