The metamorphoses of French hip hop

“Recognition and artistic maturity.” This is what Claudine Moïse, a sociolinguist who has followed the development of French hip hop for a long time, says when asked what the street dance has achieved during the last decade. The road of hip hop from the greyslab backyards of notorious suburbs to theatre stages has been rough and full of contradictions, but the dancers have found their place as renowned artists.

OLD SCHOOL

But let ’s go back to the beginning, to 1983, the golden year of hip hop. The movements of break and smurf had invaded the streets a couple of years earlier with American dancers, but in 1983 the dance spread to discos, television, cinema and all over France. The first hip hop generation, Old School, danced in night clubs and on the tiled floors of shopping malls: Frank II Louise, Gabin Nuissier, Farid Berki, Thony Maskot, Fred Bendongué, Max-Laure Bourjolly … The first groups, such as Traction Avant and Black Blanc Beur, hit the stage. In just a few years, everything seemed to be over. Hip hop was seen as a passing fad, which only lasted till the end of the 80s. The dancers went their own ways, breakdancing on concrete and waiting for better times.

FROM THE FRINGES TO THEATRE

When Claudine Moïse started to follow hip hop in the early 90s, most of the groups were still dancing in the streets. Moïse participated in the organisation of the Montpellier Dance Festival, travelled around France to meet dancers and followed closely hip hop’s move to the stage. “At the time there was a lot of discussion on what the dance would lose, what the relationship between hip hop and institutions was,” says Moïse.. “The same questions apply to all marginal art that approaches the customs of academic art.” Many Old School dancers like Frank II Louise talk about the energy lost in the transitional stage. There was something very spontaneous and powerful in the street dance, which tended to flag on stage. The traditional circle of hip hop turned to frontality: the spectators were no longer around the dancers but in front of them. The dancers had to learn to control their space in a new way – not to mention the fact that theatre was unknown territory for many dancers, who then had to learn stage technique from the very beginning. Getting used to it took a while.

ENCOUNTERS WITH CONTEMPORARY DANCE

It was round about the same time,in the early 90s, that hip hop met contemporary dance. Their union was often to do with commissioned works, dance works created by contemporary dance choreographers for hip hop dancers. The latter did not wel- come this with open arms: was someone attempting to harness hip hop to serve the celebrities of contemporary dance? Yet collaboration with these celebrities brought the recognition that the street dance badly needed. The resistance and debating ,at times quite fierce ,has calmed down as hip hop has gained more appreciation. Some dancers still refuse to be choreographed, but there are also groups that consciously seek co-operation with contemporary dance, for instance Olympic Starz, who has worked with Karine Saporta. Inspiration is sought reciprocally: José Montalvo, Laura Scozzi and Blanca Li, among others, have also worked with hip hop dancers.

THE SPLIT AUDIENCE

The transition of hip hop from streets to stage has brought a new audience to theatres: suburban youth. The dancers work as bridgebuilders between the suburbs and more academic culture, but it is not an altogether easy role. The neighbourhood audience often expects familiar movements and spectacular performances, and protests if the show seems to grow too far removed from street culture. Yet dance keeps changing and developing and dancers need recognition –but at what price?“ Some five or six years ago the audience was still very mixed, but during the past two years it has become whiter and more middle class”, says Moïse and regrets that theatres do not always consider the dance’s original audience. “Young suburban people need guiding, and the world of dance should also be made familiar to them.” According to Moïse, the change in audiences has also affected performances, which now may seek certain kinds of academic and conventional qualities.

A RISE TO ACCEPTANCE

Despite the contradictions, the stage experience has been a victory for hip hop. The dance has been included in festivals, public funding can be sought for hip hop works, and performances have grown more mature. Today French hip hop is internationally known as a recognised dance style, which combines elements from contemporary dance and street dance seasoned with the cultural influence brought along by the immigrant roots of many dancers. There is one thing, though, that even hip hop has not been able to shake: on television suburbs are still presented as stages for riots, not dance.

Taina Tervonen

URB – FROM JAZZ TO HIP HOP 31 JULY – 20 AUGUST

DJ Anonymous, alias Sampo Axelsson, has organised hip hop nights e.g. at the Tavastia Club in Helsinki since 1996. Break dancing has been part of the gig since day one. “At the time, there were not so many such gigs so we decided to arrange our own. Today there are other people organising the same kind of thing, and basically every week there is good rap music played somewhere in Helsinki. When it seems like everyone feels like going for breaking, we move on to mixing old classics and new stuff.” Drum breaks are the key element in hip hop. They are the backbone of breaking; during them the breakers assemble on the floor. With two turntables it is possible to extend the drum breaks – the very basis of DJ-ing. “Unfortunately, the relationship between dance and hip hop music has in a way deteriorated. Dance was left out in the cold for many reasons: the hip hop beat has lost its edge since the early 90s, the general depression, and the gloomy and gritty themes the MC’s employed in their lyrics. I think social commentary is one element in rap music but it mustn’t be the be-all-and-end-all of it. Anyway, now things are looking up again and there’s a more positive spirit about.”

HISTORY IN BRIEF

A central element in hip hop, rap was born at neighbourhood parties in New York in the 1970s. The DJ was accompanied by another talker, so that the DJ could concentrate on playing records. These talkers, who kept repeating certain phrases over the microphone, were called MC’s, i.e. Masters of Ceremony. As their status improved, the focus shifted towards rapping. The general public’s first contact with rap music came when Sugarhill record company, aiming at a block-busting hit, decided to release a rap single. The release was a success, and rap music began to be launched on a commercial basis. All rap music followed the same pattern: familiar disco or funk was modified into rap accompanied by a studio band. The first new generation, consisting of Run DMC and others, took over round about 1982. The introduction of the drum machine made studio bands a thing of the past. As a result, a more mechanical rap sound was created.

CONFOUNDED COMMERCIALISM

Finland was introduced to hip hop – and graffiti and the entire hip hop culture – by the film Wild Style, and others like it. The culture’s increasing popularity was followed by commercialisation: break dancing appeared in all kinds of commercials, and special break dance courses were even arranged. This almost managed to smother hip hop altogether at the end of the 1980s. “Now we’re again heading for a dead end. Although hip hop is basically intended for other hip hoppers, its impact can be seen in the field of marketing, for example. Graffiti has played a major role in advertising, which was meant to appeal youngsters, and the majority of pop music on MTV is based on hip hop rhythms, e.g. Spice Girls. In terms of their music, Bomfunk MC’s is actually pure German spirited pop-trance, basically as far removed from Afro-American rhythm music as you can get. These phenomena give hip hop dubious publicity. Today 12 –13-year-olds are looking for break dance music – but try to introduce them to some of the basics and they’re all amazed.”

Piia Laita interviewed DJ Anonymous