DJ Kool Herc

The youth needed an outlet - a unifying sound, a beat, a voice to call their own. A year later, bored as hell, I quit. And with that, Hip Hop was born. It was December of 1984 and they found nothing but love on both sides of the English Channel. My policy was to provide a stage for the music that promoters were ignoring: punk-rock, reggae, and rap.

DJ Kool Herc

The progression of this culture and sound - from Kool Herc spinning James Brown breaks at a block party to Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Drake being some of the biggest forces in music 44 years later - is something that few people at that first party could have anticipated. Hip Hop has done exactly what its founders set out to do, whether wittingly or unwittingly. . I first engaged with Hip Hop music about ten years after its birth, when the culture was still a kid. Specifically, they felt that the relatable storytelling and emotional truths shared in soul and blues had been lost in the pop-centric sounds of Disco. Following the fallout from the construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway in 1972 that demolished a lot of the neighborhood, times were particularly tough.

Dj Kool Herc

It should be noted that early Hip Hop stood against the violence and drug culture that pervaded the time. It turned out to be a winning strategy. During his set, he decided to do something different. Ultimately, to me, it shows that people in any situation have the ability to create something powerful and meaningful. On a whim, I rented an abandoned hall and started booking shows. Today, we celebrate the 44th anniversary of that very moment with a first-of-its-kind Doodle featuring a custom logo graphic by famed graffiti artist , interactive turntables on which users can mix samples from legendary tracks, and a serving of Hip Hop history - with an emphasis on its founding pioneers. But with acts selling out shows around the globe night after night, it was obvious that something bigger was brewing.

DJ Kool Herc

To the rock establishment and corporate music business, hip hop was little more than a fad. Down with Dope,' 'I Will Survive' and 'Lord, Show Me the Way! It placed an accessible culture, relatable to any marginalized group in the world, at the forefront of music. . . . .