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Kool DJ Herc

Kool DJ Herc's Genre:

Old-School Rap, Rap

Biography

Kool DJ Herc is the originator of breakbeat DJing, essentially the essence of hip-hop. By isolating and repeating the "breaks," or most danceable parts, of funk records by Mandrill, James Brown, and the Jimmy Castor Bunch, Herc created the prototype for modern-day hip-hop. Though others such as Grandmaster Flash perfected and elevated the technique, it was Herc who is credited for its creation.

Beginning his DJing career in the early '70s at a time when disco was king, Herc immediately distinguished himself by spinning late-'60s funk records of James Brown and Mandrill and isolating their breaks. Among other things, Herc was notorious for throwing all-night parties and invariably present at a Kool Herc party during mid-'70s were usually young dancers (called b-boys) who were early incarnations of the breakdancers of the '80s. Another Kool Herc attraction was his mammoth sound system which was capable of overtaking a party-goer's body, making them literally feel the music.

Herc's career was sidelined, however, when he was stabbed at one of his parties, causing the DJ to curb his activities for several years. Though he was occasionally acknowledged during the '90s -- appearing at the Source Awards to talk about hip-hop's early days as well as on the 1994 release Super Bad by Public Enemy DJ Terminator X -- Herc drifted away from the hip-hop community and ceased to be a key player in the same way he was in the early to mid-'70s. ~ Steve Kurutz, Rovi

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Kool DJ Herc

This station plays the best music from and music from related artists like Grandmaster Melle Mel, Cold Crush Brothers, Treacherous Three, Spoonie Gee, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, Funky 4 + 1, Grandmixer D.ST, Kurtis Blow, Whodini and more.

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Artists Related to Kool DJ Herc (50)

	Grandmaster Melle Mel	Lyrical leader of the original Furious Five and founder of a splinter version of the group during the mid-'80s, Melle Mel wrote many of the legendary raps featured on Grandmaster Flash tracks.
	Cold Crush Brothers	The Cold Crush Brothers were one of the first rap crews to emerge from the Bronx soon after hip-hop's birth in the mid-'70s.
	Treacherous Three	One of the first rap groups on record, Treacherous Three recorded for both of the major old school labels (Enjoy, Sugar Hill) and introduced a faster style of rapping (dubbed speed rapping) that influenced the later course of hip-hop.
	Spoonie Gee	Spoonie Gee was the nephew of veteran R&B producer Bobby Robinson and one of the earliest rap artists.
	Afrika Bambaataa	A seminal Bronx DJ during the 1970s, Afrika Bambaataa ascended to godfather status with Planet Rock, the 1982 hip-hop classic which blended the beats of hip-hop with techno-pop futurism inspired by German pioneers Kraftwerk.
	Grandmaster Flash	DJ Grandmaster Flash and his group the Furious Five were hip-hop's greatest innovators, transcending the genre's party-music origins to explore the full scope of its lyrical and sonic horizons.
	Funky 4 + 1	Funky 4 + 1 were one of the first hip-hop groups that contained a female MC and were certainly the first group of their kind that released records commercially.
	Grandmixer D.ST	A true showman, Grandmixer D.ST (also known as D.ST and D.XT) was not only one of the most precise DJs and record scratchers of the '80s, but also one of the most entertaining to watch.
	Kurtis Blow	As the first commercially successful rap artist, Kurtis Blow is a towering figure in hip-hop history.
	Whodini	Coming out of the fertile early-'80s New York rap scene, Whodini were one of the first rap groups to add a straight R&B twist to their music, thus laying the groundwork for the new jack swing movement.
	U.T.F.O.	U.T.F.O. was a Brooklyn, NY-based rap group, comprised of the Kangol Kid, Doctor Ice, the Educated Rapper, and Mix Master Ice.
	Boogie Boys	A Harlem rap ensemble, the Boogie Boys scored one big hit in 1985 with "A Fly Girl," for Capitol, that peaked at number six on the R&B charts.
	DJ Red Alert	A popular radio personality and rap archivist, Red Alert is known for breaking the careers of many in hip-hop's elite, including Boogie Down Productions, Black Sheep, A Tribe Called Quest, and the Jungle Brothers.
	Busy Bee	First coming on the scene in 1977, New York-based MC Busy Bee has worked with many of hip-hop's founding fathers, including Melle Mel, Afrika Bambaataa, and Kool DJ AJ to name a few.
	Crash Crew	The six-man Crash Crew recorded a few old school anthems, one of which ("High Powered Rap") was released before Grandmaster Flash found a hit with the same jam (as "Freedom").
	The Real Roxanne	Following the massive success of U.T.F.O.'s "Roxanne, Roxanne" single in late 1984 and early 1985, over 100 answer records appeared, and several female rappers adopted the Roxanne alias; the Real Roxanne (born Adelaida Martinez) was perhaps the most talented of the bunch and really only had to contend with Roxanne Shanté for the title.
	The Fat Boys	One of early rap's most successful acts, the Fat Boys parlayed a combined weight of over 750 pounds into a comic novelty act that sustained them through several albums and hit singles.
	Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three	Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three were responsible for "The Roof Is on Fire" -- one of the most memorable old-school party jams -- a number five dance hit from 1985.
	The Sugarhill Gang	Though the Sugarhill Gang inaugurated the history of recorded hip-hop with their single "Rapper's Delight," a multi-platinum-seller and radio hit in 1979, the group was cooked up to cash in on a supposed novelty item.
	Marley Marl	One of hip-hop's first (and finest) superproducers, Marley Marl was an early innovator in the art of sampling, developing new techniques that resulted in some of the sharpest beats and hooks in rap's Golden Age.
	Roxanne Shanté	Roxanne Shanté (born Lolita Gooden) was walking outside a New York housing project called Queensbridge when she heard three men talking about how the trio U.
	Mantronix	Over and above their standing as one of the best and most innovative groups from hip-hop's golden age, Mantronix provided rap music with its first man-machine, Kurtis Mantronik.
	Jam Master Jay	Born in Brooklyn on January 21, 1965, Jason Mizell grew up playing bass, guitar, and drums in various bands before discovering the turntables when he was 13, after his family had moved to Hollis, Queens.
	Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde	Andre Harrell (Dr. Jeckyll) and Alonzo Brown (Mr. Hyde) first joined up in 1980 with Harlem World Crew, but they eventually broke from the group to form Dr.
	Newcleus	Although they recorded only two albums, Newcleus contributed one true electro classic in "Jam on Revenge (The Wikki-Wikki Song)," which has been immortalized on hundreds of hip-hop mixtapes and often included in even techno DJs' sets.
	Stetsasonic	One of the first rap groups to use a live band, Brooklyn's Stetsasonic formed in 1981 and were also among the first to promote a positive black consciousness that found its ultimate expression in the so-called daisy-age sounds of De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers.
	T la Rock	The older sibling of Treacherous Three's Special K, T la Rock's greatest contribution to hip-hop was "It's Yours," a 1984 single produced by Rick Rubin.
	MC Shan	According to legend, MC Shan (b. Shawn Moltke) got his big break in 1983 when the future boss of Cold Chillin' Records caught Shan trying to steal his car.
	Full Force	Full Force rose to prominence in the mid-'80s, writing and producing popular R&B hits for Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam before embarking on a moderately successful solo career that ultimately led them back to production work in the late '90s.
	Doug E. Fresh	The first human beatbox in the rap world, and still the best of all time, Doug E. Fresh amazed audiences with his note-perfect imitations of drum machines, effects, and often large samples of hip-hop classics.
	Captain Rock
	Kool Moe Dee	A member of one of the original hip-hop crews, Treacherous Three, Kool Moe Dee later became a solo star in his own right in 1986 by teaming with a teenaged Teddy Riley (later famed as the king of new jack swing) on the crossover hit "Go See the Doctor.
	Planet Patrol	Produced and organized by early hip-hop impresarios Arthur Baker and John Robie, Planet Patrol walked an intriguing line between electro and the classic Motown sound.
	Ultramagnetic MC's	Arising from the Boogie Down Bronx in the mid-'80s as a far-flung hip-hop trio with a heap of new ideas to try out, Ultramagnetic's Kool Keith, Ced Gee, and DJ Moe Love occupy something of a singular place in the old-school pantheon.
	The Egyptian Lover	One of the most innovative producers of the old-school/electro era, Egyptian Lover's Greg Broussard recorded a parade of singles during the mid-'80s that proved influential for decades.
	Run DMC	More than any other hip-hop group, Run-D.M.C. are responsible for the sound and style of the music. As the first hardcore rap outfit, the trio set the sound and style for the next decade of rap.
	Eric B. & Rakim	They never had a mainstream hit of their own, but during rap's so-called golden age in the late '80s, Eric B.
	The Kangol Kid	Brooklyn's Kangol Kid was a central member of U.T.F.O., the group best-known for "Roxanne, Roxanne" -- the song that provoked countless response songs.
	Schoolly D	Opinion has been widely mixed about the merits of Philadelphia rapper Jesse B. Weaver, Jr. aka Schoolly D.
	Big Daddy Kane	Emerging during hip-hop's massive creative expansion of the late '80s, Big Daddy Kane was the ultimate lover man of rap's first decade, yet there was more to him than the stylish wardrobe, gold jewelry, and sophisticated charisma.
	L.A. Dream Team	Rudy Pardee, a Cleveland native, and Los Angeles' Chris Wilson formed the L.A. Dream Team in the early '80s.
	Grand Wizard Theodore	One of early hip-hop's most skilled DJs, Grand Wizard Theodore is universally acknowledged as the inventor of the scratch.
	Cybotron	The seminal electro group Cybotron provided the first home for the recordings of techno godfather Juan Atkins.
	Grandmaster Caz	The first simultaneous DJ and MC in hip-hop history, Grandmaster Caz is perhaps best known for rhymes he didn't even perform -- namely, the uncredited verses that Big Bank Hank borrowed for the groundbreaking Sugarhill Gang single "Rapper's Delight.
	Awesome 2	With the distinction of hosting the longest running rap show (The Awesome 2 Radio Show, c. 1982), the Awesome 2 became the wise men of rap, offering consultation and advice to many of its biggest names including Big Daddy Kane, EPMD, and Nice & Smooth.
	Dana Dane	New York-born rap singer Dana Dane combined light-hearted rap with a love of fashion. While his recordings, including "Cinderfella Dana Dane," "A Little Bit of Dane Tonight," and "Tales From the Dane Side," established him as a powerful rapper, his tastes in clothing inspired him to open IV Plai Boutique.
	Rob Base	Best-known for his 1988 platinum hip-hop classic "It Takes Two," Rob Base (with DJ E-Z Rock) rode his hit onto R&B radio stations as well as dance clubs, providing a touchstone for the style known as hip-house.
	West Street Mob	West Street Mob, formed in New York, USA, in the late 70s, were one of the less celebrated of Sugarhill Records’ acts, despite the fact that Sugarhill owners Joe and Sylvia Robinson’s son, Joey Jnr.
	The World Class Wreckin' Cru	The World Class Wreckin' Cru recorded some solid West Coast electro with Dr. Dre in the production chair, hitting the pop charts with a smooth love jam named "Turn Off the Lights" during 1988, the same year Dre's N.
	Boogie Down Productions	Boogie Down Productions was one of the most important and influential hip-hop groups of the latter half of the '80s.