bernard
THEE Realist
DJ Kool Herc invents hip-hop
The musical and cultural movement that would become known to the world as hip-hop began on Aug. 11, 1973, inside a recreation room at 1520 Sedgwick Ave., a 102-unit residential apartment complex in the Bronx borough of New York City. Yet when Cindy Campbell decided to throw the now legendary party credited as the big bang of rap music, making history was the last thing on her mind; she simply wanted to raise money to buy new clothes for kids for the upcoming school year. And she knew the best person to draw the type of enthusiastic crowd needed: Cindy’s 18-year-old brother, Clive “DJ Kool Herc” Campbell.As the most sampled artist in rap history, Brown laid the break beat foundation for hip-hop. Even in ’74, when critics questioned whether the Godfather of Soul still had it, he delivered the effortless “Funky President (People It’s Bad),” which ranks among his all-time most mined tracks. Elements of the strutting workout’s elastic drums, soul-power vocals and slinky guitars have been lifted by the likes of Eric B. & Rakim (“Eric B. Is President”), Salt-N-Pepa (“Shake Your Thang”), Public Enemy (“Fight the Power”) and Kanye West (“Clique”). — K.M.
James Brown releases “Funky President (People It’s Bad)”
As the most sampled artist in rap history, Brown laid the break beat foundation for hip-hop. Even in ’74, when critics questioned whether the Godfather of Soul still had it, he delivered the effortless “Funky President (People It’s Bad),” which ranks among his all-time most mined tracks. Elements of the strutting workout’s elastic drums, soul-power vocals and slinky guitars have been lifted by the likes of Eric B. & Rakim (“Eric B. Is President”), Salt-N-Pepa (“Shake Your Thang”), Public Enemy (“Fight the Power”) and Kanye West (“Clique”). — K.M.Grand Wizzard Theodore invents scratching
Like just about everything else in hip-hop, the technique of scratching records is an art form born of limitation. In 1975 (as best remembered), a tween DJ named Theodore Livingstone — called Grand Wizzard Theodore for his precocious talent — was practicing his craft at his Bronx home. He had “Bongo Rock” from the Incredible Bongo Band cued up when his mom yelled at him to turn it down, and he accidentally nudged the record, making an audible rip in the playback. It was wrong but kind of interesting.Lee Quiñones tags a 10-car subway train
Hip-hop, as a nascent subculture, encompassed many art forms, graffiti being one of the most visible and divisive. With a spray can in the right hands, it was a thrilling reclamation of urban space, a defiant declaration that you exist here, right now.No single piece of graffiti art was more important than Quiñones’ daredevil project on a New York City subway in 1976. The Puerto Rico-born Quiñones and the Fabulous Five crew were a respected underground street-art team. But his audacious plan to tag up an entire 10-car subway train — widely acknowledged as one of the first to ever try it — would make his career as a hip-hop folk hero. Mickey Mouse, a Christmas tableau, a desert landscape — a utilitarian piece of public infrastructure suddenly became a global symbol of a new art form.
The 50 greatest moments in hip-hop history
As hip-hop celebrates its 50th anniversary on Aug. 11, The Times looks back at the artists, songs and innovations that changed the course of popular culture.
www.latimes.com
