A Tribute To Graffiti

Hip hop has four elements. No. Wait. Scrap that. Hip hop has MANY elements. More than i can mention in a sentence. More than i could mention in a paragraph. More than i could mention in this whole article even, but i'll give you an example of what i mean. So there is MCing, DJing, B-Boying and Graffiti right? But with MCing there is rappers and poets, there is freestyle and the written rhyme, there is battling, lyricism, beatboxing and much much more. With DJing, there is mixing, beat juggling, scratching and more. And today, more and more forms of hip hop come not from sampling DJs, but producers creating entire tracks from scratch (if you excuse the accidental pun). B-Boying and hip hop dance has spread the entire world, infusing with many different other cultures along the way. And then there is graffiti.

Working wonders with a spray can has gone hand in hand with hip hop from the very beginning. It is the only one of the four elements, that despite being hugley marketed has not been hugely commercialized. A wall is a wall is a wall. You can sell a canvas, but the basic raw essence will always be a street level thing. It remains the face of the youth generation, and still keeps its hand in with the old school heads. It plasters every single product of the hip hop market from the music to the clothing. Graffiti is as much hip hop as any cleverly used mic or slip matt. But this doesn't retract to only spray cans. Hip hop artists now come in many forms, using pencils, pens, stencils or indeed even graphic designers, who create important pieces that challenge where the culture sits within the scope of the rest of the world. So we at UndergoundHH.com salute you! From those who risk life and limb creeping onto rail tracks in the wee small hours, through to those up at 3am glued to the page or screen and destined to suffer RSI of the wrist in later life. We stand by your flag and we chant your mantra. The world is an easel, holding an abundance of canvases.