Blending the Elements of Hip Hop

May 19, 2009 7:54 AM

Hip hop is made of four elements: Deejaying and turntablism, Emceeing (rapping and freestyling), Breaking (more previously), and Graffiti. And don't forget beatboxing (more), which blends turntablism and emceeing. But what if you can't make the wikka-wikka sounds with your mouth? You could learn from others, or you could dust off your flute with Nathan Lee, or bust out your sousaphone with Nat McIntosh (formerly with Youngblood Brass Band (interviewed on NPR), now with Dallas Brass).
posted by filthy light thief (19 comments total)

Thanks to gman for the fluteboxing link. And here's the wiki page on multiphonics, which Nat McIntosh uses with the sousaphone (and discusses in the NPR interview).
posted by filthy light thief at 7:57 AM on May 19, 2009

I once had a manuscript submitted to my press centered on these four elements. It wasn't bad; the author was a pretty good writer, and was good at relating the story of how he interacted with the various elements. We ended up having to reject the manuscript for a number of reasons (not least that we would have had no idea how to sell it), but I rather hope he's made some revisions and found a publisher.
posted by Caduceus at 8:03 AM on May 19, 2009

If the universal frame had been created a surface only and having no depth, a single mean would have sufficed to bind together itself and the other terms; but now, as the world must be solid, and solid bodies are always compacted not by one mean but by two, God placed Breaking and Graffiti in the mean between Emceeing and Deejaying, and made them to have the same proportion so far as was possible (as Emceeing is to Graffiti so is Graffiti to Breaking, and as Graffiti is to Breaking so is Breaking to Deejaying); and thus he bound and put together a visible and tangible heaven. And for these reasons, and out of such elements which are in number four, the body of the world was created...

-Socrates, Timaeus
posted by Iridic at 8:56 AM on May 19, 2009 [4 favorites]

Iridic: word.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:58 AM on May 19, 2009

Anyone wanna post more beatbox tutorials? Or is there anyone here with skills that could post some advice? You'd be saving me an AskMe... ;)
posted by regicide is good for you at 9:02 AM on May 19, 2009

rigfy - the learn is the website for one group of folks who have a tutorial forum, to go along with the bundle of youtube tutorials.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:21 AM on May 19, 2009

Thou shalt remember that guns, bitches, and bling were never part of the four elements, and never will be.
posted by mattdidthat at 10:19 AM on May 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

The Next Big Thing - JUST A BAND.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:30 AM on May 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

You could learn from others, or you could dust off your flute

What I wouldn't give to have someone dust off my flute...
posted by flarbuse at 10:33 AM on May 19, 2009

So the deejaying, emceeing, beatboxing, breaking, and graffiti are the Five Pillars of Hip-Hop?
Now I want to know what the Five Pillars of Hip-Hop are.
posted by dunkadunc at 10:55 AM on May 19, 2009

I mean, the Five Pillars of Punk.
posted by dunkadunc at 10:55 AM on May 19, 2009

The Zen of Punk: Our rule is no rule.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:59 AM on May 19, 2009

That's it: I'm starting a 70s groove-style band (complete with horns) called the Five Pillars of Funk.
posted by grubi at 11:14 AM on May 19, 2009

As a former flautist, I find fluteboxing pretty revolting. Because you can doesn't mean you should.
posted by Shohn at 11:16 AM on May 19, 2009

Speaking of revolting, now I'm remembering that classic bugs bunny clip with him playing the flute, and imagining him beatboxing to it. Dope. I can only imagine it's seconds before somebody links that 17-year old girl beatboxing from the back seat of a car.

In some ways its invigorating, in others it's like seeing buzz about somebody getting a ridiculous high score on Kaboom. Sure it's cool, but it's like we did that in the 80's, man. And you can't even wish it was all on tape because the sounds were dope but whooowee our outfits were baaad.
posted by cashman at 11:46 AM on May 19, 2009

Rahsaan Roland Kirk does a lot of cackling and whooping around his flute while playing. It's not revolting, it's awesome.
posted by creasy boy at 12:43 PM on May 19, 2009

I saw a dude named Sxip Shirey (first name pronounced "Skip", more or less) perform once. He's a pretty cool found object improvisational musician, and he did a sort of beatboxing piece on a flute. I don't remember what he called it, so it would be hard to find, but despite not having any words at all, it was easily the dirtiest, most sexual song I've heard in my life. It was a pretty remarkable, if somewhat blush inducing performance.

(He was performing with Jason Webley, and they have a neat little album together.)
posted by Caduceus at 12:54 PM on May 19, 2009

As a former flautist, I find fluteboxing pretty revolting.

As a guitarist, I find electrified amps revolting.

As a typist, I find word processors revolting.

etc., etc.

You don't have to appeal to the authority of Your Chosen Instrument. It's totally ok to just not dig something.
posted by regicide is good for you at 3:03 PM on May 19, 2009

Somebody should do a remake of the 5th element where at the end Bruce Willis is clueless about Beatboxing and Milla Jovavich breaks it down for him.
posted by P.o.B. at 3:20 PM on May 19, 2009