ROPPing and Hip Hopping

Hip Hop music has been the language of young America for decades now. Bro. Terrence Stith led April's ROPP Core Focus workshop and shared the evolution of the "spoken word" from the drumming griots across the African Continent to the call and response spirituals throughout the diaspora and into today's popular music here in the US.

Indigenous African
Bid dap bop bop bip bip (Drumming griot at one village- Sending)
Bid dap bop bop bip bip (Drumming griot at another village- Receiving)

Black American religious tradition
Preacher: "Can I get an Amen?"
Congregation: "Amen!"

Secular Hip Hop
Rapper: "When I say 'Hip", you say 'Hop', "Hip..."
Audience: "Hop!"
Rapper: "Hip!"
Audience: "Hop!"

Candidates were given an extensive list of hip-hop related vocabulary words to define...and a perfect notebook in which to write the definitions! They should have noted the 5 elements of Hip Hop:

• Emceeing
• Breakdancing
• DJ'ing
• Graffiti Art
• Knowledge and Understanding

Bro. Terrence brought a complete DJ set up so ROPP candidates could get a taste of what mixing music is like with today's technology.