Important Figures & Founders
Afrika Bambaataa's personal history parallels the cultural history of hip-hop, since he was there in the beginning as one of the first street deejays (DJ) to achieve recording industry attention as well. Many may believe that Bambaataa's contribution is small, but he has been in the "rap game" since its inception. Steven Hager, writing for the Village Voice, identified Bambaataa as "founder and number one DJ of the mighty Zulu Nation." Ian Pye called him "a cornerstone of black street culture" in Melody Maker in 1983. He has become a sought after DJ as well as a historian for the generations that have followed since the 1980s.
Clive Campbell, better known by his handle DJ Kool Herc, is credited with creating the hip-hop genre at a house party in the Bronx in 1973. He used two turntables to spin records, emphasizing and extending the percussion-heavy breaks in a song. In 2023, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Influence category.
Grandmaster Flash was one of originators of hip-hop, a key figure in the development of the role of the DJ in the genre, and an early master of the arts of mixing and scratching. He began a disc jockey and later lead the group "Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five." He won several Hip Hop Honors and Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, and was inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2007
The song heard on the radio in 1979 was "Rapper's Delight." It was fifteen minutes long and brought hip-hop and the culture of rap to the forefront of attention. The Sugarhill Gang was composed of Guy O'Brien, Michael Wright, and Henry Jackson who went by their rap names, Master Gee, Wonder Mike, and Big Bank Hank, respectively. The story of their formation and the release and success of "Rapper's Delight" is rife with speculation and intrigue.
American rapper Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) stands out as one of the most influential and commercially successful hip‐hop artists of the late 20th century. An exemplar of the “gangsta rap” style that flourished in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Shakur became a controversial figure for his violent lyrics and encounters with the law even as critics hailed his musical talents. Public interest in the artist and musical output remained strong, particularly after Shakur's unsolved murder.
Notorious B.I.G. fully embodied the gangsta life he portrayed on his rap albums. A former crack dealer and convict, B.I.G. rapped his way to a better life only to lose that life to the street violence he could not leave behind. At age 24 he became the victim of a drive-by shooting--the second death connected to a purported deadly feud between rap music's East Coast and West Coast factions, which had claimed the life of rapper Tupac Shakur only months before. B.I.G.'s death cut short a career that promised to propel him into the upper echelons of the music business. His posthumous second album--ironically and prophetically titled Life After Death--confirmed that the heavyweight rapper had the potential to be big on the music charts.
Videos and Podcasts
I Was There When House Took Over The World: House Was Born
How social unrest and Chicago's underground gay clubs led to a global dance movement. This documentary about the history of house music explores the origins of the genre, and features interviews with Nile Rodgers, Traxman, Jesse Saunders, Honey Dijon and Marshall Jefferson.
