Nuyoricans, Hip Hop, and the Burning Bronx

Bronx, NY

A great online resource by old school South Bronx PR breaker Mr. Wiggles

The abandonment of the Bronx…
Gang life in the Bronx

Block parties and basement jams
Black, Puerto Rican, and West Indian Bronxites, MCing, freaking to the beat,  and feeling gang tensions at a good old fashioned block party from the Bronx gang documentary 80 Blocks from Tiffany's.
DJ's like Kool Herc started bringing big sound systems and chattin' to jams at public parks, tennis courts, and apartment rec rooms to play this music. Abandoned buildings were another place that kids would set up clubs.

The rise of the break
Meanwhile, a song would have a particular break which people would clamor for.

"It's Just Begun" by the Jimmy Castor Bunch (break at about 2:11)

"Apache" by the Incredible Bongo Band (break at about 2:21)

Those who danced the breaks developed styles like uprock and downrock, dancing the breaks - these were the B-Boys.

When the DJ Grandmaster Flash invented backspinning, a track could be looped by a DJ to become the basis of a hip hop song.

One important Puerto Rican DJ was Charlie Chase (born Carlos Mandes).

"Amen Brother" by The Winstons, at 1:27 is the famous six-second break that not only was used extensively in early hip hop but spawned entire subcultures like drum-and-bass and jungle

Sample-era classic hip-hop breaks-cum-beats.

From gangs to crews

Gang truce and the Bambaata dances.
Gangs reformulated themselves as competitive crews.
Some were dedicated to graffiti. Subway Montage from Wild Style, music by Grandmaster Caz

The same was true of basketball and especially  dancers and DJs. B-Boy battles in particular were serious business.

Cold Crush Brothers vs. Fantastic 5, with Puerto Ricans Charlie Chase, Ruby Dee and Whipper-Whip

Commodification and the disappearance of Puerto Ricans

Hip hop culture starting appearing in movies and other movies, and even commercials like these, and MC's started recording original tracks. As this went on, Puerto Ricans were marginalized, in part because they were more associated with B-Boying than the previously marginal MCing, and partially because they did not appear in movies - most of the US outside New York did not really know what a Puerto Rican was. With the rise of Michael Jackson, breakdancing peaked and the Puerto Ricans were out.