A Latinx history of hip-hop
LTX Connect
Amplifying Latinx voices, fostering diverse collaborations, and bridging the gap between talent and opportunity.
Today, we celebrate hip-hop and the Latinx folks who helped pioneer the culture.?
Hip-hop originated and emerged from the vibrant and multicultural neighborhoods of the Bronx. What became a dynamic cultural movement with roots in this urban environment's socio-economic and cultural landscape started as a platform for marginalized voices to be heard.
These voices left a lasting mark worldwide and continue to drive culture. I mean, would there be a Bad Bunny without hip-hop? Much of the current reggaeton, Latin trap music has hip-hop influences.??
So, as hip-hop turns 50 this year, we’re reflecting on the Latinx community's impact on the cultural phenomenon. We owe the birth of hip-hop to the creativity of young Black American, Caribbean, and Latinx folks converging in the Bronx during a time when limited opportunities and economic strife characterized the borough.?
“Latinos have been in this from the very beginning," says Elena Romero, journalist and hip-hop documentarian.?
The brilliance of hip-hop is found in how Black and Latinx kids, who mainstream culture attempted to marginalize, created a medium of self-expression and made themselves incredibly visible all around the world. Hip-hop is now a multi-billion dollar industry.
"Certain elements became commercialized or profited on and those elements focused more on the African Americans that were in that particular genre. But a lot of times, people don't realize there could be Black hip-hop participants who are also (Latino)," Romero says to Axios.
Hip-hop, at its core, is Black History. Consider this: “The divide between Black and Latino artists is not so cut and dry when you consider the number of Black Latino MCs, from the members of Cypress Hill to Tego Calderón, for whom Blackness has been a critical component in their experience of Latinidad,” writes L.A. Times columnist Suzy Exposito.
We honor the 50th anniversary by highlighting some of our contributions to the art form. People like Afro-Latinx MCs from the members of Cypress Hill (recently featured on the coveted NPR Tiny Desk series). Groups like Mean Machine, who became one of the first bilingual rap groups, signed to a record label. Richard Coló, aka "Crazy Legs," b-boy and early breaking pioneer. And iconic graffiti artist Lady Pink whose murals and pieces have been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide.
“When you go and you buy your books… and they show hip-hop's infancy, there was a photographer named Joe Conzo who took every picture,” rapper Fat Joe explains on NPR. “If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have that, that footage of the Bronx looking like this. He picked up the camera.” He’s talking about the Latinx photographer who captured the birth of hip-hop.?
The Latinx history of hip-hop is vast, and there’s so much to uncover and learn, so I wanted to share some food for thought — these articles and videos explore how Latinx folks have been part of hip-hop history since the beginning. They offer the BEST stories about the culture's early days directly from the people there watching it unfold.?
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