ilizing this dance before most others. The youths in street gangs were known to have done their "battling" this way: competing through this dance instead of fighting. These competitions came to be known as "breaking" battles. Some of the characteristics of this type of dance include head spinning, back spinning and complicated leg moves at a very fast rate of speed. From here, breakdancing groups (or crews as they were often called) were formed. These groups would practice and perform together. Since many of the youths didn't have anything else to do, they would practice for hours on end developing routines to perform, and sometimes performing in front of audiences.Another element of the hip-hop culture is Djing. Djing is defined as "the art of blending, scratching, and making cuts." Djing came into play around the same time as breakdancing and as funk and hip-hop continuously turned out more beat oriented music and rappers started coming into the picture. The first DJ to ever scratch a record was Grand Wizard Theodore at an International Turntable Foundation Convention in San Francisco in 1975. As this happened, there became a need to produce a more repetitive, beat-oriented background that people could rap over. With the need for more beats, DJ Kool Herc was the first to DJ with two turntables. It didn't take long for the DJ to become an instrumental factor in the evolution of hip-hop. This type of DJ is looked upon to keep the crowd hyped (partying) throughout the night and on the dance floor. The art of scratching is like a miracle. A DJ can grab any recorded sound and manipulate it to say whatever they want it to say. DJ's brought in to play a new musical instrument "the turntable." Unfortunately, DJ's don't get the kind of attention they deserve and are often forgotten, but they are still around and very strong. Mcing (rapping) is a very large element of hip-hop (if not the largest). Rap was separated from the DJ and the rappers s...
