STORY / ID 4918
DJ Kool Herc's 1973 Back-to-School Party: The Night Hip-Hop Began
Born Clive Campbell on April 16, 1955, in Kingston, Jamaica, DJ Kool Herc emigrated to The Bronx in 1967 and settled at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, where he developed breakbeat DJing around 1973 and is reported to have DJed a party with his sister Cindy on August 11, 1973. Credited with coining the terms 'b-boy' and 'b-girl' and with influencing Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on November 3, 2023, in the Musical Influence Award category.
DJ Kool Herc, born Clive Campbell on April 16, 1955, in Kingston, Jamaica, emigrated to The Bronx, New York City in 1967 at age 13 and lived at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. His basketball stature earned him the nickname ‘Hercules’, which later evolved into his stage name.
Around 1973, he developed breakbeat DJing, a technique of isolating and extending the percussive ‘break’ in funk records using two turntables. He is reported to have DJed at a party hosted with his sister Cindy on August 11, 1973. He is also credited with coining the terms ‘b-boy’ and ‘b-girl’.
DJ Kool Herc is said to have influenced Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash, though he himself did not move into commercially recorded hip hop.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on November 3, 2023, in the Musical Influence Award category.