Origins of Hip Hop music are more complex than the former music genres reviewed in earlier posts. With strong roots in the West African's oral tradition, it was born in the Bronx in the 70s with the contribution of a Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc. DJ Kool Herc , formerly performing in Kingston did the same thing in New York but instead of using Reggae music like he used to, played Funk music which was very popular at the time in America. DJ Kool Herc became well known for playing in loud block parties which were an adaptation of Jamaican "sound systems", and would focus on the break section of the songs, thus bringing out the beat of them. He would buy two copies of the same record and then play them on separate turntables and loop the best break parts of the songs as desired, which resulted in making them groovier. DJ Kool Herc's would punctuate his work with verbal encouragements to the dancers, known as "toasting" back in Jamaica which became more and more structured shifting into organized rhymed spoken lines leading to the birth of what is now known as Rapping.DJ Kool also had dancers called break boys or girls (b-boys,b-girls).The notions of looping,freestyling,sampling, scratching and DJing all came from this popular movement. Even the use of Graffiti was associated with the rising popularity of Hip Hop in the American culture. DJ Kool Herc,himself was part of a graffiti crew called the Ex-vandals.Later on, other artists inspired by DJ Kool Herc's performances followed his steps, Grand Master Flash and Afrika Bambaataa, founder of the "Zulu Nation" would play in New York well known venues.The commercialization of Hip Hop in the music industry started with the creation of the "Sugar Hill Gang" recording the hit song "Rapper's Delight" in 1979. Among the most influential rappers of the 80s are Kurtis Blow, Big Daddy kane, Eric B. and Rakim, Run DMC, Slick Rick.......
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