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Hip-Hop today is a global culture that has changed music, dance, fashion, language—and even politics. But where did this worldwide cultural movement begin?
We trace hip-hop back to its humble beginnings, when the kids of the Bronx crammed into house parties, rec rooms, and public parks to hear music like they’d never heard it before.
THE FOUNDATION
Airdate: September 4th, 2016
Bronx-based DJs set Hip-Hop's sonic foundations. MCs, inspired by African American oral traditions, create the modern template for rap music, culminating with the emergence of Hip-Hop's first crew, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
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FROM THE UNDERGROUND TO THE MAINSTREAM
Airdate: September 11th, 2016
Hip-Hop crews in the Bronx and Harlem begin to form around the DJs, but these pioneering groups never record any music. It would take R&B veterans to see the genre’s commercial potential and create Hip-Hop's first hit, "Rapper's Delight."
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THE NEW GUARD
Airdate: September 18th, 2016
Run-DMC ushers in a new era of Hip-Hop. Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin build Hip-Hop's first empire, Def Jam. An unknown producer finds a new way to make beats and launches Hip-Hop's Golden Age, culminating in the epic fury of Public Enemy.
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THE BIRTH OF GANGSTA RAP
Airdate: September 25th, 2016
Ice-T uses Hip-Hop to reflect the violence of Los Angeles and inspires a new form of Hip-Hop: Gangsta Rap. N.W.A’s first album, Straight Outta Compton, shocks America. After the LA Rebellion, Dr. Dre makes The Chronic, and creates Hip-Hop’s first hardcore pop record.
Watch on HBOFeatured Artists
Grandmaster Flash
- Born:
- JANUARY 1, 1958
Bronx, New York - Claim to fame:
- Pioneered hip-hop style DJing
- BIOGRAPHY
- Joseph Saddler, better known as Grandmaster Flash, was the first DJ to look at a turntable and see an instrument, pioneering DJing techniques like cutting, mixing, and scratching. His group, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, was one of the first to combine a central DJ with a crew of MCs, and was the first hip-hop group ever to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
Kool Herc
- Born:
- April 16, 1955
Kingston, Jamaica - Claim to fame:
- First to play breakbeats.
- BIOGRAPHY
- Clive Campbell, known to the world as Kool Herc, was the first DJ to focus on playing the drum solos on records—”the breaks”—and to play those “breaks” back-to-back. This instrumental innovation laid the foundation for hip-hop and earned him the title of “The Father of Hip-Hop.”
Afrika Bambaataa
- Born:
- April 17, 1957
- Claim to fame:
- Founder of Universal Zulu Nation
- BIOGRAPHY
- A former member of the Bronx’s infamous Black Spades gang Bambaataa decided to change his ways after winning a trip to Africa and formed the socially and politically-aware movement known as Universal Zulu Nation. The Zulu Nation brought together various street organizations with the goal of creating peace and unity through music, art, and dance. Eventually, the Zulus would group the practices of graffiti, DJing, MCing, and b-boying together, and call it all “hip-hop.”
Coke La Rock
- Born:
- April 24, 1955
- Claim to fame:
- Credited as the first MC in hip-hop history
- BIOGRAPHY
- Kool Herc’s right hand man, Coke La Rock, was a street poet who rocked the mic at Herc’s legendary Bronx parties in the early 1970s. Coke’s influences varied from radio DJs to spoken word poets—but it was his own special street vernacular that cemented his legacy. Despite having never recorded music, Coke La Rock’s vocals have had a ripple effect that can be traced all the way into modern day hip-hop.
DJ HOLLYWOOD
- Born:
- December 10, 1956
- Claim to fame:
- Pioneering DJ and rapper
- BIOGRAPHY
- Hugely popular in 1970s’ Harlem, Hollywood became famous throughout NYC for his party-rocking skills on the mic. To many, Hollywood’s rhythmic rhyming style makes him the first rapper, but his close association with disco music has created a complicated legacy.
MELLE MEL
- Born:
- May 15, 1961
- Claim to fame:
- Wrote the first socially aware hip-hop hit
- BIOGRAPHY
- The lead MC of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Melle Mel was a dominant force in early hip-hop. His 1982 street opus, “The Message”, was the first rap songs to garner critical acclaim from the mainstream and is still considered one of best hip-hop songs of all-time.
Grandmaster Caz
- Born:
- Claim to fame:
- Pioneering hip-hop MC
- BIOGRAPHY
- Grandmaster Caz was the lead MC of the massively influential hip-hop crew, The Cold Crush Brothers. Caz is also the original author of one of the verses on the megahit, “Rapper’s Delight,” a song he never received credit or money for.
Shad
Shadrach Kabango is a critically-acclaimed Canadian hip-hop artist and broadcaster. Born in Kenya to Rwandan parents, Shad was raised in London, Ontario. He holds a business degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and a master's degree in liberal studies from Simon Fraser University. He self-financed his first album in 2005, and went on to release four more albums between 2008 and 2013. Winning a Juno in 2011, he was most recently the host of CBC Radio One’s arts program q.
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