<p>Welcome back to another installment of Rockin’ Tha Spot. This week we’re going to take a quick trip back to the Bronx, New York in the 1970’s and early 80’s. It’s important to understand where hip hop culture came from if we want to honestly assess its progression over 30-plus years. During the 1970’s the Bronx was on fire, literally. Harsh economic conditions nationally were exacerbated inside of inner-city neighborhoods like the South Bronx. Tensions were at an all time high during this tumultuous decade. Frustrations over poor quality of life and mounting tensions with the police and the bureaucracy of NY politics had hit a fever pitch. By the end of the 1970’s the Bronx had lost around half of its population and approximately half of the boroughs residences were abandoned and deemed uninhabitable.</p><p>Arson and the withdrawal of civil services from these neighborhoods were two if the key components that led to the demise of the Bronx in these days. While some damage was caused by frustrated residents through riotous behavior, the majority of arson cases were actually attributed to the “slumlords” who owned these buildings and tenements. Property values were plummeting as inflation continued to rise, and many landlords realized that their insurance policies would generate more revenue for them than actually renting out their properties. As a result of the loss of residents and places to live the city of New York cut basic social services in many of these areas. Schools, fire stations, health center, etc. were shut, making a bad situation much worse. Banks and financial institutions, with rare exceptions, refused to provide loans for rehabilitation projects to help clean up the enormous mess. New York as a whole was on the verge of economic collapse, and in a last ditch effort Mayor Abe Beame sought federal funds from President Ford. Ford said no and in essence left NYC to wither away. As the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words” so here’s a look at the Bronx from the 70’s and 80’s. I wish I could say, “Enjoy” but nothing about this clip should bring a smile to anyone’s face. If the video is blocked, trust me just click the link. You want to see this.</p><p> </p><p>So why am I showing you this you wonder? I want you to see and understand the environment that birthed the culture we all know and love: Hip Hop. I am astonished that out of this absolutely decimated environment, which rivaled the worst war-torn regions and third world nations on the globe, could come such a burst of multifaceted positive expression and joy that this culture brought forth. One might view hip hop as the Bronx Renaissance. This is where it came from. From the ashes the phoenix arises. A fascinating aspect of the culture is that it has been documented so well. There is a lot of tangible material available that doesn’t just give a good look at the culture in hindsight, but rather shows the merging of the elements from a first-hand perspective while events are taking place. Be it video, record, picture, movie, whatever format it is out there so to take a look at this cultural history when it was in its present is a wonderful thing to be able to behold. I’m surely appreciative of this opportunity which is why I embrace it and share it with others. Today I’ll just show a larger glimpse of the big picture, rather than go into specifics of the pieces of the puzzle themselves. If you have kept up with the fir
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