tips biar dilirik cewek menurut iklan TV

kalian dirumah atau kos punya TV kan? sebenernya TV tu ibarat orang adalah mbah dukun, dokter, atau barang elektronik itu sendiri. nah yang mo gw bahas di sini bukan masalah tu TV bener pa kagak, yang jelas gw mo kasih beberapa tips yang diambil dari filosofi iklan - iklan TV. kalian udah ga sabar kan?
ne dia tipsnya:
1. Parfum
pakailah parfum yang wangi dan menarik perhatian yang super dahsyat.
pakailah AXE, why?
Filosofiny:
kalian udah pernah liat iklan-iklan AXE di tV kn? nah betapa hebatnya cowo-cowo yang pake parfum AXE, cewe - cewe
pada kelabakan, bergairah kalo cium cowo pake tu parfum. nah kalian praktekin aja tu.

2. Pasta GIGI
kalian tau dong betapa hebatnya gigi kita ini. bayangkan kalo qt ga punya gigi betapa anehnya penampilan QT.
pakailah pasta gigi CLOSE UP.
Filosofi:
kalian pernah juga donk liat iklan-iklan pasta GIGI close Up di TV?
tau kan betapa hebatnya pasta GIGI ini? selain biar mulut QT ga Bau, ne pasta GIGI bisa ngusir anjing gila, ma
ngeluluhin hati si BONYOK cewe

3. Permen
LO???? kok pake permen segala sih mas??? lo... sabar ne emang jadi resep jitu biar dilirik cewe.
makan aja permen RELAXA
Filosofi:
menurut iklan yang da di TV. kalo qt makan RELAXA muulut qt jg wangi,,, segar,,, terus cewe2 pada nempel Gt

Sekian besok di lanjutin lagi yo!!!
wassalam

Fashion for passion

The habit of people continually changing the style of clothing worn, which is now worldwide, at least among urban populations, is generally held by historians to be a distinctively Western one. At other periods in Ancient Rome and other cultures changes in costume occurred, often at times of economic or social change, but then a long period without large changes followed. In 8th century Cordoba, Spain, Ziryab, a famous musician - a star in modern terms - is said to have introduced sophisticated clothing styles based on seasonal and daily timings from his native Baghdad and his own inspiration.

English caricature of Tippies of 1796

The beginnings of the habit in Europe of continual and increasingly rapid change in styles can be fairly clearly dated to the middle of the 14th century, to which historians including James Laver and Fernand Braudel date the start of Western fashion in clothing.^[2][3] The most dramatic manifestation was a sudden drastic shortening and tightening of the male over-garment, from calf-length to barely covering the buttocks, sometimes accompanied with stuffing on the chest to look bigger. This created the distinctive Western male outline of a tailored top worn over leggings or trousers which is still with us today.

The pace of change accelerated considerably in the following century, and women and men's fashion, especially in the dressing and adorning of the hair, became equally complex and changing. Art historians are therefore able to use fashion in dating images with increasing confidence and precision, often within five years in the case of 15th century images. Initially changes in fashion led to a fragmentation of what had previously been very similar styles of dressing across the upper classes of Europe, and the development of distinctive national styles, which remained very different until a counter-movement in the 17th to 18th centuries imposed similar styles once again, finally those from Ancien Régime in France.^[4] Though fashion was always led by the rich, the increasing affluence of early modern Europe led to the bourgeoisie and even peasants following trends at a distance sometimes uncomfortably close for the elites - a factor Braudel regards as one of the main motors of changing fashion.^[5]

The fashions of the West are generally unparalleled either in antiquity or in the other great civilizations of the world. Early Western travellers, whether to Persia, Turkey, Japan or China frequently remark on the absence of changes in fashion there, and observers from these other cultures comment on the unseemly pace of Western fashion, which many felt suggested an instability and lack of order in Western culture. The Japanese Shogun's secretary boasted (not completely accurately) to a Spanish visitor in 1609 that Japanese clothing had not changed in over a thousand years.^[6] However in Ming China, for example, there is considerable evidence for rapidly changing fashions in Chinese clothing,^[7]

Albrecht Dürer's drawing contrasts a well turned out bourgeoise from Nuremberg (left) with her counterpart from Venice, in. The Venetian lady's high chopines make her taller.

Ten 16th century portraits of German or Italian gentlemen may show ten entirely different hats, and at this period national differences were at their most pronounced, as Albrecht Dürer recorded in his actual or composite contrast of Nuremberg and Venetian fashions at the close of the 15th century (illustration, right). The "Spanish style" of the end of the century began the move back to synchronicity among upper-class Europeans, and after a struggle in the mid 17th century, French styles decisively took over leadership, a process completed in the 18th century.^[8]

Though colors and patterns of textiles changed from year to year,^[9] the cut of a gentleman's coat and the length of his waistcoat, or the pattern to which a lady's dress was cut changed more slowly. Men's fashions largely derived from military models, and changes in a European male silhouette are galvanized in theatres of European war, where gentleman officers had opportunities to make notes of foreign styles: an example is the "Steinkirk" cravat or necktie.

The pace of change picked up in the 1780s with the increased publication of French engravings that showed the latest Paris styles; though there had been distribution of dressed dolls from France as patterns since the 16th century, and Abraham Bosse had produced engravings of fashion from the 1620s. By 1800, all Western Europeans were dressing alike (or thought they were): local variation became first a sign of provincial culture, and then a badge of the conservative peasant.^[10]

Although tailors and dressmakers were no doubt responsible for many innovations before, and the textile industry certainly led many trends, the history of fashion design is normally taken to date from 1858, when the English-born Charles Frederick Worth opened the first true haute couture house in Paris. Since then the professional designer has become a progressively more dominant figure, despite the origins of many fashions in street fashion.

Modern Westerners have a wide choice available in the selection of their clothes. What a person chooses to wear can reflect that person's personality or likes. When people who have cultural status start to wear new or different clothes a fashion trend may start. People who like or respect them may start to wear clothes of a similar style.

Fashions may vary considerably within a society according to age, social class, generation, occupation sexual orientation, and geography as well as over time. If, for example, an older person dresses according to the fashion of young people, he or she may look ridiculous in the eyes of both young and older people. The terms "fashionista" or "fashion victim" refer to someone who slavishly follows the current fashions

Sejarah Distro (distributor outlet) clothing

Siapa sangka, dari sebuah skatepark kecil di salah satu sudut Taman Lalu Lintas Bandung (Taman Ade Irma Suyani), di awal tahun 1990-an, menjadi tempat bersejarah yang melatar belakangi perkembangan fashion anak muda Bandung dalam satu dekade terakhir ini. Skateboard kemudian menjadi benang merah yang menjadi ciri dan eksplorasi fashion dan lifestyle yang dielaborasi oleh para pelakunya dan membentuk gaya anak muda Bandung hingga saat ini.
Pertemuan di Taman Lalu Lintas membuat Didit atau dikenal dengan nama Dxxxt, Helvi dan Richard Mutter (mantan drumer Pas Band), kemudian bersepakat mengelola sebuah ruang bersama di Jalan Sukasenang Bandung. Ruang ini kemudian dikenal sebagai cikal bakal yang munculnya bisnis clothing lokal untuk anak muda di Bandung. “Cari nama dit, si helvi bilang gitu..waktu itu lagi ngomong-ngomong soal Cihampelas,” Dxxxt mengawali ceritanya ketika saya bertanya darimana nama Reverse berasal. “Kenapa ya, si Cihampelas itu ngga bikin produk-produk dengan merek-merek sendiri, kenapa mereka bikin mereknya reply lah, armani lah.. kenapa ga bikin sendiri, reverse misalnya.. trus Helvi bilang nama itu bagus. Ya udah akhirnya dipakai buat nama toko.” Tahun 1994, mereka membangun studio musik dan toko yang menjual CD, kaset poster, T-shirt, majalah, poster dan asesoris band yang diimport langsung dari luar negeri. Pilihan yang spesifik, membuat barang yang dijual di Reverse, tak bisa didapatkan di toko-toko lain di Bandung pada saat itu.
Reverse pada saat itu menjadi tempat berkumpulnya komunitas-komunitas dari scene yang berbeda. Punk, hardcore, pop, surf, bmx, skateboard, rock, grunge, semua bisa bertemu di tempat itu. PAS dan Puppen adalah beberapa band yang sempat dibesarkan oleh komunitas Reverse. Richard sendiri sempat membentuk record label independen 40.1.2.4 yang rilisan pertamanya berupa album kompilasi “Masaindahbangetsekalipisan”, pada tahun 1997. Band-band yang ikut dalam rilisan itu diantaranya Burger Kill, Puppen, Papi, Rotten To The Core, Full of Hate dan Waiting Room sebagai band satu-satunya dari Jakarta yang masuk dalam kompilasi ini.
Saat krisis ekonomi terjadi pada tahun 1998, bisnis yang dijalani Reverse, mengalami masa sulit sampai akhirnya tutup. Mereka tak mampu lagi membeli barang-barang dari luar negeri kerena nilai dolar terhadap rupiah melambung tinggi dan tak terjangkau. Namun kondisi sulit ini justru melahirkan fase baru dalam perkembangan industri clothing Bandung. Helvi vetaran Reverse, kemudian membangun clothing label bernama Airplane yang memulai usahanya pada tahun 1997. Bukan hanya itu, bersama Dxxxt dan Marin, Helvi membangun record label bernama Fast Foward pada tahun 1999.
Airplane yang didirikannya bersama dua rekannya yang lain: Fiki dan Colay, resmi berdiri pada tanggal 8 Februari 1998. “Awalnya sih kita udah ngga mampu lagi beli barang-barang impor karena mahal dan krisis moneter. Waktu itu kita mikir, kita bikin apa ya? Soalnya kalau beli, ngga ada yang cocok, pengen kaos yang kaya gini ngga ada.. yang gitu ngga ada.. awalnya dari situ, ya udah kita bikin sendiri deh yang pasti dengan background masing-masing. Semua dipengaruhi oleh kehidupan sehari-hari yang kita senangi aja.. biasanya dari skateboard, trus kita juga main musik, trus itu mempengaruhi ke grafis desain clothing itu sendiri. Jadi emang akhirnya macam-macam.” Jelas Helvi ketika saya temui di kantor Airplane di jalan Titiran Bandung.
Transformasi Reverse sebagai clothing company, dimotori oleh Dxxxt pada bulan Februari 2004. Didukung oleh Marin, Wendi Suherman dan Indra Gatot sebagai mitra usahanya. Reverse kemudian menjelma menjadi label yang memfokuskan dirinya pada fashion untuk pria. Urban culture yang menjadi keseharian tim kreatifnya, menjadi inspirasi dalam desain produk-produk Reverse.
Sementara kegemaran skateboard, bmx dan surfing yang ditekuni Dandhy dan teman-temannya, justru memotivasi mereka untuk membuat produk-produk yang mendukung hobi yang mereka cintai. Bukan hal yang mudah untuk menemukan fashion penunjang kegiatan surfing di Bandung pada saat itu. Maka tahun 1996, dari rumah di dago 347 Bandung, mereka mulai memproduksi barang-barang yang menunjang hobi mereka untuk digunakan sendiri. Ternyata apa yang mereka pakai, menarik perhatian teman-teman mereka. Seperti halnya Airplane, dengan modal patungan seadanya mereka mulai memproduksi barang-barang yang mereka desain untuk kebutuhan hobi mereka itu, untuk dijual di kalangan teman-teman mereka sendiri dengan label ‘347 boardrider co.’ Toko pertamanya dibuka pada tahun 1999 dan diberi nama ‘347 Shophouse’ di Jalan Trunojoyo Bandung. Demikian pula Ouval yang muncul di tahun 1998. Awalnya juga dibentuk dengan semangat untuk mengelaborasi hobi skateboard para pendirinya.
Hobi dan semangat kolektivisme terasa sangat kuat mewarnai kemunculan clothing label dan clothing store pada masa itu. Masih di tahun 1996, Dadan Ketu bersama delapan orang temannya yang lain membentuk sebuah kolektif yang diberi nama Riotic. Kesamaan minat akan ideologi punk, menyatukan ia dan teman-temannya. Riotic menjadi label kolektif yang memproduksi sendiri rilisan musik-musik yang dimainkan oleh komunitas mereka, menerbitkan zines, dan membuka sebuah toko kecil yang menjadi distribusi outlet produk kolektif yang mereka hasilkan. Riotic juga dikenal konsisten dalam mendukung pertunjukan-pertunjukan musik punk rock dan underground yang saat itu kerap diselenggarakan di Gelora Saparua Bandung.

Generasi Global

Saat saya menceritakan apa yang dilakukan anak-anak muda Bandung dengan industri clothingnya, pada teman saya, seorang penulis buku “Lubang Hitam Kebudayaan”_ sebuah buku yang mencermati perkembangan budaya massa di Indonesia sampai fase reformasi 1998_Hikmat Budiman, dia berkomentar “Anak Bandung itu jago menyerap desain ‘arsitektur’ global, dibanding dengan anak muda di kota lain. apa yang terjadi di tingkat global, bisa diterjemahkan dan disiasati oleh mereka dan dijadikan komoditas gaya hidup baru dan menjadi trend. Mereka mendefinisikan kembali coolness yang sesuai dengan konteks mereka. selain itu juga ada pasar yang menyerap komoditas baru itu.”
Jika dicermati lebih jauh, apa yang terjadi di bandung pada dekade 90an, memang tak bisa lepas dari kecenderungan global pada saat itu. Musik dan gaya hidup, sebagai dua hal yang tak terpisahkan, memberi pengaruh sangat besar dalam perkembangan fashion anak muda Bandung. Sejak generasi Aktuil di tahun 70’an, Bandung dikenal sangat adaptif pada perkembangan musik dunia. Ketika merunut aliran musik apa saja yang berkembang dalam dekade 90’an, kita bisa melihat bagaimana perkembangan musik itu mempengaruhi eksplorasi anak muda Bandung di bidang fashion. Grunge, yang dipengaruhi oleh punk, muncul di awal tahun 90’an. Sepatu Doc Martens, Converse high top sneaker dan kemeja flanel yang menjadi trend fashion sampai pertengahan tahun 90. Pada kenyataan flanel di gunakan para musisi beraliran grunge ini karena murah dan hangat. Saat grunge kemudian digantikan oleh musik alternatif di pertengahan 90’an dan Nu-Metal yang dimotori oleh Korn sampai menjelang akhir 1990, fashion ini masih terbawa. Hip hop yang banyak digemari para skateboarders dan mempengaruhi perkembangan musik R&B memberi warna lain pada dekade itu. Scene hardcore atau scenecore atau disebut juga emo dan gaya yang dibawa aliran musik pop punk yang dipengaruhi membawa trend fashion yang bersilangan diantara keduanya dan dipengaruhi oleh gelombang ketiga pop punk yang dipelopori oleh Green Day, Good Charlote, Simple Plan.
Extreme sport (diantaranya skateboarding dan surfing), mencapai popularitasnya di tahun 1995. ESPN sebagai saluran extreme sport dan hanya dapat ditonton melalui antena parabola, menjadi salah satu rujukan para skateboarder Bandung pada saat itu. Rujukan lain seperti majalah Thrasher, yang mencitrakan skateboarding sebagai olah raga yang didasari oleh semangat pemberontakan dan akrab dengan ideologi punk, sementara Transworld Skateboarding terasa lebih moderen, beragam dan menjaga citra para bintang skateboarding. Termasuk juga masuknya MTV ke Indonesia yang memperkenalkan lifestyle baru dengan jargon-jargonnya: ‘MTV beda’, ‘MTV Gue Banget’. Perbedaan menjadi komoditas yang dirayakan bersama-sama.
Ketika awal 90’an, fashion skateboarding dunia dipengaruhi oleh perkembangan street skateboarding yang sangat kental nuansa punk rocknya. Baggy dengan oversize denim dan t-shirt extra large menjadi trend pada saat itu. Sementara pertengahan sampai akhir tahun 1990an, trend fashion dalam dunia skateboarding berubah lebih ‘ramping’. Ukuran jeans dan T-shirt, menjadi lebih pas di badan. Bahkan beberapa skateboarder menggunakan jeans dan t-shirt ekstra ketat. Perubahan ini membuat gaya fashion dalam dunia skateboarding terbagi menjadi dua kategori: “punk” (ketat dan ngepas badan) dan “baggy” meski pada prakteknya pembagian itu menjadi sedikit lebih rumit. Celana shagging jeans atau baggy, sweater dari bahan katun atau poliester dengan pull over dan kantong kangguru di depannya atau disebut juga hoodie, baseball caps, dan sepatu vans. Gaya skate punk inilah yang kemudian banyak dieksplorasi dalam desain clothing anak-anak muda Bandung. Majalah katalog seperti Suave, yang terbit di Bandung dengan jelas memperlihatkan pengaruh itu. Pada akhir 90’an apa yang disebut “punk style clothing” menjadi tagline baru dalam perkembangan industri clothing global. Gaya punk kemudian menjadi sesuatu yang mainstream, mendunia dan menjadi mapan.
“Kita emang banyak dipengaruhi oleh musik yang kita sukai, dari label-label skateboard yang kita pakai dulunya, karena kita besarnya, growing upnya di situ. Karena musik ini kan sangat terkait dengan fashion,” Helvi yang juga creative director Airplane, mengakui hal itu.
Pendapat helvi diperkuat Arian tigabelas, mantan vokalis Puppen dan kini menjadi vokalis band Seringai “Ada fenomena yang menarik ceuk urang mah, dulu Bandung terkenal dengan band-band yang keren-keren tapi waktu berlalu dan rupanya band nggak terlalu menghasilkan/menghidupi, dan kini para pelaku band tersebut pindah ke clothing. Jadinya terus terang band Bandung yang punya nama ‘gede’ sekarang udah ngga signifikan. Tapi clothing jadi industri yang lebih jelas bisa menghidupi iya, karena main band ternyata tetap kere sementara realitanya musti punya modal hidup.”
Perkembangan teknologi informasi yang begitu pesat dalam dekade 90’an, menjadi faktor penting dalam proses yang disebut Hikmat Budiman sebagai penyerapan desain arsitektur global. Ketika tahun 1995 bisnis Internet Service Provider (ISP) mulai berkembang di Jakarta, menurut catatan Kompas, Bandung menjadi salah satu dari tiga kota pengguna jasa internet terbesar. Jika saat itu tercatat di ada sekitar 14 ribu pemakai internet di Indonesia, Bandung menjadi kota pengguna internet terbesar ketiga (1.000 pengguna), setelah Jakarta (10.000 pengguna) dan Surabaya (3.000 pengguna). Bagaimana kemudian perkembangan teknologi informasi ini diserap dalam waktu yang hampir bersamaan di Bandung. Belanja online yang dilakukan Reverse untuk memperoleh produk-produk import yang mereka jual kembali di Bandung. Juga yang dilakukan Anonim yang muncul tahun 1999, mengikuti jejak pendahulunya dengan menjual t-shirt import merchandise band yang dipesannya melalui internet.
Dalam perkembangannya, eksplorasi desain clothing anak-anak muda Bandung, banyak juga dipengaruhi oleh gaya street fashion Jepang yang terasa lebih eklektik dan eksperimental. Majalah Trolley (alm 2001-2003), sempat menerbitkan suplemen khusus mengenai gaya street fashion Jepang ini dalam salah satu edisinya.
Pergeseran kiblat kreatif global dari Amerika ke Inggris/Eropa dalam tiga tahun terakhir ini, juga terasa pengaruhnya. Perubahannya sangat jelas terasa dalam scene musik. Street culture Inggris dan Eropa kemudian menjadi sumber rujukan baru dalam mengelaborasi desain produk-produk clothing kemudian. Tahun 2006 ini, Fast Foward record, telah dua kali mendatangkan grup musik dari Eropa untuk pentas di Bandung_King of Convinience (Norwegia) dan Edson (Swedia).
Ketika masa kekuasaan Orde Baru berakhir, kehidupan sosial politik Indonesia mengalami banyak perubahan di era reformasi. Warga Bandung memperlihatkan pola relasi yang baru dengan ruang-ruang publik yang ada di kota Bandung. Beragam aktivitas dan perayaan dilakukan di jalan. Jalanan seperti Dago, menjadi catwalk publik yang mengundang siapa pun yang datang untuk menampilkan gaya dandanan mereka. Individu kemudian mendapat ruang untuk mengekspresikan diri. Saat itu, banyak pertunjukan-pertunjukan musik yang kemudian disponsori oleh clothing company yang mulai memiliki kemampuan ekonomi.
Selain karena minat pada musik yang mereka sponsori, acara-acara seperti itu kemudian menjadi salah satu strategi bersama untuk mempromosikan merek produk-produk clothing yang mereka buat. Monik, Celtic dan Popcycle management, dikenal secara berkala menyelenggarakan konser La Viola bekerjasama dengan pusat Kebudayaan perancis (CCF) bandung. Marin, selain menjadi salah satu pemilik Monik, Celtic, Fast Foward, Reverse clothing Company, juga memiliki TRL bar di Jalan Braga. dari bar kecil itu pula, eksplorasi musik elektronik yang banyak mewarnai perkembangan musik global beberapa tahun terakhir ini, banyak dilakukan. Salah satu pilihannya adalah sekolah Drum n Bass yang dimotori oleh DJ xonad, jenis electronic dance music ini berkembang di Inggris pada dekade 90’an dan semakin dikenal pada awal tahun 2000 serta berkembang di beberapa negara Eropa dalam dua tahun terakhir ini.
“Karena Bandung kotanya kecil, jadi mau ngapa-ngapain gampang… lagian orang-orangnya kekeluargaan, cair banget, babaturanlah, semua dianggap sama,” Ujar Dede anonim, seperti saya kutip dari tulisan Gustaff H. Iskandar, ‘Fuck You! We’re from Bandung. Kondisi inil, masih menurut Gustaff, membawa berkah istimewa bagi perkembangan musik dan juga street fashion di Bandung. Dan mendorong pertumbuhan clothing store (distro) di Bandung.

Sejumlah Persoalan

Di masa boom clothing store 2003 lalu, Kompas pernah menulis: “Adapun untuk membuka sebuah distro, hanya dibutuhkan modal “nekat”. cukup menyediakan sebuah ruangan kecil, misalnya mengambil salah satu sudut rumah seperti garasi. Lalu barang-barangnya bisa digunakan sistem jual titip, dengan menerima titipan barang dari berbagai clothing company. Bila barang-barang titipan itu laku terjual, barulah disisihkan keuntungan untuk si distro (clothing store).”
Namun pada prosesnya tidak sesederhana itu. Modal nekat saja tidak cukup. Bagaimanapun bisnis yang dilatari oleh hobi dan kesenangan pun mengandung bermacam resiko. Benturan kepentingan yang mempertentangkan antara bisnis dan idealisme, menyeruak sebagai sebuah konsekuensi yang harus dihadapi dan disiasati.
“Saya bukan orang bisnis tadinya, akhirnya saya harus belajar bisnis, kasihan guanya gitu..” Seloroh Dandhy dalam sebuah Gathering Komunitas Kreatif di Bandung, bulan April lalu. “Gua ngerasa banyak hambatan dalam kreativitas karena banyak kepentok,” meski ucapan Dandy itu bernada main-main, namun pada prakteknya, keseriusan dalam mengelola bisnis ini memang menjadi proses adaptasi yang berat. Beberapa Clothing yang sudah cukup kuat seperti Airplane dan 347/eat, sengaja menyewa konsultan manajemen dan bisnis untuk memberi masukan dalam pengembangkan usaha mereka. Fiki manajer bisnis sekaligus salah satu pendiri Airplane mengaku, saran-saran bisnis dari konsultan profesional tidak seluruhnya bisa di terapkan. “Tetap aja, kita harus nemuin cara yang paling sesuai dan enak buat kita jalani. Ngga bisa sepenuhnya berdasarkan teori manajemen.” Hal serupa juga dirasakan Dandhy. Konsultan bisnis yang mengawasi kinerja dirinya dan teman-temannya, malah membuat mereka bekerja dalam suasana yang tidak nyaman. Akhirnya Dandhy memilih mengembalikan suasana kerja yang nyaman, meskipun itu berarti tanpa konsultan bisnis.
Fiki, menjelaskan, untuk membesarkan bisnis yang semula dibangun berdasarkan hobi, butuh kedisiplinan tinggi dalam mengelolanya. “Gua ngejalanin Airplane ini bener-bener disiplin. Kita muterin duit yang ada dan disiplin untuk ngejalanin itu. Dan ngga pernah ada suntikan dana lagi sejak dana awal. Airplane bediri udah sejak tahun 1997, tapi bener-bener ngejalanin bisnisnya sejak buka toko, tahun 2001. Sejak September 2001, waktu itu kita mulai dengan uang kurang dari 10 juta untuk sewa tempat dan kita udah punya omset yang lumayan, tapi kalau ada lebihnya kita simpen dan dipake untuk produksi lagi, nambahin modal. Karena kita punya sedikit pengetahuan tentang administrasi juga, makanya bisa tertib administrasi dan itu kerasa banget gunanya.”
Namun tidak semua clothing company memiliki kemampuan untuk membayar konsultan bisnis atau melakukan pembagian kerja yang jelas. Bagi clothing company yang muncul belakangan, idealisme dan keterbatasan modal menjadi tantangan yang harus disiasati lebih keras lagi. Karena secara bisnis, mereka harus berhadapan dengan clothing teman-temannya yang muncul dan mapan lebih dulu.
Dari segi pengembangan desain, tidak banyak juga yang melakukan riset dan pengembangan desain secara serius. Akibat dari boom clothing di tahun 2003, follower yang muncul belakangan, banyak yang asal jiplak desain-desain yang sudah ada. Karena untuk membangun sebuah karakter desain yang kuat dibutuhkan waktu dan proses yang lama. Menanggapi kekawatiran desainnya dijiplak, baik Helvi maupun Dandhy, justru tidak merasa kawatir. Bagi Helvi, kondisi seperti itu, malah membuat ia lebih fokus lagi menemukan karakter desain Airplane. Begitu pula Dandhy, jika imagenya sudah kuat, tak perlu kawatir dengan para peniru. Keseriusan dalam soal desain dan visual inilah yang kemudian membedakan dan menjadi ciri antara clothing satu dengan yang lain.
United we stand
Waktu menunjukan hampir tengah hari. Cuaca begitu cerah. Ruang tengah Jalan Kyai Gede Utama 8 Bandung, terasa guyup, menggantikan kelengangan yang biasa terasa. Sekelompok anak muda duduk-duduk santai di bangku-bangku kayu, di taman terbuka. Wajah-wajah lama, generasi pertama clothing Bandung paska 1995, bercampur dengan wajah-wajah baru generasi pengikutnya. Bukan hal yang mudah, mengumpulkan mereka dalam satu waktu. Riuh suara canda dan tawa, bercampur kicauan burung-burung yang sejak lama menghuni pepohonan di sekitarnya. “Sekarang kita mau jadi seperti apa? Arahnya apakah asosiasi yang dijalankan dengan praktek mafia? Atau gimana? Apakah kita bikin asosiasi untuk bikin counter yang menjegal praktek kartel? Atau asosiasi ini hanya mengakomodasi kepentingan dan ideologi yang sama, dan menghancurkan lawan yang berbeda pandangan? Atau tujuannya sosial atau kemanusiaan.” Dandhy pemilik clothing 347/eat, melemparkan pertanyaan itu ke forum. Perdebatan panjang tiga puluh orang yang hadir disitu pun dimulai. Canda tawa, berubah serius. Masing-masing sibuk memikirkan jawaban dan saling beragumen sampai berjam-jam kemudian. Saya hadir disitu, mencatat waktu. Hari itu, Senin, 12 Juni 2006. Hari dimana asosiasi para pengusaha clothing yang dinamai ‘Forum Komunikasi Pengusaha Clothing Bandung’, di deklarasikan.
Bagi saya, ini memang sudah waktunya, ketika akhirnya para pengusaha muda clothing Bandung ini mau bersatu padu membuat Forum Komukasi. Hal ini bukannya tanpa sebab. Mereka yang selama ini tak terpetakan sebagai potensi ekonomi, tiba-tiba bukan hanya dilirik, tapi coba dirangkul pemerintah lewat program bantuan Industri Kecil dan Menengah, Disperindag. Mengutip apa yang diberitakan Harian Pikiran Rakyat tanggal 8 Juni 2006, Drs. H. Agus Gustiar, M.Si., selaku Kepala Dinas Perindustrian dan Perdagangan (Disperindag), “Bagaimanapun kekuatan kita ada pada IKM. Supaya lebih kuat, semua IKM harus bersatu untuk membuat terobosan baru yang bisa mengangkat Bandung khususnya.” …Agus yakin, industri distro Bandung memiliki ciri khas tersendiri yang diilhami dari kreativitas anak muda Bandung.” Jangan sampai ini hilang seperti beberapa merek Bandung yang sekarang mulai memudar, bahkan tidak dikenal orang. Padahal ini merupakan potensi Bandung yang harus ditonjolkan.”
Dalam kegiatan Gathering Komunitas Kreatif dan Online conference yang diselenggarakan selama bulan April-Mei 2006, yang diselenggarakan oleh Pusat Studi Urban Desain dan Common Room Networks Foundation, mengidentifikasi persoalan-persoalan eksternal yang dihadapi selama ini. Masalah-masalah itu muncul, ketika selama ini pemerintah sama sekali tidak mendukung aktivitas yang mereka lakukan. Tidak adanya regulasi pemerintah yang jelas dalam pengembangan industri berbasis kreatifitas seperti yang dilakukan Clothing company selama ini, juga strategi pengembangan industri berbasis kreatifitas sebagai salah satu pengembangan ekonomi kota yang berkelanjutan. Belum lagi pengelolaan pajak yang tak jelas timbal baliknya. Persoalan ketiadaan infrastruktur dan ketidak jelasan pengaturan tata guna lahan di Bandung untuk kawasan komersial, menyebabkan nilai ekonomi lahan semakin mahal dan tak terjangkau dalam mengembangkan usaha yang selama ini mereka jalankan. Pada akhirnya, dukungan yang digembar-gemborkan pemerintah untuk mendukung Industri Kecil Menengah dan membangun kecintaan akan produk dalam negeri, hanya menjadi jargon belaka.
Disadari atau tidak, clothing industry yang muncul dan berkembang di Bandung ini, justru memicu perkembangan industri-industri kecil baru yang juga berbasis kreatifitas. Secara organik, infrastruktur pendukungnya, bermunculan satu persatu. “Waktu itu lagi booming-boomingnya clothing, trus gue pikir, ngapain juga ikut-ikutan bikin clothing, mendingan gue bikin usaha lain yang bisa mendukung usaha mereka. Ada kesadaran itu di gue dan tiga orang teman gue yang lain, gue ngeliatnya orang-orang ini udah harus profesional lah, kalo mereka berbisnis ya harus berpromosi, mereka punya produk yang bagus, buat apa kalo ngga berpromosi,” ungkap Uchunk, salah satu pendiri Suave, Free Catalogue Magazine, ketika saya temui disebuah tempat nongkrong di Bandung. Suave awalnya dicetak sebanyak 3000 eks dengan modal sebuah komputer pribadi. Kini tirasnya mencapai 8000 eks dengan 90 halaman full color. Selain didesain dengan tampilan yang menurut Uchunk, terlihat mainstream, jauh dari kesan indie dan underground, Uchunk juga memberi halaman galeri bagi siapapun yang ingin memamerkan karya grafisnya di satu halaman Suave.
Menurut uchunk, saat ini banyak clothing company yang kemudian menggunakan jasa desainer grafis, fotografer dan biro iklan untuk menggarap materi promosi produk yang bersangkutan. Baginya kondisi ini sangat menggembirakan, karena bidang industri kreatif lainnya kemudian bermunculan. Helvi menambahkan, “Waktu kita bikin ini, ngga kepikiran kalau di depan ternyata akan berhubungan dengan segala macam. Fotografer, advertising, itu kan seru jadinya. Jadi kaya punya dunia sendiri, infrastrukturnya jadi kebentuk dan ini adalah wilayahnya anak muda.”
Wajar saja, jika kemudian tawaran yang datang tiba-tiba ini, disikapi dengan membentuk Forum Komunikasi yang bertujuan untuk memperkuat dan saling mendukung satu sama lain. Banyak persoalan baik internal maupun eksternal yang selama ini harus disiasati dan dipecahkan sendiri oleh mereka. Karena itu, tawaran pemerintah, seperti sesuatu yang to good to be true. Mereka bukannya resistan terhadap niat baik pemerintah, namun yang mereka harapkan adalah kejelasan dalam proses negosiasi dimana posisi tawar kedua belah pihak bisa berjalan dengan seimbang. Dalam hal ini mereka memperlihatkan, apa yang disebut Gustaff H. Iskandar dalam tulisan yang sama, sebagai kemandirian politik dan ekonomi.
Perspektif kemandirian, kemudian menjadi prinsip yang selalu dimaknai kembali oleh mereka. Ketika kemandirian berarti memulai impian besar dengan langkah-langkah kecil. Dengan patungan modal seadanya. Juga ketika usaha ini berkemban dan mendapatkan perhatian, kemandirian berarti membangun posisi tawar mereka ketika bertarung dengan banyak kepentingan-kepentingan lain. Pemerintah salah satunya.

***

Dan disaat, banyak orang kemudian mengeluh, bahwa produk clothing menjadi seragam, waktu yang akan membuktikan mana yang kemudian konsisten menjalani proses eksplorasi terus menerus untuk menemukan kematangan produk atau malah inovasi-inovasi baru dan mana yang kemudian hilang seperti merek-merek Bandung yang memudar dan tak dikenal orang seperti yang dikawatirkan Agus Gustiar.
Setidaknya sampai hari ini, setelah satu dekade yang panjang mereka berproses terus menerus, kekawatiran itu tidak terbukti. “Yang paling keren menurut gua adalah, dimana sekarang anak-anak muda ngga gengsi dan malu lagi pake produk lokal. Dan kita juga seneng, karya kita dihargai orang dari mulai yang naik angkot sampai mobil mewah, pake kaos lokal.” Helvi mengatakan itu dengan mata-mata berbinar-binar lega. Kelegaan yang saya rasakan bukan hanya miliknya, tapi juga komunitasnya, teman-teman sepermainannya, ketika kerja keras mereka, membuktikan sesuatu, bukan sekedar jargon belaka.

Friendster

Friendster is an Internet social network service. The Friendster site was founded in Mountain View, California, United States by Jonathan Abrams in March 2002^[1] and is privately owned. Friendster is based on the Circle of Friends and Web of Friends techniques for networking individuals in virtual communities and demonstrates the small world phenomenon. It currently has more than 70 million members worldwide^[2] and is mostly used in Asia ^[3][4]. Based on Alexa, Friendster ranked 2nd most visited website in the Philippines and third party friendster-layouts.com, 16th. ^[5] It is estimated that nearly 90 percent of internet users in the Philippines have Friendster accounts. ^[6] David Jones, vice president for global marketing of Friendster, said that "the biggest percentage of users is from the Philippines, clocking in with 39 percent of the site's traffic." ^[7]

History

Google offered $30 million to buy Friendster in 2003. Friendster, however, refused the offer.

Friendster was funded by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Benchmark Capital in October 2003 with a reported valuation of $53 million.

In April 2004, Abrams was removed as Chief Executive Officer and Tim Koogle took over as interim CEO. Koogle previously served as President and CEO at Yahoo!. Koogle was replaced by Scott Sassa in June 2004. left in May 2005 and was replaced by Taek Kwon. Taek Kwon was succeeded by Kent Lindstrom.

Patent

Based on a June 16, 2003 application, Friendster was awarded a patent in 2006 for a method and apparatus for calculating, displaying and acting upon relationships in a social network. Dubbed the Web of Friends because the method combines the Circle of Friends with the Web of Contacts, the system collects descriptive data about various individuals and allows those individuals to indicate other individuals with whom they have a personal relationship. The descriptive data and the relationship data are integrated and processed to reveal the series of social relationships connecting any two individuals within a social network. The pathways connecting any two individuals can be displayed. Further, the social network itself can be displayed to any number of degrees of separation. A user of the system can determine the optimal relationship path (i.e., contact pathway) to reach desired individuals. A communications tool allows individuals in the system to be introduced (or introduce themselves) and initiate direct communication.

Based on a June 27, 2008 application, Friendster, the 7th largest website in the world and top social network in Asia, announced that its users in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines will soon be able to subscribe to Friendster Text Alerts. When launched, Users are required to register the use of Friendster Text Alerts by entering their mobile number details and selecting which mobile text alerts they wish to receive on their Friendster settings page. Users will then be able to receive text message alerts for friend requests, new messages, comments, bulletins and more or when such activity takes place within their network of friends on Friendster, they will receive an SMS text message on their mobile phone. Users will also be able to respond, share and communicate on Friendster by sending a text message to Friendster to update content on their profile, send messages, and reply to friend requests. This service is not chargeable, but users are still subject to text messaging usage fees of their telephone and wireless service provider. Although no specific dates have been given yet to launch Friendster Text Alerts but it's understood it could happen in the coming weeks.

In other languages

Friendster's Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Malay, and Thai (beta) sites exist as part of its main. [1] A link in the site's upper right corner toggles between English to the other languages mentioned above.^[8]

liFEstyle

In sociology, a lifestyle is the way a person lives. A lifestyle is a characteristic bundle of behaviors that makes sense to both others and oneself in a given time and place, including social relations, consumption, entertainment, and dress. The behaviors and practices within lifestyles are a mixture of habits, conventional ways of doing things, and reasoned actions. A lifestyle typically also reflects an individual's attitudes, values or worldview. Therefore, a lifestyle is a means of forging a sense of self and to create cultural symbols that resonate with personal identity. Not all aspects of a lifestyle are entirely voluntaristic. Surrounding social and technical systems can constrain the lifestyle choices available to the individual and the symbols she/he is able to project to others and the self. ^[2]

The lines between personal identity and the everyday doings that signal a particular lifestyle become blurred in modern society ^[3]. For example, "green lifestyle" means holding beliefs and engaging in activities that consume fewer resources and produce less harmful waste (i.e. a smaller carbon footprint), and deriving a sense of self from holding these beliefs and engaging in these activities. Some commentators ^[4] argue that, in Modernity, the cornerstone of lifestyle construction is consumption behavior, which offers the possibility to create and further individualize the self with different products or services that signal different ways of life.

Street Punk

Street punk is a working class subgenre of punk rock which took shape in the early 1980s, partly as a rebellion against the increasingly artistic pretensions of the first wave of English punk.^[1]. Street punk emerged from the Oi! style typified by UK bands like Sham 69 and Cockney Rejects (whose song "Oi! Oi! Oi!" served as a namesake for the genre).^[2][3] However, street punk continued beyond the confines of the original Oi! form. Street punks generally have a much more outlandish appearance than the working class or skinhead image cultivated by Oi! groups.

Street punk music is characterized by two main musical aspects: single note guitar lines and short solos. Unlike similar genres such as hardcore punk, street punk bands often contain two guitarists, one of which plays guitar melodies while not singing. Street punk also makes frequent use of gang vocals and sing–along choruses, one of the many aspects the genre borrows from Oi!. The lyrics to most street punk songs often feature condemnation or praise of acts of violence, drinking and drug use, partying, inner-city turmoil, or personal politics.^[4] Street punk groups sometimes express political viewpoints, of either a left- or (less frequently) right-wing variety, though street punks often eschew politics altogether in favor of a more hedonistic, nihilistic outlook. The typical dress for a street punk usually follows the DIY ethic of self-made clothing, hand-sewn patches, studs and spikes, and otherwise altered clothing. Hairstyles often include unnatural coloration, liberty spikes, and mohawks.

History

1970s street punk was essentially synonymous with Oi! and entirely British, performed by bands such as Sham 69, the Angelic Upstarts and the Cockney Rejects. Street punk began to distinguish itself from Oi! with the development of the UK 82 sound of The Exploited, Discharge, Charged GBH and Anti-Nowhere League.^{[citation needed]} These bands were somewhat influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal – particularly Motörhead. The D-beat style emerged from this scene.^{[citation needed]}

The California band Rancid became the most commercially successful street punk band, mixing in elements of ska punk, pop punk, hardcore punk and eventually dancehall and hip hop. Other prominent 1990s street punk groups included Anti-Flag, The Casualties, The Unseen, A Global Threat and Dropkick Murphys.

skATERS (sk8R)

Skateboarding is the act of both riding on and performing tricks using a skateboard. A person who skateboards is most often referred to as a skateboarder or a skater.

Skateboarding is a recreational activity, a job, or a method of transportation.Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report by American Sports Data found that there were 18.5 million skateboarders in the world. 85 percent of skateboarders polled who had used a board in the last year were under the age of 18, and 74 percent were male.

Skateboarding is relatively modern. A key skateboarding maneuver, the ollie, was developed in the late 1970s. In the early '80s freestyle skateboarder Rodney Mullen invented the ollie kickflip which originally was called a Magic Flip.

The 1940s-1960s

Skateboarding was probably born sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s when surfers in California, wanted something to surf when the waves were flat. No one knows who made the first board, rather, it seems that several people came up with similar ideas at around the same time. These first skateboarders started with wooden boxes or boards with roller skate wheels attached to the bottom. The boxes turned into planks, and eventually companies were producing decks of pressed layers of wood -- similar to the skateboard decks of today. During this time, skateboarding was seen as something to do for fun besides surfing, and was therefore often referred to as "Sidewalk Surfing".

A skateboarder in Nice, France.

The first manufactured skateboards were ordered by a Los Angeles, California surf shop, meant to be used by surfers in their downtime. The shop owner, Bill Richard, made a deal with the Chicago Roller Skate Company to produce sets of skate wheels, which they attached to square wooden boards. Accordingly, skateboarding was originally denoted "sidewalk surfing" and early skaters emulated surfing style and maneuvers. Crate scooters preceded skateboards, and were borne of a similar concept, with the exception of having a wooden crate attached to the nose (front of the board), which formed rudimentary handlebars.

A number of surfing manufacturers such as Makaha started building skateboards that resembled small surfboards, and assembling teams to promote their products. The popularity of skateboarding at this time spawned a national magazine, Skateboarder Magazine, and the 1965 international championships were broadcast on national television. The growth of the sport during this period can also be seen in sales figures for Makaha, which quoted $10 million worth of board sales between 1963 and 1965 (Weyland, 2002:28). Yet by 1966 the sales had dropped significantly (ibid) and Skateboarder Magazine had stopped publication. The popularity of skateboarding dropped and remained low until the early 1970s.

The 1970s

In the early 1970s, Frank Nasworthy started to develop a skateboard wheel made of polyurethane, calling it the 'Cadillac', as he hoped this would convey the fat ride it afforded the rider.^[4] The improvement in traction and performance was so immense that from the wheel's release in 1974 the popularity of skateboarding started to rise rapidly again, causing companies to invest more in product development. Many companies started to manufacture trucks (axles) especially designed for skateboarding, reached in 1976 by Tracker Trucks. As the equipment became more maneuverable, the decks started to get wider, reaching widths of 10 inches (250 mm) and over, thus giving the skateboarder even more control. Banana board is a term used to describe skateboards made of polypropylene that were skinny, flexible, with ribs on the underside for structural support and very popular during the mid-1970s. They were available in myriad colors, bright yellow probably being the most memorable, hence the name.

Manufacturers started to experiment with more exotic composites and metals, like fiberglass and aluminium, but the common skateboards were made of maple plywood. The skateboarders took advantage of the improved handling of their skateboards and started inventing new tricks. Skateboarders, most notably Ty Page, Bruce Logan, Bobby Piercy, Kevin Reed, and the Z-Boys (so-called because of their local Zephyr surf shop) started to skate the vertical walls of swimming pools that were left empty in the 1976 California drought. This started the vert trend in skateboarding. With increased control, vert skaters could skate faster and perform more dangerous tricks, such as slash grinds and frontside/backside airs. This caused liability concerns and increased insurance costs to skatepark owners, and the development (first by Norcon,then more successfully by Rector) of improved knee pads that had a hard sliding cap and strong strapping proved to be too-little-too-late. During this era, the "freestyle" movement in skateboarding began to splinter off and develop into a much more specialized discipline, characterized by the development of a wide assortment of high flat-ground tricks.

As a result of the "vert" skating movement most notably skated by vert baby brett swartz, skate parks had to contend with high-liability costs that led to many park closures. In response, vert skaters started making their own ramps, while freestyle skaters continued to evolve their flatland style. Thus by the beginning of the 1980s, skateboarding had once again fallen into obscurity.

Skateboarder Brandon Cardone does a cliff hanger pivot to fakie (a lip trick) at the former East Coast Terminal Skateboard Park in Johnson City, NY.

The 1980s

This period was fuelled by skateboard companies that were run by skateboarders. The focus was initially on vert ramp skateboarding. The invention of the no-hands aerial (later known as the ollie) by Alan Gelfand in Florida in 1976 and the almost parallel development of the grabbed aerial by George Orton and Tony Alva in California in had made it possible for skaters to perform airs on vertical ramps. While this wave of skateboarding was sparked by commercialized vert ramp skating, a majority of people who skateboarded during this period never rode vert ramps. Because most people couldn't afford to build vert ramps or didn't have access to nearby ramps, street skating gained popularity. Freestyle skating remained healthy throughout this period with pioneers such as Rodney Mullen inventing the many of the basic tricks of modern street skating such as the flat ground the kickflip, and the heelflip. The influence freestyle had on street skating became apparent during the mid-eighties, but street skating was still performed on wide vert boards with short noses, slide rails, and large soft wheels. Skateboarding, however, evolved quickly in the late 1980s to accommodate the street skater. Since few skateparks were available to skaters at this time, street skating pushed skaters to seek out shopping centres and public and private property as their "spot" to skate. Public opposition, and the threat of lawsuits, forced businesses and property owners to ban skateboarding on their property^{[citation needed]}. By 1992, only a small fraction of skateboarders remained as a highly technical version of street skating, combined with the decline of vert skating, produced a sport that lacked the mainstream appeal to attract new skaters.

The 1990s to Present

The current generation of skateboards is dominated by street skating. Most boards are about 7¼ to 8 inches wide and 30 to 32 inches long. The wheels are made of an extremely hard polyurethane, with hardness(durometer) approximately 99a. The wheel sizes are relatively small so that the boards are lighter, and the wheel's inertia is overcome quicker, thus making tricks more manageable. Board styles have changed dramatically since the 1970s but have remained mostly alike since the mid 1990s. The contemporary shape of the skateboard is derived from the freestyle boards of the 1980s with a largely symmetrical shape and relatively narrow width. This form had become standard by the mid '90s.

Go Skateboarding Day was created in 2004 by a group of skateboarding companies to promote skateboarding and help make it more noticeable to the world. It is celebrated every year on June 21st.

Trick skating

See Skateboarding trick for detailed descriptions of maneuvers

A skater performs a switch kickflip off a stairset.

With the evolution of skateparks and ramp riding, the skateboard began to change. Early skate tricks had consisted mainly of two-dimensional manoeuvres like riding on only two wheels ("wheelie" or "manual"), spinning only on the back wheels (a "pivot"), high jumping over a bar and landing on the board again, long jumping from one board to another (often over small barrels or fearless teenagers) or slalom.

In 1976, skateboarding was transformed by the invention of the ollie by Alan "Ollie" Gelfand, . It remained largely a unique Florida trick until the summer of 1978, when Gelfand made his first visit to California. Gelfand and his revolutionary manoeuvre caught the attention of the West Coast skaters and the media where it began to spread worldwide. The ollie was adapted to flat ground by Rodney Mullen in 1982. Mullen also invented the ollie kickflip, which, at the time of its invention, was dubbed the "magic flip." The flat ground ollie allowed skateboarders to perform tricks in mid-air without any more equipment than the skateboard itself, it forms the basis of many street skating tricks.

Culture

See also: Skate punk

See also: Punk fashion

Skateboarding was, at first, tied to the culture of surfing. As skateboarding spread across the United States to places unfamiliar with surfing or surfing culture, it developed an image of its own. For example, the classic film short Video Days (1991) portrayed skateboarders as reckless rebels.

The image of the skateboarder as a rebellious, non-conforming youth has faded in recent years^{[citation needed]}. The rift between the old image of skateboarding and a newer one is quite visible: magazines such as Thrasher portray skateboarding as dirty, rebellious, and still firmly tied to punk, while other publications, Transworld Skateboarding as an example, paint a more diverse, and controlled picture of skateboarding. Furthermore, as more professional skaters use hip hop music accompaniment in their videos, many urban youths and hip-hop fans are drawn to skateboarding, further diluting the sport's punk image.

Films such as Grind and Lords Of Dogtown, have helped improve the reputation of skateboarding youth^{[citation needed]}, depicting individuals of this subculture as having a positive outlook on life, prone to poking harmless fun at each other, and engaging in healthy sportsman's competition. According to the film, lack of respect, egotism and hostility towards fellow skateboarders is generally frowned upon, albeit each of the characters (and as such, proxies of the "stereotypical" skateboarder) have a firm disrespect for authority and for rules in general. Group spirit is supposed to heavily influence the members of this community. In presentations of this sort, showcasing of criminal tendencies is absent, and no attempt is made to tie extreme sports to any kind of illegal activity^{[citation needed]}.

Gleaming the Cube, a 1989 movie starring Christian Slater as a skateboarding teen investigating the death of his adopted Vietnamese brother was somewhat of an iconic landmark to the skateboarding genre of the era^{[citation needed]}. Many well-known skaters had cameos in the film, including Tony Hawk.

Skateboarding video games have also become very popular in skateboarding culture^{[citation needed]} and are supported by many systems such as the Xbox and Playstation. Some of the most popular are Tony Hawk's Underground, and Skate. for the Xbox 360

Skateboarding as a form of transportation

The use of skateboards solely as a form of transportation is often associated with the longboard^{[citation needed]}. Depending on local laws, using skateboards as a form of transportation outside residential areas may or may not be legal. Backers cite portability, exercise, and environmental friendliness as some of the benefits of skateboarding as an alternative to automobiles.

Skateboards, along with other small-wheeled transportation such as in-line skates and scooters, suffer a safety caveat where riders may easily be thrown from small cracks and outcroppings in pavement, especially where the cracks run perpendicular to the direction of travel. However, high average travel speeds help mitigate this; injuries are more likely to be minor^{[citation needed]}, although head injuries still pose a major health risk.

Miscellaneous

A member of Charlie Company 1st Battalion 5th Marines carries a skateboard during military exercise Urban Warrior '99

Skateboard ban in Norway

The use, ownership and sale of skateboards were forbidden in Norway, during the period between 1978 and 1989. The ban was said to be due to the perceived high number of injuries caused by boards. The ban led skateboarders to construct ramps in the forest and other secluded areas to avoid the police.

Military experimentation in the United States

The United States Marine Corps tested the usefulness of commercial off-the-shelf skateboards during urban combat military exercises in the late 1990s. Their special purpose was "for maneuvering inside buildings in order to detect tripwires and sniper fire".^[9][10]

Novice and amateur skate teams

Many novice and amateur skateboarding teams have emerged in the last ten years consisting of groups of talented skateboarders. Amateur skateboarding competitions such as the Free Flow tour among many others allows such teams to compete with each other even though they are not professionals.

hip hope

Hip hop music is a genre of music typically consisting of a rhythmic style of speaking called rap over backing beats. Hip hop music is part of hip hop culture, which began in New York City in the 1970s, predominantly among African Americans and Latinos (two other elements are b-boying (also known as breakdancing) and graffiti). [1] The term rap is sometimes used synonymously with hip hop music, though it originally referred only to rapping itself.

Rapping, also referred to as MCing or emceeing, is a vocal style in which the performer speaks rhythmically and in rhyme, generally to a beat. Beats are traditionally sampled from portions of other songs by a DJ, though synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands are also used, especially in newer music. Rappers may perform poetry which they have written ahead of time, or improvise rhymes on the spot. Though rap is usually an integral component of hip hop music, DJs sometimes perform and record alone, and many instrumental acts are also defined as hip hop.

Hip hop arose in New York City when DJs began isolating the percussion break from funk or disco songs for audiences to dance to. The role of the MC was originally to introduce the DJ and the music, and to keep the audience excited. The MC would speak between songs, giving exhortations to dance, greetings to audience members, jokes and anecdotes. Eventually, this practice became more stylized, and came to be known as rapping. By 1979, hip hop had become a commercially recorded music genre, and began to enter the American mainstream. It also began its spread across the world. In the 1990s, a form called gangsta rap became a major part of American music, causing significant controversy over lyrics which were perceived by some as promoting violence, promiscuity, drug use and misogyny. Nevertheless, by the beginning of the 2000s, hip hop became a staple of popular music charts and is now performed in widely varying styles around the world.

Roots of hip hop

Main article: Origins of hip hop

The roots of hip hop are found in African American and West African music. The griots of West Africa are a group of traveling singers and poets, whose musical style is reminiscent of hiphop. Within New York City, griot-like performances of poetry and music by artists such as The Last Poets and Jalal Mansur Nuriddin had a great impact on the post-civil rights era culture of the 1960s and 1970s. Hip hop arose during the 1970s when block parties became common in New York City, especially the Bronx. Block parties were usually accompanied by music, especially funk and soul music. The early DJs at block parties began isolating the percussion breaks to hit songs, realizing that these were the most dance-able and entertaining parts; this technique was then common in Jamaica and had spread via the substantial Jamaican immigrant community in New York City, especially the "godfather" of hip hop, DJ Kool Herc.

Dub had arisen in Jamaica due to the influence of American sailors and radio stations playing R&B. Large sound systems were set up to accommodate poor Jamaicans, who couldn't afford to buy records, and dub developed at the sound systems (refers to both the system and the parties that evolved around them). Herc was one of the most popular DJs in early 70s New York, and he quickly switched from using reggae records to funk, rock and, later, disco, since the New York audience did not particularly like reggae. Because the percussive breaks were generally short, Herc and other DJs began extending them using an audio mixer and two records. Mixing and scratching techniques eventually developed along with the breaks. (The same techniques contributed to the popularization of remixes.) Such looping, sampling and remixing of another's music, usually without the original artist's knowledge or consent, can be seen as an evolution of Jamaican Dub music, and would become a hallmark of the hiphop style.

Later DJs such as along with a basic chorus to allow the performer to gather his thoughts (such as "one, two, three, y'all, to the beat, y'all").

Later, the MCs grew more varied in their vocal and rhythmic approach, incorporating brief rhymes, often with a sexual or scatological theme, in an effort at differentiating themselves and entertaining the audience. These early raps incorporated similar rhyming lyrics from African American culture, such as the dozens. While Kool Herc & the Herculoids were the first hip hoppers to gain major fame in New York, more MC teams quickly sprouted up. Frequently, these were collaborations between former gang members, such as Afrikaa Bambaataa's Universal Zulu Nation (now a large, international organization). Melle Mel, a rapper/lyricist with The Furious Five is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC."[2] During the early 1970s, breakdancing arose during block parties, as b-boys and b-girls got in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive, frenetic style. The style was documented for release to a world wide audience for the first time in Beat Street.

Although there were many early MCs that recorded solo projects of note, such as DJ Hollywood, Kurtis Blow and Spoonie Gee, real notoriety didn't appear until later with the rise of soloists with big stage presence and drama, such as LL Cool J. Most early hip hop was dominated by groups where collaboration among the members was integral to the show.[3]

Origin of term

Coinage of the term hip hop is often credited to Keith Cowboy, a rapper with Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. Though Lovebug Starski, Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was still known as disco rap, it is believed that Cowboy created the term while teasing a friend who had just joined the U.S. Army, by scat singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers.[4] Cowboy later worked the "hip hop" cadence into a part of his stage performance, which was quickly copied by other artists; for example the opening of the song "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang.[4] Former Black Spades gang member Afrika Bambaataa is credited with first using the term to describe the subculture that hip hop music belongs to, although it is also suggested that the term was originally derisively used against the new type of music.[5]

Context

The reasons for the rise of hip hop are found in the changing urban culture within the United States during the 1970s. Perhaps most important was the low cost involved in getting started: the equipment was relatively inexpensive, and virtually anyone could MC along with the popular beats of the day. MCs could be creative, pairing nonsense rhymes and teasing friends and enemies alike in the style of Jamaican toasting at blues parties or playing the dozens in an exchange of wit. MCs would play at block parties, with no expectation of recording, in the way of folk music. The skills necessary to create hip hop music were passed informally from musician to musician, rather than being taught in expensive music lessons.

Another reason for hip hop's rise was the decline of disco, funk and rock in the mid- to late 70s. Disco arose among black and gay male clubs in America, and quickly spread to Europe, where it grew increasingly sunny, bright and poppy. Once disco broke into the mainstream in the United States, and was thus appropriated, its original fans and many other listeners rejected it as pre-packaged and soulless. While many remember the white teens shouting "disco sucks" at every available opportunity, often in racist and homophobic contexts, inner-city blacks were similarly rejecting disco and disco-fied rock, soul and funk (which was virtually everything on the radio at the time).

If disco had anything redeemable for urban audiences, however, it was the strong, eminently danceable beats, and hip hop rose to take advantage of the beats while providing a musical outlet for the masses that hated disco. Disco-inflected music (though comparatively little actual disco) was one of the most popular sources of beats in the first ten or twelve years of hiphop's existence. In Washington DC, go go also emerged as a reaction against disco, and eventually mixed with hip hop during the early 1980s, while electronic music did the same, developing as house music in Chicago and techno music in Detroit.

Along with the low expense and the demise of other forms of popular music, social and political events further accelerated the rise of hip hop. In 1959, the Cross-Bronx Expressway was built through the heart of the Bronx, displacing many of the middle-class white communities and causing widespread unemployment among the remaining blacks as stores and factories fled the area. By the 1970s, poverty was rampant. When a 15,000+ apartment Co-op City was built at the northern edge of the Bronx in 1968, the last of the middle-class fled the area and the area's black and Latino gangs began to grow in power.

Stylistic diversification

Pete DJ Jones, Eddie Cheeba, DJ Hollywood and Love Bug Starski were disco-flavored early hip hop DJs. Others hip hop musicians focused on rapid-fire rhymes and more complex rhythmic schemes. Afrika Bambaataa, Paul Winley, Grandmaster Flash and Bobby Robinson were members of this group. During the transition into the early 1980s, many felt that hip hop was a novelty fad that would soon die out. This was to become a constant accusation for at least the next fifteen years.

The first hip hop recording was probably the New Jersey-based Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight in 1979[6]. By the 1980s, all the major elements and techniques of the genre were in place. Though not yet mainstream, hip hop was by now well known among African Americans, even outside of New York City; it could be found in cities as diverse as Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, San Antonio, TX,Miami, Seattle, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Houston.

Despite the genre's spreading popularity, Philadelphia was, for many years, the only city whose contributions to hip hop were valued as greatly as New York City's by fans and critics. Hip hop music was popular there at least as far back as the late 1970s (the first Philadelphia hip hop record was "Rhythm Talk", by Jocko Henderson in 1979), and the New York Times dubbed Philadelphia the "Graffiti Capital of the World" in 1971. A Philadelphia-area radio DJ, Lady B, was the first female solo hip hop artist to record music ("To the Beat Y'All", 1980). Later Schoolly D, another Philadelphia-based artist, helped invent what became known as gangsta rap.

1980s

Main articles: Old school hip hop and New school hip hop

The 1980s saw intense diversification of hip hop, which developed into a more complex form. As technology evolved so did the practice of looping break into breakbeats; the emergence of samplers and sequencers allowed the beats to be manipulated with greater precision and granularity and recombined in more complex new ways than was possible with vinyl alone. In 1984, Marley Marl accidentally caught a drum machine snare hit in the sampler; this innovation was vital in the development of electro and other later types of hip hop. In 1989, DJ Mark James under the moniker "45 King", released "The 900 Number", a breakbeat track created by synchronizing samplers and vinyl.[3]

The content evolved as well. The simple tales of 1970s MCs were replaced by highly metaphoric lyrics rapping over complex, multi-layered beats. Some rappers even became mainstream pop performers, including Kurtis Blow, whose appearance in a Sprite commercial made him the first hip hop musician to be considered mainstream enough to represent a major product, but also the first to be accused by the hip hop audience of selling out. Another popular performer among mainstream audiences was LL Cool J, who was a success from the release of his first LP, Radio.

Hip hop was almost entirely unknown outside of the United States prior to the 1980s. During that decade, it began its spread to every inhabited continent and became a part of the music scene in dozens of countries. In the early part of the decade, breakdancing became the first aspect of hip hop culture to reach Germany, Japan and South Africa, where the crew Black Noise established the practice before beginning to rap later in the decade. Meanwhile, recorded hip hop was released in France (Dee Nasty's 1984 Paname City Rappin') and the Philippines (Dyords Javier's "Na Onseng Delight" and Vincent Dafalong's "Nunal"). In Puerto Rico, Vico C became the first Spanish rapper, and his recorded work was the beginning of what became known as reggaeton.

Politicization

Main article: Political hip hop

The first rap records (Fatback Band's King Tim III, Grandmaster Flash's Super Rappin and The Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight) were actually recorded by live musicians in the studio, with the rappers adding their vocals later. This changed with DJ records such as Grandmaster Flash's Adventures on the Wheels of Steel (known for pioneering use of scratching, which was invented by Grandwizard Theodore in 1977) as well as electronic recordings such as Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa and Run DMC's very basic, all electronic Sucker MC's and Peter Piper which contains genuine cutting by Run DMC member Jam Master Jay. These early innovators were based out of New York City, which remained the capital of Hiphop during the 1980s. This style became known as East Coast hip hop.

Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five released a "message rap", called The Message, in 1982; this was one of the earliest examples of recorded hip hop with a socially aware tone.

In 1987, Public Enemy brought out their debut album (Yo! Bum Rush the Show) on Def Jam, and Boogie Down Productions followed up in 1988 with By All Means Necessary; both records pioneered a wave of hard-edged politicized performers. The late 1980s saw a flourishing of like-minded rappers on both coasts, and Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back became surprisingly successful, despite its militant and confrontational tone, appearing on both the club and rap charts, and peaking at #17 and #11, respectively. Aside from the lyrical innovations, Public Enemy's Terminator X (along with Eric B., of Eric B. & Rakim) pioneered new techniques in sampling that resulted in dense, multi-layered sonic collages.

Popularization

The mid-1980s saw a flourishing of the first hip hop artists to achieve mainstream success, such as Kurtis Blow (Kurtis Blow), LL Cool J (Radio) and especially Run-D.M.C. (Raising Hell), as well as influences in mainstream music, such as Blondie's Debbie Harry rapping in the first non-black hit to feature rapping, "Rapture". LL Cool J's Radio spawned a number of singles that entered the dance charts, peaking with "I Can Give You More" (#21). 1986 saw two hip hop acts in the Billboard Top Ten; Run-D.M.C.'s "Walk This Way" collaboration with Aerosmith, and the Beastie Boys "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)". The pop success of both singles was unheard of for the time; "Walk This Way" has proved especially memorable for its early mixture of hip hop and rock (though it was not the first such mixture), and it peaked at an unheard of #4 on the pop charts. Also, the mid-1980s saw the rise of the first major black female group, Salt-N-Pepa, who hit the charts with singles like "The Show Stoppa" in 1985. Ice-T's seminal "6n' Da Mornin'" (1986) is one of the first nationally successful West Coast hip hop singles, and is often said to be the beginning of gangsta rap (along with Schoolly D, LL Cool J and N.W.A.).

Turntablism

Main article: Turntablism

While early hip hop arose through the decline of funk and disco while still employing their musicianship, there was the rise of artists who employed the use of the turntable as an instrument in itself. Hip Hop Turntablist DJs use turntable techniques such as beat mixing/matching, scratching, and beat juggling to create a base that can be rapped over. Turntablism is generally focused more on turntable technique and less on mixing. Each scratch of the turntable is considered unique due to the complex waveforms produced and employing digital sampling is considered an affront to a true Turntablist.[3]

Rise of gangsta rap

Main article: Gangsta rap

The first gangsta rap album to become a mainstream pop hit, selling more than 2.5 million copies, was N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton (1988). N.W.A.'s controversial subject matter, including drugs, violence and sex, helped popularize what became known as gangsta rap (said to have begun with Ice-T's "6N' Da Morning"). Specifically, the song "Fuck Tha Police" earned the foursome the enmity of law enforcement, resulting in a strongly-worded letter of discontent from the FBI. N.W.A.'s most lasting impact, however, was placing the West Coast on the hip hop map.

[edit] Diversification

Though women, whites and Latinos had long been a part of the hip hop scene, it was not until the 1980s that groups other than young African American males began creating popular, innovative and distinctive styles of hip hop music.

The first rap recording by a solo female was Philadelphia-based Lady B.'s "To the Beat, Y'All" (1980), while The Sequence became the first female group to record. It was, not, however, until Salt-N-Pepa in the middle of the decade that female performers gained mainstream success.

The first groups to mix hip hop and heavy metal included 1984's "Rock Box" (Run-D.M.C.) and "Rock Hard" (Beastie Boys). Later in the decade, Ice-T and Anthrax were among the most innovative mixers of thrash metal and hiphop. These fusions helped move hip hop into new audiences, and introduced it to legions of new fans in the States and abroad.

In Puerto Rico, Vico C became the first mainstream Spanish language rapper, and his recorded work was the beginning of what became known as reggaeton. Hip hop had always had a significant connection to the Latino community in New York City including the first Latin DJ DJ Disco Wiz, and hip hop soon spread amongst Latinos. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, most Latin rap came from the West Coast of the United States. In 1989, Cuban-American Mellow Man Ace became the first Latino artist to have a major bilingual single. Mellow Man, referred to as the "Godfather of Latin rap", brought mainstream attention to Spanglish rhyming with his 1989 platinum single "Mentirosa". In 1990, fellow West Coast artist Kid Frost further brought Latinos to the rap forefront with his single "La Raza." Cypress Hill, of which Mellow Man Ace was a member before going solo, would become the first Latino rap group to reach platinum status in 1991. Ecuadorian born rapper Gerardo received heavy rotation on video and radio for his single "Rico, Suave." As a result of the success of these artists, countries throughout Latin America such as Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Mexico created their own hip hop scenes.

While Run DMC laid the groundwork for East Coast rap, "Planet Rock" (Afrika Bambaataa) was one of the first electro tracks. Based on a sample from German rock group Kraftwerk (Trans-Europe Express), "Planet Rock" inspired countless groups, based in New Jersey, New York City and Detroit, among other places, to make electronic dance music (called electro) that strongly influenced techno and house music, and especially the burgeoning electro music scene in northern England, the Midlands and London.

"Planet Rock" influenced hip hop outside of New York as well, such as Latin hip hop (also Latin freestyle or freestyle) such as Expose and The Cover Girls, as well as Los Angeles-based electro hop performers like the World Class Wreckin' Cru and Egyptian Lover.

Nationalization & Internationalization

Main article: World hip hop

By the end of the 1970s, hip hop was known in most every major city in the country[citation needed], and had developed into numerous regional styles and variations. Outside of New York City, New Jersey and Philadelphia, where hip hop had long been well-established, the 1980s saw intense regional diversification.

The first Chicago hip hop record was the "Groovy Ghost Show" by Casper, released in 1980 and a distinctively Chicago sound began by 1982, with Caution and Plee Fresh. Chicago also saw the development of house music (a form of electronic dance music) in the early 1980s and this soon mixed with hip hop and began featuring rappers; this is called hip house, and gained some national popularity in the late 1980s and early 90s, though similar fusions from South Africa, Belgium and elsewhere became just as well-known into the 90s.

Los Angeles hardcore rappers (Ice-T) and electro hop artists (Egyptian Lover) began recording by 1983, though the first recorded West Coast rap was Disco Daddy and Captain Rapp's "Gigolo Rapp" in 1981. In Miami, audiences listened to Miami bass, a form of sultry and sexually explicit dance music with a heavy bass sound, which arose from Los Angeles electro; it frequently included rapping. In Washington D.C. a hip hop-influenced form of dance music called go go emerged and incorporated rapping and DJing.

Beginning in the early 1980s, hip hop culture began its spread across the world. By the end of the 1990s, popular hip hop was sold almost everywhere, and native performers were recording in most every country with a popular music industry[citation needed]. Elements of hip hop became fused with numerous styles of music, including ragga, cumbia and samba, for example. The Senegalese mbalax rhythm became a component of hip hop, while the United Kingdom and Belgium produced a variety of electronic music fusions of hip hop, most famously including British trip hop.

Hip hop also spread to countries like Greece, Spain and Cuba in the 1980s, led in Cuba by the self-exiled African American activist Nehanda Abiodun and aided by Fidel Castro's government. In Japan, graffiti art and breakdancing had been popular since the early part of the decade, but many of those active in the scene felt that the Japanese language was unsuited for rapping; nevertheless, by the beginning of the 1990s, a wave of rappers emerged, including Ito Seiko, Chikado Haruo, Tinnie Punx and Takagi Kan. The New Zealand hip hop scene began in earnest in the late 1980s, when Maori performers like Upper Hutt Posse and Dalvanius Prime began recording, gaining notoriety for lyrics that espoused tino rangatiratanga (Maori sovereignty).

Hip-hop has globalized into many cultures worldwide. We now find hip-hop in every corner of the globe, and like the South Bronx, each locale embodies a kind of globalism. Hip hop has emerged globally as an arts movement with the imperative to create something fresh by using technology, speech, and the body in new ways. The music and the art continue to embrace, even celebrate, its transnational dimensions while staying true to the local cultures to which it is rooted. Hip-hop's inspiration differs depending on each culture. Still, the one thing virtually all hip-hop artists worldwide have in common is that they acknowledge their debt to those Black and Latino kids in New York who launched this global movement in the first place.[7] As hip-hop is sometimes taken for granted by Americans, it is not so elsewhere, especially in the developing world, where it has come to represent the empowerment of the disenfranchised and a slice of the American dream. American hip-hop music has reached the cultural corridors of the globe and has been absorbed and reinvented around the world.[8]

1990s

In the 1990s, gangsta rap became mainstream, beginning in about 1992, with the release of Dr. Dre's The Chronic. This album established a style called G Funk, which soon came to dominate West Coast hiphop. Other artists such as 2pac who would start his rapping career in 1991, would dominate in the 90's (before being shot and killed in a drive by in 1996) becoming the highest selling rapper ever with over 75,000,000 albums sold world wide and played a major role in the east coast west coast rivalry having beefs with east coast rappers Notorious B.I.G. and Sean "Puffy" Combs (now known as Diddy) and bad boy records. Also The Notorious B.I.G. would rise to fame around the same time. Being from New York he brought the East Coast back into the game when the west coast mainly dominated rap, he play ed a major role in the east coast west coast feud durring the 90's and had beefs with Death row records and 2pac(an alum from California). In the decade, record labels based out of Atlanta, St. Louis and New Orleans gained fame for their local scenes. By the end of the decade, especially with the success of Eminem, known for his contravercial lyrics beggening in 1999 with his second studio album The Slim Shady LP, hip hop was an integral part of popular music, and many American pop songs had a major hiphop component, with artists like Eazy-E. The midwest also has received good achievment of fast rapps with artist like such as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and also Twista

In the 90s and into the following decade, elements of hip hop continued to be assimilated into other genres of popular music; nu soul, for example, combined hip hop and soul music and produced some major stars in the middle of the decade, while in the Dominican Republic, a recording by Santi Y Sus Duendes and Lisa M became the first single of merenrap, a fusion of hiphop and merengue.

New York City experienced a heavy Jamaican hip hop influence during the 90s. This influence was brought on by cultural shifts particularly due to the heightened immigration of Jamaicans to New York City, and the American-born Jamaican youth who were coming of age during the 90s. Hip hop artists such as De La Soul and Black Star have both produced albums influenced by Jamaican roots.[1]

In Europe, Africa and Asia, hip hop began to move from an underground phenomenon to reach mainstream audiences. In South Africa, Poland, Germany, France, Italy and many other countries, hiphop stars rose to prominence and gradually began to incorporate influences from their own country, resulting in fusions like Tanzanian Bongo Flava.

By the end of the 90's Hip Hop (rap) music was one of the most popular types of music in the music world .

West Coast

Main article: West Coast hip hop

After N.W.A. broke up, Dr. Dre (a former member) released The Chronic (1992), which peaked at #1 on the R&B/hip hop chart and #3 on the pop chart and spawned a #2 pop single in "Nothin' But a 'G' Thang".. The Chronic took West Coast rap in a new direction, influenced strongly by P funk artists, melding the psychedelic funky beats with slowly drawled lyrics—this came to be known as G funk, and dominated mainstream hip hop for several years through a roster of artists on Death Row Records, including most popularly, Snoop Doggy Dogg, whose Doggystyle included "What's My Name" and "Gin and Juice", both Top Ten pop hits.

Though West Coast artists eclipsed New York, some East Coast rappers achieved success. New York became dominated in terms of sales by Puff Daddy (No Way Out), Mase (Harlem World) and other Bad Boy Records artists, in spite of often scathing criticism for a perceived over-reliance on sampling and a general watered-down sound, aimed directly for pop markets. Other New York based artists continued with a harder edged sound, achieving only limited popular success. Nas (Illmatic), Busta Rhymes (The Coming) and The Wu-Tang Clan (Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)), for example, received excellent reviews but generally mediocre or sporadic sales.

The sales rivalry between the East Coast and the West Coast eventually turned into a personal rivalry, aided in part by the music media. Many reporters were not aware that MC battles were an integral part of hip hop since its inception, and that, generally, little was meant by open taunts on albums and in performances.

Diversification of styles

Further information: List of hip hop genres

In the wake of declining sales following the deaths of both superstar artists, the sounds of hip hop were greatly diversified. Most important was the rise of Southern rap, starting with OutKast (ATLiens) and Goodie Mob (Soul Food), based out of Atlanta. Later, Master P (Ghetto D) built up an impressive roster of popular artists (the No Limit posse) based out of New Orleans and incorporating G funk and Miami bass influences, and distinctive regional sounds from St. Louis, Chicago, Washington D.C., Detroit (ghettotech) and others began to gain some popularity. Also in the 1990s, rapcore (a fusion of hip hop and heavy metal) became popular among mainstream audiences. Rage Against the Machine, Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit were among the most popular rapcore bands.

Though Caucasian rappers like the Beastie Boys (Paul's Boutique), Vanilla Ice (To the Extreme) and 3rd Bass (The Cactus Album) had had some popular success and/or critical acceptance from the hip hop community, Detroit-native Eminem's success, beginning in 1999 with the triple platinum The Slim Shady LP, came as a surprise to many. Like most successful hip hop artists of the time, Eminem came to be criticized for alleged glorification of violence, misogyny, and drug abuse, as well as homophobia and albums laced with constant profanity. According to Kanye West, "Everybody in hip-hop discriminates against gay people."[9] See murder music.

In South Africa, pioneering crew Black Noise began rapping in 1989, provoking a ban by the apartheid-era government, which lasted until 1993. Later, the country produced its own distinctive style in the house fusion kwela. Elsewhere in Africa, Senegalese mbalax fusions continued to grow in popularity, while Tanzanian Bongo Flava crews like X-Plastaz combined hiphop with taarab, filmi and other styles.

In Europe, hip hop was the domain of both ethnic nationals and immigrants. Germany, for example, produced the well-known Die Fantastischen Vier as well as several Turkish performers like the controversial Cartel, Kool Savaş, and Eko Fresh. Similarly, France has produced a number of native-born stars, such as IAM and the Breton crew Manau, though the most famous French rapper is probably the Senegalese-born MC Solaar. The Netherlands' most famous rappers are The Osdorp Posse, an all-white crew from Amsterdam, and The Postmen, from Cape Verde and Suriname. Italy found its own rappers, including Jovanotti and Articolo 31, grow nationally renowned, while the Polish scene began in earnest early in the decade with the rise of PM Cool Lee. In Romania, B.U.G. Mafia came out of Bucharest's Pantelimon neighborhood, and their brand of gangsta rap underlines the parallels between life in Romania's Communist-era apartment blocks and in the housing projects of America's ghettos. Israel's hip hop grew greatly in popularity at the end of the decade, with several stars emerging from both sides of the Palestinian (Tamer Nafer) and Jewish (Subliminal) divide; though some, like Mook E., preached peace and tolerance, others expressed nationalist and violent sentiments.

In Asia, mainstream stars rose to prominence in the Philippines, led by Michael V., Rap Asia, MC Lara and Lady Diane, and in Japan, where underground rappers had previously found a limited audience, and popular teen idols brought a style called J-rap to the top of the charts in the middle of the 90s.

Latinos had played an integral role in the early development of hip hop, and the style had spread to parts of Latin America, such as Cuba, early in its history. In Mexico, popular hip hop began with the success of Calo in the early '90s. Later in the decade, with Latin rap groups like Cypress Hill on the American charts, Mexican rap rock groups, such as Control Machete, rose to prominence in their native land. An annual Cuban hip hop concert held at Alamar in Havana helped to popularize Cuban hip hop, beginning in 1995. Hip hop grew steadily more popular in Cuba, due to official governmental support for musicians.

Though mainstream acceptance has become fairly limited to so-called commercial acts, some alternative hip hop musicians, with a socially aware or positive or optimistic tone, have achieved moderate mainstream success. De La Soul's Three Feet High and Rising, Gang Starr's No More Mr. Nice Guy and the Jungle Brothers' Straight Out the Jungle are usually considered the first albums in this genre, with jazz-based samples and lyrics (see jazz rap) strongly influenced by the Afrocentric messages of Bambaataa's Zulu Nation collective.[original research?] Later alternative artists like A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, and The Roots, also achieved some mainstream success, though the influence of jazz had grown less pronounced (with some exceptions, such as Guru's Jazzmatazz project).

Jazz rap went on to influence the development of trip hop in the United Kingdom, which fuses hip hop, jazz and electronic music; it is said[who?] to have been started by Massive Attack's Blue Lines (1991). Arrested Development also released their album 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of... in 1992, which included the hit single, "Tennessee." At the time, it was one of the best selling and most popular alternative rap albums. The success of Dr. Dre's The Chronic later that year, however, showed gangsta rap to be a more commercially viable form of hip hop.

2000s

In the year 2000, The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem sold over ten million copies in the United States, and Nelly's debut LP, Country Grammar, sold over six million copies. The United States also saw the rise of alternative hip hop in the form of moderately popular performers like The Roots, Dilated Peoples and Mos Def, who achieved unheard-of success for their field.

As the decade progressed, hip hop has transformed from the more or less "old school" rhythmic rap to a more melodic hip hop that has the elements of jazz, classical, pop, reggae, and many other genres. Hip hop also gave birth to subgenres such as snap music and crunk. Hip hop influences also found their way into mainstream pop during this period as well.

Some countries, like Tanzania, maintained popular acts of their own in the early 2000s, though many others produced few homegrown stars, instead following American trends. Scandinavian, especially Danish and Swedish, performers became well known outside of their country, while hip hop continued its spread into new lands, including Russia, Japan, Philippines, Canada and China.

Primarily in Germany, gangsta rap has become popular among youths who like the violent and aggressive lyrics.[10] Some rappers openly or comically flirt with nazism, Bushido (born Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi) raps "Salutiert, steht stramm, Ich bin der Leader wie A" (Salute, stand to attention, I am the leader like 'A') and Fler had a hit with the record Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) complete with the title written in Third Reich style gothic print and advertised with an Adolf Hitler quote.[11] These references also spawned great controversy in Germany.[12][13]