Hip-hop history: From DJ Kool Herc to a global musical force

Hip-hop traces its origins to an August 11, 1973, event in the Bronx, where DJ Kool Herc hosted a seven-hour party that is credited with birthing the genre. Over five decades later, hip-hop has evolved into a dominant global culture and the most lucrative music genre, encompassing emceeing, DJing, breaking, graffiti art, and street knowledge.

While the 1973 party is a landmark, the genre's commercial breakthrough occurred in the late 1970s. The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” in September 1979 brought hip-hop into the Billboard Top 40, and Kurtis Blow became the first solo rap star to achieve Gold status. These milestones paved the way for influential artists such as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Run-DMC, LL Cool J, and Public Enemy.

Musical elements of hip-hop, including spoken word, jive talking, and record-scratching, were influenced by predecessors such as disco, funk, jazz, and soul.