1. Hip Hop’s Birth Father
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The start of hip-hop is credited to Clive Campbell, aka Hercules, aka DJ Kool Herc.
2. The Party Where It All Began
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Plainly enough, Hip Hop began at a back-to-school party Herc threw on August 11, 1973. He decided to use two turntables to extend the instrumental portions (aka breaks) of the songs he played, while people danced and MCs gave shoutouts over the music.
3. Before It Was Called ‘Hip Hop’
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Prior to the term ‘hip hop,’ the genre of music was reportedly called disco rap.
4. Coining Hip Hop’s Name
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Variations of the term ‘hip hop’ reportedly date back to the 1950s, but according to legend, Cowboy of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five used ‘hip hop’ to mimic a friend who joined the U.S. Army. It was supposed to sound like the cadence of a marching band.
5. Break Dancing
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The term ‘break dancing’ was also born from Kool Herc’s ‘breakbeat’ DJ’ing. He called the dancers ‘break boys’ (b-boys) and ‘break girls’ (b-girls). They were described as ‘breaking’ when they danced.
6. ‘Breaking’
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Fittingly, the term ‘breaking’ was also a slang word for getting excited.
7. Location, Location, Location
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Herc’s party was thrown at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx. Here’s a photo of his old spot more recently in 2016.
