Is Hip Hop a Culture, For Real?

We Say Hip Hop Is a Culture, But Do You Know Why?

Let’s talk about it. This will be the first in a series where we break down the real science behind Hip Hop culture—its roots, elements, and evolution. Not just what we’ve been told. But what’s actually true.

"Hip Hop is a Culture" — But What Does That Even Mean?

I’ve been hearing it for over 25 years: “Hip Hop is a culture.” Cool. But when I first heard that, nobody could really explain what that meant. It sounded good—but vague. I was already living what people called “Hip Hop,” but I didn’t understand how that made me part of a culture.

When I started digging into it, we were all told there were four elements of Hip Hop:

• Breaking

• DJing

• Writing (graffiti)

• Emceeing

And honestly? That made sense at the time. Films like Beat Street or Breakin’ showcased all four, all the time. These were the core expressions we could see, hear, and feel. So boom, that was the culture. Or so we thought.

But here’s where it gets deeper.

I Was Hip Hop Before I Knew It Had Rules

I was already Hip Hop through and through—ask my old heads, ask my exes. Born in the 70s, raised in the 80s, molded by funk, soul, breakbeats, b-boying, and mixtapes. I didn’t decide to be Hip Hop. I was Hip Hop. The way I walked, danced, dressed, and thought. It wasn’t a costume, it was life.

But how does someone become “Hip Hop” just by vibing with TV and radio? Nah, there had to be more to it than just watching and copying.

That’s when I realized the conversation around Hip Hop culture had some major blind spots. If we were gonna claim it as a culture, we had to define what a culture actually is.

What Is a Culture, Anyway?

To be considered a full-blown, recognized culture, anthropologists agree you need four core elements:

1. Arts

2. Beliefs

3. Social Behavior Patterns

4. Shared Institutions or Knowledge Systems

5. 
   

Hip Hop only ever got credited for the art part—those four elements we all know. But that’s just one slice of the cultural pie. So let’s break down all four and see where Hip Hop really stands.

1. The Arts – What We Already Know

This is where most people stop when they define Hip Hop:

• Breaking = Dance

• DJing = Music

• Writing = Visual art

• Emceeing = Oral tradition/poetry/storytelling

  
  

All of these came together in the Bronx from 1973 to 1978. They were raw, street-born, and powerful. And yes—they are art forms, and vital ones.

But if that’s all we focus on, then we’ve barely scratched the surface.

2. Beliefs – The Forgotten Foundation

Here’s where things get slept on: every real culture has a belief system. Something deeper that guides thought, behavior, and identity—spiritual, philosophical, or communal.

Does Hip Hop have a belief system? YES. It always has.

It’s just been hidden, overlooked, or intentionally buried.

Before you can rap or draw or dance, you have to have a way of thinking—a way of being—that shapes how you express yourself. That mindset? That’s culture.

To find Hip Hop’s true belief system, we have to go back—before 1973. Don’t get nervous. History didn’t start at a Kool Herc party.

The Real Root: Knowledge of Self

Around 2004–2005, Hip Hop leaders officially brought back the fifth element: Knowledge. But the truth? Knowledge wasn’t the fifth element—it was the first.

Way before Herc spun records in the Bronx, the seeds were already planted by the Black Spades, a street organization with leadership influenced by the:

• 5% Nation of Gods and Earths

• Nation of Islam

• Black Panthers

• Weather Underground

• 
  

Leaders like “Guru” and David Brockington taught self-defense, pride, and political awareness to youth in the Bronx starting in 1968. This wasn’t just community work—it was conscious identity-building. It was proto-Hip Hop. The early Zulu Nation carried that forward, embedding Knowledge of Self into the culture.

Not every B-boy or DJ was doing the Knowledge, but many of the most influential people in the Bronx were. Historically, the Zulu Nation’s “Infinity Lessons” were used to school thousands of youth on wisdom, peace, and self-awareness.

3. Social Behavior Patterns – How We Moved as a People

Now we’re talking about how we lived—how Hip Hop folks behaved, interacted, and developed norms.

Hip Hop was born out of collaboration between Black and Puerto Rican youth. Shoutout to all our Puerto Rican fam who were co-founders of this movement. The 70s gave us the core elements, but the 80s birthed the lifestyle:

• Girls rocking big gold earrings and stacked hairstyles

• Bubble letters in notebooks

• Carrying boomboxes

• Shelltoe Adidas with fat laces

• Kangols and gold dookie chains

• The “B-Boy Stance”

  
  

These weren’t trends—they were identifiers. We were shaping a whole new cultural lane.

When Hip Hop hit places like Hampton Roads, VA (my community), we absorbed what we saw on TV and radio, but gave it our own regional flavor. Black and Filipino youth held it down in DJing, writing, and more. We didn’t even realize we were living out social behavior patterns that were forming a global identity.

4. Shared Institutions or Systems of Knowledge

Every culture needs a system to pass on its teachings, beliefs, and traditions. For us, that came through:

• Cipher sessions

• The Infinity Lessons

• 5% Nation teachings

• Mentorship from older Hip Hop heads

• The art of storytelling through music

Knowledge didn’t just come from books—it was passed from mouth to ear, dancefloor to sidewalk, vinyl to tape.

This is why Knowledge of Self is more than belief—it’s our institution. And it’s always been here.

So... Is Hip Hop a Culture?

HELL YES.

Not only does Hip Hop have the arts, it has a deep belief system, social behavior patterns, and its own knowledge institutions.

We just weren’t taught to look for them.

Like Dead Prez said, “It’s bigger than Hip Hop.”

And if you're in a real Hip Hop space today—trust me—somebody in that room got the Knowledge.

Peace.