Rchecka & Uptownkid's Periodic Table of the Hip Hop Elements

[mr ed]

fun idea. i'd certainly like one of those t-shirts, as long as they're not white. I don't suit white tees.

[nike]

1. waste of time.

2. you cant spell "graffiti".

[JayQuan]

Cool...only comments I have is that im not sure that its gonna work on a shirt. There's so much goin' on that unless someone really stares at it , and takes the time to read it they wont get it. Like Donny Cash I really have forgotten all my chemistry sh*t , so I really cant appreciate fully the genius behind it.....Only other thing is that I dont like the N word being there...Good luck with your project.....

[isaac]

Jayquans on the money with putting this on a t-shirt...

i would like to know just how you plan on fitting it all on
there with text over 3 point high....haha

maybe you could have a cape on the back that folded out
on both sides ala BATMAN and the whole thing could be
viewed as such...

also, Donny, EVERYBODY forgets the f*cking table of elements
if you dont work with it in your career or what not....

BTW: they were talking about updating it 2 years back i think...
linkage
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a3/ChemicalGalaxy_Stewart_2004.jpg

[mr ed]

I vote for a cape like Isaac said.

[rchecka]

Isaac and Didas:

Thanks guys for your thoughtful comments, unfortunately placing elements was a battle. I tried to associate colors (like the diagonal light blue elements) as well as the vertical columns. Uptown and I threw a few elements away simply because they didn't fit elegantly in the lines. Eventually we decided to leave well enough alone at the end of it all since we thought all the elements belonged somewhere. If you have an idea of specifically what element should move where then you have to move a different element somewhere else, so it becomes a real challenge. I'll be happy to shuffle things around if you have specific suggestions.
I really appreciate all you guys taking a moment to peep it. Great comments.

Will the T shirts be made by children in China? or will it be made of organic coton manufactured by US adults? Anyway, I really don't like the business/copyright aspect of this (very good) idea. This is not hip hop at all.

It's funny you should ask that, we had the option to have them done cheaper in China, but we have a reliable shirt retailer right here in my state that offered us an unbeatable price for quality thread T's so we couldn't say no to that.

I disagree with "This is not hip hop at all"...
In response I have 2 elements for you... "Se" Street Entrepreneur and "Mo" Money

^When those 2 elements materialize, then it's Hip Hop.

1. waste of time.

Thanks for your comment, my Human Resources representative at my old job said the exact same thing to me.

2. you cant spell "graffiti".

I appreciate you pointing that out before this went to print. Countless hours staring at this and P and I never saw that.

Cool...only comments I have is that im not sure that its gonna work on a shirt. There's so much goin' on that unless someone really stares at it , and takes the time to read it they wont get it. Like Donny Cash I really have forgotten all my chemistry sh*t , so I really cant appreciate fully the genius behind it.....Only other thing is that I dont like the N word being there...Good luck with your project.....

Thanks Jay, I appreciate it. I think that's why we'll do posters too, so that kids in dorm rooms can look at it and read it whenever.

The truth is, Chemistry knowledge isn't important in understanding this table, but it definitely doesn't hurt you either.

N-word was one of those negative elements... some of which we left off, others, like this one has always been controversial enough to stir up countless message board discussions. Actually at the time we did this Nas was dropping his last album so it seemed fitting to include it. One negative element we excluded was "Video Ho", for obvious reasons, me and P left that one off.


Thanks for your contributions guys!

[topp32]

Goes to show.. you put your mind to it, you can get anything done.. and I guarentee these shirts would sell...have you seen what kinda crap they put out now on shirts that sell? I think the concept and idea is great, I could relate to it only so much though.. like everyone else I forgot my elements too.. .but hey.. a small investment for something that may gain larger returns..

[troylsmith21]

Keep brainstorming, I can't see why this can not be in the back of mags and books and across the planet with a cult following in years to come . (And I don't mean in a negative way when I say Cult.) peace













Troy L. From HARLEM, One

[nike]

how much money do you want if a mag wants to print it?

[5 Grand]

I was thinking about this "Hip Hop periodic table" concept today.

Somebody mentioned earlier that they were expecting BX and BK to stand for Bronx and Brooklyn, but they stood for something else.

I think you absolutely gotta have a category for the 5 Boroughs

1. Bronx (BX or Pelan)
2. Harlem (Manhattan or Mecca)
3. Queens (The Dessert or Iraq)
4. Brooklyn (BK or Medina)
5. Staten Island (Shaolin)
6. Long Island (Strong Island)
7. New Jersey (NJ or New Jerusalem)
8. Philadelphia (Illadelph)
9. Compton (CPT or LA - Love Allah)
10. Atlanta, GA (Hotlanta or Allah's Garden)

Those are probably the main cities of Hip Hop. Truthfully Atlanta doesn't need to be there, but I'd definately include the 5 Boroughs and Long Island, which makes 6. New Jersey, Philadelphia and Compton made contributions to Hip Hop in the 80s. There's alot of cities that popped off in the 90s like New Orleans or Houston, but they didn't have much of a contribution to old school Hip Hop. I'd love to see Boston get a shout out, but realistically Boston's contribution to Hip Hop is minimal at best.

[nike]

south central is more important than compton.

[~J~C~O)))]

fun idea. i'd certainly like one of those t-shirts, as long as they're not white. I don't suit white tees.

Because you're such a sloppy eater?

[neb dirty]

10. Atlanta, GA (Hotlanta or Allah's Garden)

No one says "Hotlanta" these days, 5G - we say "A-Town" .

[beatlover]

This isn't the kind of thing that interests me, but I hope you get everything you desire from the work you put in.

[rchecka]

Goes to show.. you put your mind to it, you can get anything done.. and I guarentee these shirts would sell...have you seen what kinda crap they put out now on shirts that sell? I think the concept and idea is great, I could relate to it only so much though.. like everyone else I forgot my elements too.. .but hey.. a small investment for something that may gain larger returns..

Hey man, I appreciate your encouragement, seriously.

Ed, if you are as sloppy of an eater as me, or gets yellow armpit stains easilly, I can see why you'd avoid white. We'll have other colors later, but we're starting out basic white.

Keep brainstorming, I can't see why this can not be in the back of mags and books and across the planet with a cult following in years to come . (And I don't mean in a negative way when I say Cult.) peace

Troy L, that's an interesting idea, but I can honestly tell you I haven't put any thought into it. How would one even start looking into that and what would that be worth? PM me any ideas you may have, if you got time. Good to hear your input on this.

I was thinking about this "Hip Hop periodic table" concept today.

Somebody mentioned earlier that they were expecting BX and BK to stand for Bronx and Brooklyn, but they stood for something else.

I think you absolutely gotta have a category for the 5 Boroughs

1. Bronx (BX or Pelan)
2. Harlem (Manhattan or Mecca)
3. Queens (The Dessert or Iraq)
4. Brooklyn (BK or Medina)
5. Staten Island (Shaolin)
6. Long Island (Strong Island)
7. New Jersey (NJ or New Jerusalem)
8. Philadelphia (Illadelph)
9. Compton (CPT or LA - Love Allah)
10. Atlanta, GA (Hotlanta or Allah's Garden)

Those are probably the main cities of Hip Hop. Truthfully Atlanta doesn't need to be there, but I'd definately include the 5 Boroughs and Long Island, which makes 6. New Jersey, Philadelphia and Compton made contributions to Hip Hop in the 80s. There's alot of cities that popped off in the 90s like New Orleans or Houston, but they didn't have much of a contribution to old school Hip Hop. I'd love to see Boston get a shout out, but realistically Boston's contribution to Hip Hop is minimal at best.

5G, thanks for your idea. I thought about that. But truth is, if you start naming cities as "elements" where would you draw the line? You'll notice P and I put thought into the various larger regions though and gave special props to the NYC. Obviously East Coast is first, Block Party is He for Herc, and a Graf head's moving canvas is abbreviated Ny. So we kept it simple and mentioned East, West, South in honor of the larger distinctly different entities cultures and sounds. We coulda done No Coast for Midwest Hip Hop (WISCOMPTON IN DA HOWS!), Canadian Hip Hop, Ecuadorian Hip Hop, but you gotta draw the line somewhere. Likewise the commercial products mentioned are the most recognizable across the globe. Tommy was HUGE even in Wiscompton. Mentioning Cristal and mentioning the word Hip Hop in the same sentence is expected. My point is we want the table to be as universally accepted as much as possible knowing there will be disagreement no matter what. At least some heads will be on board that way.

Thanks for your comments guys.