tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/q-tip-46355/articlesQ-Tip – The Conversation2022-02-07T13:19:05Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1708572022-02-07T13:19:05Z2022-02-07T13:19:05ZWhat is earwax?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442366/original/file-20220124-15-yq8wz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Step away from the cotton swabs!</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/dirty-cotton-swab-royalty-free-image/92889763">Crazytang/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
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<p><strong>What is earwax? – Helen E., age 8, Somerville, Massachusetts</strong></p>
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<p>Imagine you’re watching TV. Suddenly, your ear feels a little itchy. You stick your pinky finger in there and dig around a bit. You pull it out and stare at the little brownish blob on the tip of your finger.</p>
<p>That’s earwax. This kind of waxy ear booger has plagued people for centuries. Tools to remove earwax from thousands of years ago have been discovered <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/roman-tweezers-and-metal-q-tip-found-england-180973777/">in ancient Roman</a> and at <a href="https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/the-people/appearance/">Viking archaeological sites</a>. But if you could snap your fingers and suddenly wish away all the earwax in the world, it might not be as great as you imagine.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&view_op=list_works&gmla=AJsN-F4yOWs68gzIWGmiRrwuM774uc4c9CeuLu0TJXl_xBJ3twogC0YfkoiOkwNonmNJsHeRrSK32Hx1CO_oWUbaPjpDlG48Zw&user=feLpbjEAAAAJ">I’m a pediatric otolaryngologist</a> – otherwise known as an ear, nose and throat doctor for children. I work at Seattle Children’s Hospital and mainly see kids who have problems with their ears. Sometimes I encounter a patient who has something in their ear that shouldn’t be there – insects, gummy worms and beautiful gemstone beads are some of my personal favorites that I’ve removed. But what I see all the time is a lot of earwax.</p>
<p>Your ear canal is lined with skin cells, as well as different glands that release various substances into the canal. Earwax is produced in your ear canal and is basically a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earwax">mix of skin cells, sweat and fatty oils</a>. These things mix together to form small – or sometimes rather big – globs of golden-brown gunk.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442367/original/file-20220124-19-fbn864.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="cross-section diagram of the human ear system" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442367/original/file-20220124-19-fbn864.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442367/original/file-20220124-19-fbn864.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442367/original/file-20220124-19-fbn864.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442367/original/file-20220124-19-fbn864.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442367/original/file-20220124-19-fbn864.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442367/original/file-20220124-19-fbn864.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442367/original/file-20220124-19-fbn864.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Earwax is found in the outer part of your ear, in the ear canal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/human-ear-anatomy-royalty-free-illustration/1254417864">Ace2020/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
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<p>Everyone’s earwax is unique. Some is more pasty, some is dry, some is yellow, brown or black. Scientists have figured out a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1733">gene that seems to calibrate</a> how wet or dry your wax is. So, if your wax is really pasty and stinky, it’s another thing you can blame on your parents.</p>
<p>While you might think it is just a nuisance, earwax actually plays some important roles. It helps keep the skin in your ear healthy and moist, and doctors think it may <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM197105132841913">protect the ear canal from infections</a>. If there were no earwax in the world, your ears would feel dry and itchy. You would probably scratch at them constantly and get ear canal infections more frequently.</p>
<p>But maybe you’re convinced a buildup of earwax is making your ears itch – not to mention preventing you from hearing when you’re called to dinner. In that case, is it better to get it out of there?</p>
<p>Many people are tempted to stick something in their ears to try to get wax out and give the ear a nice little scratch. The problem is that while you might get a little wax out, you’re probably pushing more in than you’re extracting. If you keep pushing more and more in, sooner or later your ear canal will be packed and overflowing with waxy goodness.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442348/original/file-20220124-13-rrfafe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="little girl poking her finger in her ear" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442348/original/file-20220124-13-rrfafe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442348/original/file-20220124-13-rrfafe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442348/original/file-20220124-13-rrfafe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442348/original/file-20220124-13-rrfafe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442348/original/file-20220124-13-rrfafe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442348/original/file-20220124-13-rrfafe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442348/original/file-20220124-13-rrfafe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Don’t be hard on your earwax – it’s actually doing an important job.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/little-girl-plug-ears-with-fingers-on-brown-royalty-free-image/1353608950">kool99/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>So what is the best way to remove it? Believe it or not, on its own the ear canal naturally <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6085805/">pushes earwax out of your ear</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aja.1001840408">As skin grows in the ear canal</a>, it forms a natural conveyor belt for the earwax. In general, it should slowly migrate to the outside of your ear canal and just fall out when you run around or bathe. When you chew, your jaw movement also seems to help wax come out of your ear.</p>
<p>This is a natural process and a long journey to freedom for those little ear boogers. They want to get out of your ear canal, too, so don’t push them back in by sticking a Q-tip in your ear. Some people mistakenly think lighting a candle by your ear is a great way create a vacuum and suck wax out of your ear. <a href="https://www.audiologyresearch.org/ear-candling/">It isn’t</a> – research shows that <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/expert-answers/ear-candling/faq-20058212">it doesn’t actually work</a>, so please don’t light any fires next to your head.</p>
<p>Sometimes it can help to use different types of ear drops to soften up wax and help it come out on its own. There are some drops you can buy at the store, and some simple products like mineral oil that can also do the trick. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0194599816680327">If your ear gets too full of wax</a>, you might need to see your doctor to have it carefully cleaned out. Don’t try this at home! </p>
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<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Henry Ou has previously received funding from the National Institutes of Health - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology, National Organization for Hearing Research Foundation, Capita Foundation, and the American Otologic Society,</span></em></p>That brownish/yellowish gunk that comes out on your finger if you scratch deep inside your ear? It actually serves an important purpose in your body.Henry Ou, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/951772018-05-06T11:33:01Z2018-05-06T11:33:01ZWhy hip-hop needs to be taken more seriously in academic circles<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216173/original/file-20180424-57614-v09k28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Q-Tip (L) of A Tribe Called Quest performing in 2013.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Jazz’s current <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/06/new-cool-kamasi-kendrick-gave-jazz-new-groove">generation</a> of stars grew up in these genre-fluid times with hip-hop. Concurrently, a significant number of hip-hop artists have been <a href="https://www.cbcmusic.ca/posts/19652/jazz-meets-hip-hop-badbadnotgood-kendrick-lamar">integrating</a> jazz into their music. As American saxophonist Kamasi Washington <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/06/new-cool-kamasi-kendrick-gave-jazz-new-groove">puts it</a>: </p>
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<p>We’ve grown up alongside rappers and DJs, we’ve heard this music all our life. We are as fluent in <a href="http://www.j-dilla.com/">J Dilla</a> and <a href="https://www.drdre.com/">Dr Dre</a> as we are in <a href="http://mingusmingusmingus.com/mingus">Mingus</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/john-coltrane">Coltrane</a>.</p>
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<p>A unique new American university course, exploring the historical connections between jazz and hip-hop, was recently announced. The only surprise is that it took so long for such a course to be designed.</p>
<p>One of the pioneers in fusing hip-hop with jazz, the legendary American rapper, producer and DJ <a href="http://www.defjam.com/artists/q-tip">Q-Tip</a> and esteemed jazz author <a href="https://tisch.nyu.edu/about/directory/clive-davis-institute/1417614318">Ashley Kahn</a> will present a seven class <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2018/april/q-tip-joins-nyu-clive-davis-institute-faculty--co-teaches-course.html">course</a> from September 5. The course, to run at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute Of Recorded Music, will be among the first in the world to explore the under appreciated intersections and relationships between the two genres.</p>
<p>Heavily influenced by jazz, Q-Tip is best known for being a founder member of A Tribe Called Quest - a hip-hop collective <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/a-tribe-called-quest-mn0000478982/biography">described</a> by the respected All Music website as:</p>
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<p>Without question the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s, (who) jump-started and perfected the hip-hop alternative to hardcore and gangsta rap.</p>
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<p>A Tribe Called Quest’s sophomore album “The Low End Theory” from 1991 was a paradigm shift in hip-hop’s <a href="http://observer.com/2016/09/a-tribe-called-quest-sparked-hip-hops-love-affair-with-jazz-on-low-end-theory/">relationship with jazz</a>. They set a benchmark for jazz-oriented approaches in 1990s hip-hop. The trio <a href="https://digable-planets.bandcamp.com/">Digable Planets</a>, rapper Guru’s <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/album/jazzmatazz-vol-1-mw0000098545">“Jazzmatazz”</a> project and more recently <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kendrick-lamar-mn0002709646">Kendrick Lamar</a>’s <a href="https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/pimp-butterfly-kendrick-lamar-shares-history">“To Pimp A Butterfly”</a> (2015) would follow.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Kendrick Lamar’s ‘King Kunta’ from the jazz-influenced album, ‘To pimp a butterfly’.</span></figcaption>
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<p>I have long compared hip-hop with jazz. From their respective displaced origins, political messages, and continually shifting and reinventing of music paradigms, both genres have moved generations and offered alternative histories to the western mainstream canon of knowledge.</p>
<p>While news of Q-Tip’s programme is hugely welcomed, the idea that hip-hop – and jazz artists are teaching in institutions in the US is not new. What’s missing is the permanence that a full programme in hip-hop studies can offer, a chance to pursue real critical and engaged inquiry through both practice and theory. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Jazz (We’ve Got)’ from A Tribe Called Quest’s influential second album The Low End Theory.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>What’s going on</h2>
<p>For many years, socio-politically charged artists like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/19/chuck-d-interview-hip-hop-fact-book-public-enemy">Chuck D</a> and <a href="https://www.krs-one.com/">KRS-One</a> have delivered weighty lectures and seminars. Pioneers such as <a href="http://www.oldschoolhiphop.com/artists/deejays/jazzyjay.htm">DJ Jazzy Jay</a> have given talks on the missing histories of hip-hop. </p>
<p>More recently, <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/killer-mike-mn0000771261/biography">Killer Mike</a>, <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/chance-the-rapper-mn0003115050">Chance the Rapper</a> and <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/talib-kweli-mn0000158801">Talib Kweli</a> have given talks and taken part in discussion panels on topics connected to race relations, streaming services and religion in hip-hop.</p>
<p>Concurrently, there is a recent wave of academics pushing the growing field of hip-hop studies. It was triggered by the early academic texts of authors like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/19/books/nonfiction-in-brief-101729.html">Craig Castleman</a> and <a href="http://www.triciarose.com/">Tricia Rose</a>, and crystallised in <a href="http://sites.psu.edu/comm292/wp-content/uploads/sites/5180/2014/10/FormanNeal-Thats_the_Joint_The_Hip_Hop_Studies_Readerbook.pdf">“That’s the Joint!: The Hip Hop Studies Reader”</a> from 2003. In January this year, a new <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/series.php?ser=cshhs">hip hop studies book series</a> was launched by the University of California Press. Led by H Samy Alim and Jeff Chang it promises to be hugely successful in extending the debate worldwide. </p>
<p>Educators like Bronx native Dr <a href="http://www.edmundadjapong.com/">Edmund Adjapong</a> are using the essence of hip hop in the classroom, and finding strategies for connecting with students in the urban realm. Other notable hip-hop-led teaching methodologies are discussed in Marcella Runell and Martha Diaz’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3108171-the-hip-hop-education-guidebook-volume-1">“Hip-Hop Education Guidebook: Volume 1”</a> – it contains lesson plans for the incorporation of hip hop into the study environment. Several UK institutions are launching hip hop modules such as SOAS University of London, where a theoretical elective “Global Hip-Hop” runs, also University of Cork have launched a module exploring hip-hop and post-colonial perspectives which are much welcomed. </p>
<p>And within the structure of academia, multidisciplinary work is being increasingly explored as creative silos are challenged, which comes at a time which sees cuts in arts education across the board. This offers two opportunities for practitioners and theorists of hip-hop culture to strategically influence and enhance educational institutions. </p>
<p>Firstly, the multidisciplinary content of hip-hop’s knowledge base presents theoretical richness in the fields of sociology, visual and sonic arts, religious, gender and cultural studies, critical race theory and art history. Secondly, the variety in the skill base of hip-hop practice supports performance, dance and music production. It also provides a range of design disciplines as well as confidence building skills in teamwork, presentation and public speaking methods.</p>
<h2>What’s missing</h2>
<p>If hip-hop culture can be such a positive force in the dynamics of education, why is it not commonplace to find such an ethos embedded within academia in Europe and Africa? I would suggest this is due to hip-hop’s origins and transatlantic journey. </p>
<p>Since its inception in 1973 hip-hop spent almost a decade in the US evolving into its identifiable elements of rap music, graffiti and knowledge. Its global export through various music and film representations only happened in the early eighties. During that decade the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03057070.2011.552540?scroll=top&needAccess=true">influence</a> of hip-hop on South Africa during apartheid critically addressed issues surrounding racism and the class struggle. In Europe, hip-hop has also grown and developed into its own over a period of 35 years. Yet in terms of a creative educational arena upon which to draw, it still remains liminal.</p>
<p>Why is it that the theoretical work seems to be gathering more momentum than the practical applications in university teaching? Perhaps the depth and length of researchers’ inquiries have already laid the foundations for the progression of hip-hop studies. </p>
<p>Within teaching situations the idea of hip-hop studies as a discipline is relegated to the occasional, informal and semi-structured workshop session. These seem to exist at school-level or after-school clubs only. Activities like these are, of course, very welcome. However, educators and practitioners need to be mindful that their positive contributions are built upon. It should lay foundations to frame bigger questions for teaching and learning opportunities.</p>
<p>There is a marked difference between hip-hop artists and practitioners visiting academic institutions and academics developing hip-hop research from within academic institutions. A greater synergy between academics and practitioners is needed to progress hip-hop studies and be taken seriously as a core area for study.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95177/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam de Paor-Evans does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A greater synergy between academics and practitioners is needed to progress hip hop for it to be taken seriously as a core area for study.Adam de Paor-Evans, Principal Lecturer in Cultural Theory / Research and Innovation Lead, School of Art, Design and Fashion, Faculty of Culture and the Creative Industries, University of Central LancashireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/871902017-11-19T09:17:07Z2017-11-19T09:17:07ZHow the death of the hip-hop DJ spawned the superstar rapper<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195032/original/file-20171116-15454-797v9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Superstar rapper, Kanye West.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lucas Jackson/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since the inception of hip-hop culture, the DJ has been its cornerstone. The culture’s starting point is widely accepted as the birthday party <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-djing-2857342">Kool DJ Herc</a> threw for his sister at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, The Bronx on August 11, 1973. </p>
<p>Kool Herc’s selection spanned the funk genre, and using two copies of the same record, he extended the break (typically a breakdown followed by a series of drum-only or drum and bass patterns). This pioneering DJ method set the tone for what became the core of hip-hop DJing for the past 45 years.</p>
<p>For the rest of that decade and throughout the 1980s the DJ was the first maker of hip-hop and the linchpin of experimentation. The <a href="https://turntable-dj.wonderhowto.com/how-to/cut-and-chop-dj-mixer-257281/">practice of</a> of scratching, mixing and cutting evolved through their various iterations and experienced many paradigm shifts thanks to DJs like <a href="http://brooklynmusic.blogspot.co.za/2009/07/brooklynbio-mystery-of-grandmaster.html">Grandmaster Flowers</a>, <a href="http://www.grandmasterflash.com/">Grandmaster Flash</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/13/grand-wizard-invents-scratching">Grandwizard Theodore</a> and, later, <a href="http://www.oldschoolhiphop.com/artists/emcees/wordofmouth.htm">DJ Cheese</a>, <a href="http://www.djjazzyjeff.com/">DJ Jazzy Jeff</a> and <a href="http://www.therealdjcashmoney.com/aboutdcjcashmoney/">DJ Cash Money</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.dmcworld.com/">Disco Mix Club (DMC)</a>, initiated in 1983, has organised world mixing championships for 31 years. These celebrate hip hop DJs’ skills and talents. This year’s winner, Japan’s 12-year-old <a href="https://djmag.com/news/12-year-old-dj-rena-wins-dmc-world-championships-2017">DJ Rena</a>, is the youngest champion ever.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">DJ Rena, the youngest DMC champion ever.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The artistry of hip hop DJing is truly a worldwide discipline. From the incredible teamwork of the UK’s <a href="https://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/scratchperverts">Scratch Perverts</a> to the multidisciplinary approaches of South Africa’s Grand Master <a href="http://djreadyd.com/">Ready D</a>, mix DJs have revolutionised the broader field of dance music, and they’ve influenced other music genres too. But there’s now a huge, awkward elephant in hip-hop culture’s room: the ghost of the DJ.</p>
<h2>Huge, awkward elephant</h2>
<p>On 7 November 2017, DMC World DJ Champion of 1988, DJ Cash Money (Jerome Hewlett), announced his <a href="https://www.themaven.net/allhiphop/news/pioneering-dj-cash-money-quits-hip-hop-over-shady-promoters-KM7Utk2nqkisQPUqqmR5Ig">retirement</a> on Facebook, posting in caps: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>IT’S OFFICIAL I’M OUT OF THE GAME!!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It’s <a href="http://ambrosiaforheads.com/2017/11/dj-cash-money-retires-video/">a shockwave</a> the hip hop nation is still feeling, and one that’s raised some questions. DJ Cash Money has toured consistently and successfully since 1988. In his retirement post he stated that, for him, the music business has become negative. Dealing with overbearing promoters and agents was too problematic. A barrage of people have agreed with him.</p>
<p>The most common issue DJs as independent artists face is promoters’ unrealistic expectations. Coupled with reductions in how much the artist earns, it is understandable that DJs like Cash Money are looking outside hip hop to further their careers.</p>
<p>But there’s more than just money at stake. There’s a greater complex problem within hip hop culture itself: the DJ no longer takes a central creative role with shared responsibility for the overall sound, the design of the cuts and scratches in dialogue with the raps, and the live performance.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Jam Master Jay on the decks.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Run DMC’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2012/oct/24/jam-master-jay-run-dmc-remembered">Jam Master Jay</a> was an exemplar of these methodologies. During the 1980s – when Run DMC were one of the most celebrated hip-hop crews – the DJ’s input was clearly prominent within hip-hop’s representations. Most hip-hop albums of the time contained an ode to the DJ – a sole track boasting the DJ’s skills – such as “Moe Luv’s Theme” by Ultramagnetic MCs, “DJ K La Boss” by EPMD and Cash Money & Marvelous’s “The Mighty Hard Rocker”.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">DJ Cash Money on the wheels of steel.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The exposure gained from success in the DMC Championships also helped their crew’s publicity. But at some point in the 1990s the DJ’s presence seemed to fade from hip hop, which I believe links to the embracing of the sampler, a piece of digital hardware enabling the breakbeats to be extended without the DJ. </p>
<p>Beautifully produced albums such as <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/album/uptown-saturday-night-mw0000612957">“Uptown Saturday Night”</a> (1997) by Camp Lo contain little evidence of DJ practice. It illustrated this increased trend as emcee-producers (rappers who produce their own music) <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mf-doom-mn0000220563">MF Doom</a>, <a href="http://www.defjam.com/artists/q-tip">Q-Tip</a> and <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lord-finesse-mn0000828447">Lord Finesse</a> set the tone for the arrival of the superstar rapper-producer. Cue: <a href="https://pitchfork.com/artists/4639-kanye-west/">Kanye West</a>. </p>
<p>The theory of “habitus” as presented by philosopher Pierre Bourdieu can help us understand the evolution and position of the DJ within hip hop. In <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674212770">“Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste”</a> Bourdieu <a href="http://routledgesoc.com/category/profile-tags/habitus">explains</a> the “habitus” as an embodiment of cultural capital evident within skills, disposition and attitude of members of a culture.</p>
<p>This evolution away from the DJ led to a shift in the mainstream construct of the habitus in the hip-hop production canon; yet outside this canon the underground maintains solid links to the DJ’s position evident in the sounds of America’s <a href="http://www.jurassic5.com/">Jurassic 5</a> and South Africa’s <a href="https://www.reverbnation.com/brassevanniekaap">Brasse Vannie Kaap</a>.</p>
<p>Drawing on Bourdieu’s notion there is a dislocation within the habitus of hip-hop. The underground habitus values skills, creativity and practice based on life experience, while the commercial habitus values the monetary gain that can be accrued from consolidation of such skills. </p>
<p>In the underground scene, DJs are clearly present in the final product, although all too often cuts and scratches are farmed out to DJs. These additions become decoration rather than an integral part of the song’s concept, which can drastically weaken the narrative.</p>
<h2>Return to the crew</h2>
<p>Hip-hop may benefit from a return to the crew and collective mentality, where the DJ once again is valued and plays a central creative role. This repositioning could rejuvenate the dynamic that has been gradually engineered out of hip-hop music. It can offer a counterpoint to the non-practicing promoters, agents and industry representatives who continue to drive the culture. </p>
<p>Hip-hop needs to reflect on its own origins in order to project into the future, working once again from the ground up. DJ Cash Money’s retirement should send a critical message to hip-hop practitioners worldwide. </p>
<p>The bottom line is hip-hop music cannot be sustained with rappers and producers only, nor can it continue to elevate without its original musician – the DJ –at its core.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87190/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam de Paor-Evans does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Hip-hop may benefit from a return to the crew and collective mentality, where the DJ once again is valued and plays a central creative role.Adam de Paor-Evans, Principal Lecturer in Cultural Theory / School Lead for Research and Innovation, School of Art, Design and Fashion, University of Central LancashireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.