Backpacker (term)
Encyclopedia
Backpacker is a term usually used for people who listen to underground
hip-hop/rap.
artist who always wore a backpack containing his music collection and, more importantly, his spraypaint cans
, markers, and spray tips
. Typically, the music collection would consist of local underground rap/hip-hop
music artists. The term gradually came to refer to someone with this musical taste, and now has almost nothing to do with graffiti (although certain "backpackers" may participate in graffiti "tagging.")
It has come full circle now and is sometimes used as a derogatory term by the mainstream to describe underground hip hop fans.
Underground hip hop
Underground hip hop is an umbrella term for hip hop music outside the general commercial canon. It is typically associated with independent artists, signed toindependent labels or no label at all....
hip-hop/rap.
History
"Backpacker" was originally a slang term from the 1980s for a graffitiGraffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
artist who always wore a backpack containing his music collection and, more importantly, his spraypaint cans
Aerosol paint
Aerosol paint is a type of paint that comes in a sealed pressurized container and is released in a fine spray mist when depressing a valve button. A form of spray painting, aerosol paint leaves a smooth, evenly coated surface, unlike many rolled or brushed paints. Standard sized cans are portable,...
, markers, and spray tips
Spray nozzle
A spray nozzle is a precision device that facilitates dispersion of liquid into a spray. Nozzles are used for three purposes: to distribute a liquid over an area, to increase liquid surface area, and create impact force on a solid surface...
. Typically, the music collection would consist of local underground rap/hip-hop
Underground hip hop
Underground hip hop is an umbrella term for hip hop music outside the general commercial canon. It is typically associated with independent artists, signed toindependent labels or no label at all....
music artists. The term gradually came to refer to someone with this musical taste, and now has almost nothing to do with graffiti (although certain "backpackers" may participate in graffiti "tagging.")
It has come full circle now and is sometimes used as a derogatory term by the mainstream to describe underground hip hop fans.