The connections between hip hop and martial arts really came into full focus through our class discussions and reading. I like the similarity between Jeet Kune Do and Hip Hop, specifically looking at the concept of sampling and how different elements can be brought together to make something new. We deal with this concept a lot in class in terms of “hermit crabbing”, as putting yourself in the mindset of another time period allows you to learn from the past in order to better understand the subject at hand. With Jeet Kune Do, Bruce Lee placed enormous importance on the “flow”, stating that a martial artist cannot predict combat and instead must be fluid “like water”. The unpredictability of Jeet Kune Do gave the “style without style” an edge over the opponent, favoring quick footwork (like Muhammad Ali) and a strong offense over a calculated martial arts style. Hip Hop, and sampling in general, utilizes the method of bringing all kinds of sounds to the mix and creating something new as its foundation.
Looking at a more recent example, in Kanye West’s work we find a huge selection of sampling that pulled from different bands and genres to create something new. Back in 2007 when Kanye West released “Stronger“, he used Daft Punk’s hit “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” as its foundation and through that created something different. The music video could also be seen as a form of “sampling” or perhaps “hermit crabbing”, as it’s massively influenced by the seminal anime film Akira. Another example is from his 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, in which he sampled King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” for the song “Power” and made it work in a way that was completely different than before. I don’t think it’s very often that rappers or hip hop artists sample 1970s prog bands, but it’s the union of two different eras and styles that makes for a pretty interesting song. It is these influences that made Kanye feel a bit fresh compared to the “bitches n’ hoes” attitude that invaded much of hip hop through the early 21st Century – although I have to say Kanye West can definitely be guilty of that as well. All to all, I wasn’t a huge fan of this book but it did get me to reexamine and acknowledge icons in our pup culture who are closely related in ways I never realized, and the similarities in approaches (such as sampling) are undeniable. There is a spirit of resistance found within these methods which help cross barriers and allow people of different backgrounds, gender and ethnicity to tap that same power and utilize it for themselves.
