Difference Between Hip Hop & Breakdancing

The DJ

• The DJ provided the soundtrack to the creation of hip-hop culture.Thinkstock/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  DJing refers to the creation of seamless extended mixes of music by blending two rhythmically matched songs together over a small portion of their combined playing time. DJs would often extend particular sections of a song by playing two copies of the same album simultaneously. These preferred sections came to be known as breaks; they were often percussion-based grooves but could be any type of musical interlude with a strong rhythmic groove. DJing eventually led to the creation of new musical compositions using these breaks from older recordings blended together or recontextualized, also known as sampling. The art of sampling is the basis of much of the musical genre called hip-hop.
  
  

The MC

• The MC is the forefather to the modern rapper.Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
  
  MCing is the art of vocalizing over the seamless grooves created by the DJ. Initially, the MC provided simple rhythmic chants to accompany some of the grooves implemented by the DJ. As the hip-hop culture developed, MCs began to create more complicated content, eventually leading to the creation of full song lyrics. The art of MCing eventually led to the creation of the modern rapper.
  
  

The B-Boy/B-Girl

• Breakdancing is the dance component of hip-hop.Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images
  
  Break dancing is the dance component of hip-hop. It was created primarily as an artistic expression by urban youth in the 1970s. Break dancing contains elements of traditional modern dance fused with elements of Brazilian capoiera and African dance. Break dancing also contains elements of improvisation, acrobatics, spins and tumbling. Breaking, also known as "b-boying," can be said to consist of four basic components: toprocks, downrocks, power moves and freezes/suicides.
  
  Like the other components of hip-hop, breaking was a form of public artistic performance and, as a result, was often considered a less formal type of dance. B-boys/b-girls were so named because they often performed their routines to the extended breaks created by DJs. B-boys often formed crews (or groups of b-boys/b-girls) that would dance competitively against other crews at public events. These battles provided an organized creative outlet for the crews, who were often members of urban gangs.
  
  Once solely seen in the poor and working class neighborhoods of urban America, breaking is now featured in mainstream film, commercials and TV programming. Break dancing is now commonly considered a part of the canon of modern dance and is often incorporated into performances by dance troupes around the world.
  
  

The Graffit Artist

• Graffiti is arguably the most popular current form of mural artFrazer Harrison/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
  
  Graffiti is the term given to the visual art form that is associated with the hip-hop cultural movement. Usually consisting of intricate stenography and imagery, graffiti is a public art form and was originally found almost exclusively on the sides of subways cars, buildings and other places of public display in urban areas. Graffiti pieces often memorialize the artist, or their crew, and is consequently sometimes referred to as tagging. Tags are also made in recognition of various social moments, events and people.
  
  

Hip-Hop Culture Today

• This iconic image of Barack Obama was created by a former graffiti artist.Sean Gallup/Getty Images News/Getty Images
  
  Modern hip-hop culture is at the center of global youth culture. The musical cues and production styles created by hip-hop are evident in most forms of popular music from rock to jazz to electronica. Hip-hop has spawned the creation of several multi-million-dollar fashion movements, including the multi-billion-dollar fashion sneaker industry. In the world of art, hip-hop, through graffiti, is the basis of the works of modern artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Banksy and Shepherd Fairey, who created the iconic "HOPE" graphic of the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama.