FILE - The front of 1520 Sedgwick Ave. is seen in the Bronx section of New York, July 23, 2007. Before it was a global movement, it was simply an expression of life and struggle: a culture that was synonymous with hardship and suffering, but also grit, resilience and creativity. Clive Campbell, also known as DJ Kool Herc, threw a back-to-school party with his younger sister in the recreation room of the apartment building one August day in 1973. Herc introduced the attendees to “the break” – extending the musical beat between verses? to allow for longer periods of dancing. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file)
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On August 11, 1973, Clive “DJ Kool Herc” Campbell’s mixes at his baby sister’s back-to-school party ignited a cultural revolution that would reshape the musical landscape.
In 2021, New York Senator Chuck Schumer spearheaded the Senate’s unanimous approval of Resolution 331, a bill that officially designated Aug. 11 as “Hip Hop Celebration Day,” August as “Hip Hop Recognition Month,” and November as “Hip Hop History Month.”
A mural at the birthplace of Hip Hop at Bronx’s Sedgwick Houses, features an image of the genre’s creator DJ Kool Herc, Wednesday July 26, 2023, in New York. Hip-hop rose from the ashes of a borough ablaze with poverty, urban decay and gang violence. From breaking to graffiti “writing” to MC-ing or rapping, the block parties and various elements of hip-hop served as an outlet for creativity and an escape from the hardships of daily life. The movement expanded beyond the Bronx, across New York City and to different parts of the country. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)FILE – DJ Kool Herc speaks at a news conference to launch “Hip-Hop Won’t Stop: The Beat, The Rhymes, The Life,” the first ever hip-hop initiative at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in New York, Feb. 28, 2006. In the five decades since hip-hop emerged out of New York City, it has spread around the country and the world. Those looking for a hip-hop starting point have landed on one, turning this year into a 50th-birthday celebration. Aug. 11, 1973 was the date a young Clive Campbell, known as DJ Kool Herc around his Bronx stomping grounds, deejayed a back-to-school party for his younger sister in the community room of an apartment building on Sedgwick Avenue. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, file)
As we commemorate this milestone, we honor the pioneers, artists, and communities that have propelled hip-hop into a global phenomenon. Happy 50 anniversary to hip hop!
Clay Cane is an award-winning journalist, writer, radio host, and political commentator. A graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in African-American Studies, his work on race, culture, and politics have appeared in national publications, including the Washington Post, CNN, and The Grio. Clay is a regular political commentator on MSNBC.
