This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and XXL has celebrated the culture with a variety of content across publishing and digital platforms.
What is hip-hop and how did it begin?
Fundamentally, hip-hop started in a rec room at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, N.Y. on Aug. 11, 1973. DJ Kool Herc, born Clive Campbell, and his sister, Cindy Campbell were throwing a back to school party to raise some pocket money.
Herc was famous playing long DJ sets where he would isolate the percussive sections of popular funk and R&B records that are considered a “breakbeat” in the song. While people danced to rhythm breaks from James Brown, Herc would grab the microphone and chant words to get people to sing along.
“[The power of the DJ] is to motivate the crowd, man. It’s to have the insight to motivate the crowd,” Kool Herc told Red Bull Music Academy in 2018. “To have the crowd at your fingertips. To control the crowd. That’s the best f**kin’ power, man.”
A year later, in 1974, the late rap legend Lovebug Starski (born Kevin Smith), who is considered the first MC and DJ from the Bronx, coined the phrase “hip-hop” while trading lines with Cowboy of the Furious Five.
“That was one of my rhymes when I would get stuck for words and I used to go ‘hip, hop, the hip, the hip, hip the hopping,” he said in 2017. “You know it was just a nursery rhyme that coincided with the music, and that’s the God’s honest truth.”
On Lovebug Starski’s song “Gangster Rock” — where he recorded under the rap alias Little Starkey — he rapped the phrase “hip, hop, hippity, hop, hip, hop, she-bop, bang.” The “hip-hop” phrase would later be popularized by the first successful rap song in the genre – “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang in 1979.
DJ Kool Herc‘s parties helped shape the foundation of hip-hop, including the DJ culture. Fellow hip-hop pioneers DJ Grand Wizard Theodore and DJ Grandmaster Flash would introduce scratching and the technique of looping two records together on two turntables. Essentially, making the turntables a musical instrument within itself.
In its 50 years of existence, hip-hop has been an inventive force in arts, music and culture.
How Is XXL Celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop?
XXL is planing to produce a plethora of 50th anniversary content this year. Several hip-hop icons will be honored with special Legends cover series.
Recently, Lil Kim was a cover girl for the Legend series. The Brooklyn rhymer discussed her legendary career in rap, the late Notorious B.I.G. and the future of hip-hop.
Bronx legend Fat Joe also received the Legends cover treatment. In an expansive interview, The 30-year rap veteran shared some of his iconic moments in hip-hop history and reflected on his late friend Big Pun.
Women’s contributions to hip-hop dates far back as the late 1970s with MC Sha-Rock recognized as hip-hop’s first female MC. XXL honors 15 women rappers who made hip-hop history and created a playlist of 60 essential songs from women in hip-hop culture.
We can’t forget about the producers in hip-hop. Our curated playlists of the greatest beats in hip-hop and beats made by respected producers in the rap game will have you nodding your head for hours.
Check out some of the visual content in celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary below.