Rap/HipHop visuals ?

[iKst]

Hey ppl,

any1 done any rap/hiphop performances ? What kind of visuals do you think would be cool for this music ?

[complexvisuals]

Guns n Cars

Cian

[complexvisuals]

And big bouncy chested women.

:D

Cian

[oxygen]

did some vj-ing with
breakdancers & 4 live camera;s.
but then you need (break)dancers!

other tips:
filimng graffity
or check films like 'wildstyle' or 'beat street'....

[syzygy]

One of our current residencies is at a hip-hop night.

My advice is to try to avoid sticking purely to the hip-hop cliches (breakdancing, graffiti etc) and try to bring some other influences into the visuals.

At Heducation we do use clips that we've filmed of breakdance crews and graffiti (both complete and in progress) but we also use everything from 1920's ballroom dancing to country and western style clips to bodybuilders to apes to skateboarding etc etc etc.

We've had a great response to the eclectic visuals over the last year and a half, but Heducation is very much a party night, so you may find that a more underground hip-hop night would suit a narrower set of themes.

Both breakdancers and graffiti artists tend to love being filmed for visuals (ask the graf boys first though and check whether they mind their faces being included)

Dan.

[unjulation]

i'd agree with syzygy hear after doing a 4 month weekly hip-hop night we used all the useawell and obvious stuf pluss a hell of a lot of outher stuf and got more positive feedback for the outher stuf we did then the obvious stuf, dancers of all styles works, urben sceans, subways, people, faces etc

brakers are good but do ask about filimg them first they can be a little twitchy like syz says

[monsho]

Really enjoy vjing at hiphop nights, got a load of footage especially for them.

One thing that I could suggest is that if you're filming anything try and get a 'bounce' going with the camera, that way you can reallly get a hiphop feeling when triggering clips with the music. Kinda hard to explain and prolly doesn't make any sense, but think of the 'head bob' type music and how the style of the clip can enhance that.

film someone scratching - can look great with the right effects

[flatZ]

i am also a youthworker and i work a lot with black kids.
Just follow them with a camera on the streets.
they will do funny movements and stuff look weird in the camera
i did some nice ones where i walked back and they rapped in front of my camera, bouncing and stuff, looking mean looking happy.

I made the movies a bid more yellow and put some noise in the pictures to make them look a bit more oldschool.
Great original footage!

(oh and if you are not a youthworker... just walk the streets and ask nice :)

(oh2 it works too with white kids, i'm sure :D )

Ronnie

[Primebase3]

Comic Books,

the late 80s early 90's Marvel comics was and still is a great inspiration for hiphop and urban art (check the books Lowdown and Scrawl) and a great inspiration for myself.

it 's hiphop (and in my opinion life) in a great exaggerated way: two b-boys/girls ,MC's ,Turntablists,Graph Artists(vj's??)

constantly try to beat the other guy in the most original way, constantly try to step up ladder by taunting(batttling) each other
constantly trying to create new techniques to do that.

the references between that and comics is apparent (the bad guy making a new sonic ray gun, peter parker and his black suit ,the secret war 1+2 saga) around that time. the names of some hiphop stars also have that in them (MF DOOM for instance)


it's funny but I vj and live by that hiphop code: not given a F*** if somebody disses my/our work/idea's , that's cool I'll/we'll go back in the lab and make some more just to taunt/battle your ass. it's why hiphop is always evolving as fast as it is (right or wrong is something else) but it's moving : 3 decades strong and fast. it's why it is next to a james brown sample: the most sampled culture/artform in the history of man: DADA be damned. :cool:


I hope it helps.

a hiphop kid.

[MoRpH]

Ive dne loads of hiphop stuff here in australia, most recently the Sydney leg of Grandmaster Flash's tour.

I have worked my way through all the hiphop cliches (guns, cars, urban, grafitti, stencil, bombing, oldskool block party footage, subway, breakers/dancers, basically EVERYTHING that has something to do with hiphop culture and the ppl places it came out off) and have found it all to work most simply when mixed with a good amount (3 minimum) live cams.

As for getting the footage I agree with the other guys, head downtown and ask away, find out who your local b-boys and graf heads are and ask them to shoot, the love being on the screen. As for older stuff raid the video shop there is loads of old stuff floating around, plenty of good docos for sampling on the topic too.