The Development of The Hip-hop Culture in Puerto Rico and Jamaica

The Puerto Rican and Jamaican voice were omitted from hip-hop culture due to the prevailing racial-cultural hierarchy. The commercialization process of the rap culture in music involves the extraction of popular cultural expression from its original social context and function. For example, the “Latinization” of hip-hop meant its separation from the particular national and ethnic traditions that it had been pertained directly. Rap performance from Puerto Rico such as DJ Kool Herc has received a resistance due to the wider audiences gained by the Latin Empire. DJ Kool Herc, having grown in Kingston, Jamaica, had to listen to the American jazz, gospel, and country music so as to change his accent and sing to the records of hip/hop music culture. Upon moving to New York City, he tried to change his identity from that of the Jamaican to the Americans because of the much discrimination he experienced. Nobody would want to listen to his music since being Jamaican was not fashionable at the time.

Chicano voice was avidly expressed in the hip hop culture due to the existence of the gangster persona as a theme in the voice. In hip-hop, laying claim to the gangster persona is a theme that is considered favorite. The Chicano gangs have been a fact of life since the early 1930s. It is in the history of Chicanos to engage in gangster activities such as customizing cars. The great dance scenes created by the Chicano dance parties also led to the conformity of the Chicano into the hip-hop culture. The combination of the talents of the Chicanos greatly influenced the Chicano Hip hopers during the early 1900s to release a series of albums, integrating hip hop tricks (Kelly, n.d.).

In the hip-hop culture, a name is important in determining the logic of commercial representation. In hip-hop, a name sketches the historical contexts and consequences, tracing traditions and antecedents, hence determining the situation of commercialization of the hip-hop music from individuals. In the text about making a name by Paul D. Miller, DJ Kool Herc strives to change his accent and way of life to be accepted as an American. In New York City where being a Jamaican is regarded out of fashion, DJ Kool Herc is determined to follow the American culture by absorbing their slang and science. DJ kool Herc would only make good out of hip-hop by being accepted by the Americans who rap for commercialization (Miller, n.d.).

A name in the hip-hop culture approves racial authenticity and cultural identity. For example, the Puerto Ricans are using hip-hop as a tool of affirming their history, language, and culture even though there is a lot of discrimination and exclusion by other Latino groups. The usage of Spanish language and bilingual rap onto the music industry has in the recent years bore a particular significance in solving the problem of the monolingual tenor in the society. In the quest for identity formation, a name is also significant in creating multiculturalism in the society. A name is useful in identifying a cultural practice that also fits into the rap music industry apart from the already existing practices. Cultural practices such as graffiti writing, break dancing, as the rap music is played create unity in the society. Different cultures are brought together to share the common hip-hop culture (Flores, n.d.).