The early stages of Hip Hop were very small and brittle. There were only a select number of revolutionary pioneering artists, originating from South Bronx, New York. It was quite an experimental scene, with large influences from both Funk and Disco. Hip Hop did not originate from nightclubs, but at spontaneous outdoors neighbourhood parties. Friendly breakdance battles, fought between different dance crews and pioneering Hip Hop groups, contributed to a vibe of joy and exuberance at these sound system parties – a scene of something grand stirring on the horizon. Pioneering rappers took existing Disco or Funk records, sampled the instrumental parts, and rapped on top of the beat. The criticism that Hip Hop lacks originality due to its excessive use of sampling can hardly be justified when one looks at the absurd fusion of completely unrelated techniques and genres in Old School Rap – mixing and scratching (a completely new technique) of the most rare Funk records one can find, toasting over it, and eventually being influenced by the most innovative electronic music of all time.