The Miseducation of Hip-Hop: Proto-Rap
In my previous article, I was very shallow in my presentation of the various eras that would constitute my timeline for Hip-Hop. To me, there are five distinct eras: Proto, Old School, Golden Age, Silver Age and the Digital Age. Each one of these four eras present their own specific historical traits and aspects that need to be examined in depth.
Proto is a term that originates from the Greek term protos, which stands for "first". Today, we use it as a prefix, to signify something beforehand or primitive. Hence, to call the period before the formalization of Hip-Hop the Proto Era is just. It's multiple different bricks that will eventually be used to make a house: that doesn't mean that at this time, it is a house.
The eccentricity of this specific era is that it apparently has no real beginning, as few recognize anything that happens before August 1973. However, it's smart enough to stipulate that there were elements that led to that specific moment, to the point that we cannot even fathom where and when this all began.
Hip-Hop has four distinct pillars: graffiti painting, break dancing, deejaying and rapping. Each has its own distinct history that you can go very far into. Graffiti has existed since there has been walls and cities, so we can presume long before the common era. Breakdancing takes its roots from places and times much closer to ours with Earl Tucker (aka Snake Hips) in 1925 creating the base for the genre. Deejaying would start half a century later in clubs and parties in Jamaica. It would immigrate to New York City not too long after.
Rapping is a little more ambiguous.
The ability to rap is to be able to put words together in a rhyming pattern over a beat. This means that rapping can go back centuries. As one could talk about Shakespeare and the like, it doesn't correlate with the topic. That's simply because we need to understand where we are. This is the Bronx in the 70's: Shakespeare was not a concern. This was a generational thing that came from Jamaica and ancestors. Those ancestors might've gotten it from their ancestors in Africa. Western Africa is home to the griots or jalis: a group of storytellers who rhymed to keep the story alive. Doesn't that sound like Hip-Hop?
So let's suppose that this is a generational thing that came together through multiple influences. These could include the concepts and musical stylings of rock, blues and jazz that would help. We can assume that a lot of the youth that helped create the original sound were also listening to the people around them. This would include Gil Scott-Heron, the jazz artist who helped revolutionize the genre with "The Revolution Will Not be Televised" as well as the rhyming and braggadocious boxer by the name of Muhammad Ali.
What ruins the legitimacy of Proto is the fact that it's quasi theory: it's based on circumstantial evidence. But the circumstantial evidence is supported by people who were there at that time and who spoke about the genre and what it meant to them. Where did they get some of their inspiration? Where does all of this come from? It's powerful to know that the roots are farther than just a random party on Sedgwick Avenue on one summer day that came about from nothing.