Professor in African American studies speaks on DJs, Hip-Hop

DJ and professor of African American Studies at the City University of New York, Todd Craig, spoke to the school community in an all-school assembly in Taper Gym on Feb. 13. Craig explored the history of Hip-Hop, as well as sound, popular culture and other factors that contributed to the rise of the genre. Craig presented his own mix of Hip-Hop songs at the beginning of the assembly, consisting of modern Hip-Hop songs, and older Hip-Hop tracks that those songs sampled from. Craig said he did this to show Hip-Hop’s evolution over the last 50 years, as well as the importance of samples in Hip-Hop culture. “One great thing about Hip-Hop’s longevity is that is allows the culture to sample itself, so breaks from older songs can get turned into new musical landscapes,” Craig said. According to Craig, Hip-Hop’s origin is a stylized version of rhythmic music sung and rapped by African-Americans in the Bronx district of New York. Craig said the role of DJs in creating and evolving Hip-Hop as a genre was massive and said that they were the genesis of Hip-Hop culture. “The DJ is the cornerstone of Hip-Hop culture,” Craig said. “It’s the DJ that brought...