Happy Birthday, Hip Hop!

Today, we celebrate the birth of not only a musical genre, but of a movement. 

Most people think that their birthday takes precedent over others; narcissism is just a sad caveat of our consistently self-serving society. But, true rap fans can put one date ahead of their own: the anniversary of Hip Hop’s genesis.

Sure, Hip Hop’s technical start date is subject to discussion, but the widely accepted theory is that is started on August 11, 1973 in Bronx, NY—a fitting location for the genre’s origination. Started by Clive Campbell, better known as DJ Kool Herc, he perceptively studied the party’s crowd, surveilling their dancing habits and their interactions with the music. Noticing an increased response to pure rhythms, he decided to convert a turn table’s intended function of smoothly transitioning records to switching between two copies of one record, effectively emphasizing the short drum breaks and rhythms. He gave the crowd what they wanted to hear. Now, we all have the luxury of enjoying Hip Hop’s enticing draw.

What started at a small Bronx apartment 44-years ago has leaked to the masses, positioning Hip Hop as today’s most popular musical form. The style has evolved remarkably over the years through continued stylistic incorporation, supplementing this malleable genre while never straying too far from its roots: rhythms and beats.

It’s been a great several decades, Hip Hop. Here’s to many more.