I DO IT FOR HIP HOP!!!



Sipho-Hiphopsplit Ramaru...Hiphopsplit's Master

Sipho Ramaru

"HIP HOP IS MY PASSION…"


Pitch! Governs melody and harmony. Rhythm! Is associated with tempo, meter and articulation, and lastly, Dynamics! Where we talk creation of music, performance and the significance of music. All these are elements which build up an art form called Music. Music the father of many offspring, one of them being hip hop. Hoop along as I give you a glimpse of my life experience with this fella called hip hop.

Hip hop has to be that genre that made me fall in love with the urban youth movement which is now considered an urban culture. This is a culture that was initially introduced by two African Americans named Clive Campbell, known as Dj Kool Herc (a hip hop Dj from back in the 1970s) and Kevin Donovan known by his hip hop name as Afrika Bambaataa. The aims and objectives of this initiative was to establish a union that became a voice for the voiceless, end gang violence and also bring unity among African Americans.

Hip hop gave birth to different elements within its margin; that people can use their different talents to express themselves through this art form. Rapping, Break dancing, Graffiti and Poetry are the elements that form a complete culture defined as Hip hop. Hip hop was the most influential culture back in the 1980s in America and continued to grow with time.

My first experience with a rap song was back in 1997, it still dawns on me till this day. The song was ‘Do for love’ by the late hip hop legend, Tupac Amaru Shakur. I was still at the peak of my innocence in kindergarten. I didn’t know what it was, I couldn’t understand the words in the song but I just fell in love with the tune and I have been in love with hip hop since then. As I grew older, I began to absorb and understand what rap was about. My uncle used to play rap with his cassettes on his Tape Deck every Sunday morning.

My startling love for hip hop reached greater heights when my first born was conceived in 2012. I named him hiphopsplit; the name was initially supposed to be "hiphopspill" which emerged from the concept of me spilling hip hop content to the masses.

Hip hop drove me to start my own blog which is strictly about hip hop and all the elements it contains. My inspiration came from an American Hip hop journalist named Sway Calloway. During his career, he did a couple of Hip hop documentaries which included documenting the second biggest hip hop battle in the world, which was between two hip hop heavy weights, Nasier Jones (Nas) and Shawn Corey Carter (Jay-Z) respectively.

My long-term goal is to grow my hip hop blog to become the biggest hip hop online magazine in the continent and even across borders. I feel sanctified that my chosen career field enables me to pursue my first adoration, which is hip hop.