A brilliant piece by Birdgang Dance Company asked, “What is hip hop? Do I have to walk limping? Do I have to have a wardrobe full of trainers and caps? Do I have to switch lingos when I talk to my friends who embrace and do not embrace hip hop? Do I have to come from the streets to be the real hip hop? ….. Do I need to be, you know, black? If so, what shade should I go for?”
**The piece was performed in Cultural Explosions, and words are taken from my memory and not exact.**

Today I was told to understand the distinction between a Chav and an urban hip hop outfit.

Noun: chav
|chav|
Usage: UK
(informal) term for a person of working class origin, esp. one who is poorly educated, aggressive, or perceived to have poor taste or have an inferior lifestyle (usually derogatory)
≈oik, poor white trash, white trash
Derived
Noun: chavette
Adjective: chavvy
This definition is from WordWeb

That is the official definition which actually bear little resemblance to the beginnings of hip hop culture. But to me as a non-British, an outsider, chavs are those who are trying to be someone they are not just by talking about it and looking like it. (What happened to actually becoming it?)

Aren’t these what the commercialised hip hop steer you towards to? (“it’s about the trainers! Caps! Walking limping! Talk in a certain way!”)

99% of what I see everywhere “hip hop” are just the outer shell. How much of the real soul of hip hop culture do people now know? And what is the real soul of hip hop? You know, the real thing, the essence, the thing that defines you as part of the hip hop culture when you are quiet and naked? I don’t know.