Chase March – Blog
Welcome to the sounding board for Chase March. Here you will find my various articles about a variety of topics (DJ Events and news, book reviews, skatepark tours, teaching-related articles and resources, and much more)
Please use the buttons on Explore page to navigate to the topics that interest you.
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A Brief History of Hip-Hop Part 9 – The Turntable as an Instrument
Read The Introduction, Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Hip-hop started with the DJ. This is a point that I cannot emphasize enough. From the very first block parties, DJs used record players in very creative ways. They didn’t merely play a record for people to dance to. They mixed up two…
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The Key to Good Production
The key to good hip-hop is this – the music and lyrics need to work together. They need to enhance each other like a movie script and an actor. A script is great by itself but it doesn’t truly come alive until it is produced. Rap music goes way beyond beats and lyrics when it…
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Simplicity Needs to be Taught
The simple things in life need to be taught and understood. We have forgotten a lot of the simple things. We think simple doesn’t need an explanation, so we say nothing. Why waste our breath? Everyone knows, for a while, but then we forget. We’ve forgotten more than we know. Some cultures are dying out.…
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Everything is Story
If someone were to give me a test of my life, I think I would fail it. I can’t remember a lot of things that I probably should be able to. I’m often surprised when family members recall an event. I have to get them to explain in further. Sometimes this helps and I remember…
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A Brief History of Hip-Hop – Rap Gets Political
Read The Introduction, Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 In the late 1980s, we saw a shift in the lyrical content of rap songs. This new style is referred to as political rap. The emcees started to talk about real life issues. Chuck D, of the legendary group Public Enemy once referred to rap music as “the Black people’s CNN.” His…
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A Brief History of Hip-Hop – Part 7 Break Dancing
Read The Introduction, Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 In 1962 James Brown recorded his historic Live at the Appolo. His sound and performance really introduced a new form of dancing. In 1969 he recorded two songs that have had quite a lasting influence on hip hop culture; Sex Machine and Funky Drummer. His records emphasized the break down, the part…