Hip Hop Day is August 11. Hip hop is one of the musical forms that changed the whole world. Though it came up spontaneously on the streets, hip hop subconsciously fused many traditions including West African griots, European troubadours, Cuban rumba and trova, Puerto Rican bomba, and Jamaican reggae. The hip hop form gelled in the 1970s and 80s, but its American roots go way back through rhythm and blues (soul & funk), rock and roll, jazz, and the traditional blues which is the root of all American popular music.
Hip hop entered the mainstream with its first record, “Rapper’s Delight” which became a hit in 1980, but it was officially born a few years before that.
The Birth of Hip Hop
The generally accepted birthday of hip hop was a back-to-school block party in the recreation room of the residential building at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in Morris Heights, The Bronx; on August 11, 1973. It was organized by Cindy Campbell with her brother Clive Campbell (DJ Kool Herc) on the turntables.
Kool Herc was the first to use two turntables to keep the music moving, and the first to rap over his DJ set. The Campbells are Jamaican Americans, so you might think Kool Herc and his giant speakers were influenced by Jamaican soundsystem culture. Actually he said he was influenced by American soul artists like James Brown.
It’s important to acknowledge Cindy Campbell’s influence. Kool Herc got the credit, but she was the driving force behind the party. She organized and did the marketing. They charged $0.25 or $0.50 entry and made around $300. That’s 1,200 tickets. Now that’s a party! In the performing arts, we have noticed that men often get the credit, but there is usually a woman who is the driving force behind it all. It’s time to give credit, where credit is due.
Sound equipment was expensive back in the day, so for a while there were only three hip hop crews in The Bronx: Kool Herc and the Herculords, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa. The New York City Blackout of 1977 changed everything. It’s remembered as a wild night of looting, but the next day everyone had equipment and suddenly there were hundreds of hip hop crews.
Early rappers didn’t want to be recorded because they were afraid people would steal their lines. Producer Sylvia Robinson wanted to make a rap record, but nobody in The Bronx would record for her. So she put together the Sugarhill Gang out of a pizzeria in New Jersey. Their recording “Rapper’s Delight” was based in part on rhymes copied from Grandmaster Caz (Curtis Brown) and others. Artsy punk rockers started bringing hip hop downtown and everyone started grooving together.
Hip hop was created by Black kids in The Bronx, but Latin kids brought their parent’s Palladium mambo moves into breaking. If you watch videos of early breakers and the Palladium Ballroom, you can’t help but notice the same dance moves. And the “Rapper’s Delight” video opens with a dance line that includes a guy in a white disco outfit with red trim. It’s not too far a stretch from a Puerto Rican carnival vejigante costume to that disco outfit.
Oh, and Cindy and Clive really did change the world. Breaking became an Olympic sport at the Paris Olympics 2024. It all began, once upon a time in The Bronx.
Happy Hip Hop Day!