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Robert Ford Jr.
Robert "Rocky" Ford Jr. (June 30, 1949 – May 19, 2020) was an American journalist and record producer. While working for ''Billboard'' in 1978, Ford wrote the first article about hip-hop to appear in any major publication. He went on to produce albums and write songs for acts including Kurtis Blow, Rodney Dangerfield, and Full Force, and has been recognized as having played "a crucial role in early commercial hip-hop". Ford has been credited as a mentor by entrepreneur Russell Simmons. Early life Robert Ford Jr. was born in Harlem, Manhattan, on June 30, 1949. His parents would play blues, jazz, and R&B records around the house while he was growing up. His family later moved to St. Albans, Queens, and he became friends with Larry Smith while attending Andrew Jackson High School there. After graduating, he briefly attended Queensborough Community College. Journalism Ford began his career in journalism working as production manager for ''Forbes'' and ''Billboard.'' He the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DJ Kool Herc
Clive Campbell (born April 16, 1955), better known by his stage name DJ Kool Herc, is a Jamaican-American DJ who is credited with being the founder of hip hop music in the Bronx, New York City, in 1973. Nicknamed the Father of Hip-Hop, Campbell began playing hard funk records of the sort typified by James Brown. Campbell isolated the instrumental portion of the record which emphasized the drum beat—the " break"—and switch from one break to another. Using the same two-turntable set-up of disco DJs, he used two copies of the same record to elongate the break. This breakbeat DJing, using funky drum solos, formed the basis of hip hop music. Campbell's announcements and exhortations to dancers helped lead to the syncopated, rhythmically spoken accompaniment now known as rapping. He called the dancers "break-boys" and "break-girls", or simply b-boys and b-girls, terms that continue to be used fifty years later in the sport of breaking. Campbell's DJ style was quickly taken up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Run-DMC
Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip-hop culture and especially one of the most famous hip-hop acts of the 1980s. Along with Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new-school hip-hop music and helped usher in the golden age hip-hop. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship. With the release of '' Run-D.M.C.'' (1984), Run-DMC became the first hip-hop group to achieve a Gold record. ''Run-D.M.C.'' was followed with the certified Platinum record '' King of Rock'' (1985), making Run-DMC the first hip-hop group to go platinum. '' Raising Hell'' (1986) became the first multi-platinum hip-hop record. Run-DMC's cover of " Walk This Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Simmons
Joseph Ward Simmons (born November 14, 1964), better known by the stage name Run, Rev. Run or DJ Run, is an American rapper, producer, DJ, and television personality. Simmons is one of the founding members of the influential Hip-hop, hip hop group Run-DMC. He is also a practicing Minister (Christianity), minister, known as Reverend Run. He found new popularity in 2005 with his family's MTV reality show ''Run's House''. Early life Simmons was born November 14, 1964, in Hollis, Queens, New York (state), New York. He is the younger brother of artist Danny Simmons and Russell Simmons, the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, Def Jam records. Career Before Run–D.M.C., Simmons was the lead vocalist in the hip-hop group named "The Force". He founded Run-D.M.C. as a lead vocalist along with friend Darryl McDaniels, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels and the late Disc jockey, DJ Jam Master Jay, Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell. Run began using the stage name of "Rev. Run" after he was ordained a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released rock, funk, R&B, doo wop, soul music, blues, pop, rock and roll, and jazz records. In the United States, it is operated through Republic Records; in the United Kingdom and Japan (as Mercury Tokyo in the latter country), it is distributed by EMI Records. Background Mercury Records was started in Chicago in 1945 and over several decades, saw great success. The success of Mercury has been attributed to the use of alternative marketing techniques to promote records. The conventional method of record promotion used by major labels such as RCA Victor, Decca Records, and Capitol Records was dependent on radio airplay, but Mercury Records co-founder Irving Green decided to promote new records using jukeboxes instead. By lowering promotion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath Cherian and the Head of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ''HipHopDX'' can be found on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. In September 2020, the website was acquired by Warner Music Group; however, the website was sold in 2024 to Uproxx Studios, managed by will.i.am, Jarret Myer, and Rich Antoniello. ''HipHopDX'''s Director of Hip Hop Journalism, Elliott Wilson, is a co-host (with DJ Hed and Jeremy Hecht) on ''The Bigger Picture'', a weekly hip-hop debate show managed by Uproxx Studios. ''HipHopDX'' was nominated for "Best Hip Hop Online Site" at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards. On September 3, 2013, ''The Source (magazine), The Source'' named ''HipHopDX'', n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Rappin'
Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), known professionally by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Walker is the first commercially successful rapper and the first to sign with a major record label. " The Breaks", a single from his 1980 self-titled debut album, is the first certified gold record rap song. Over his career he released 17 albums. He is an ordained minister. Early life, family and education Walker was raised in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. He attended CCNY and Nyack College, studying communications/film and ministry. Career In 1979, at the age of twenty, Blow became the first rapper to be signed by a major label, Mercury, which released "Christmas Rappin'". It sold over 400,000 copies, becoming one of the first commercially successful hip hop singles. Its follow-up, " The Breaks", sold over 840,000 copies. He released ten albums over the next eleven years. His first album was ''Kurtis Blow'', then his second was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nelson George
Nelson George (born September 1, 1957) is an American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Biography George attended St. John's University. He was an intern at the '' New York Amsterdam News'' before being hired as black music editor for ''Record World''. He later served as a music editor for ''Billboard'' magazine from 1982 to 1989. While there, George published two books: ''Where Did Our Love Go: The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound'' in 1986, and ''The Death of Rhythm & Blues'' in 1988. He also wrote a column, entitled "Native Son", for the ''Village Voice'' from 1988 to 1992. He first got involved in film when, in 1986, he helped to finance director Spike Lee's debut feature '' She's Gotta Have It''. A lifelong resident of Brooklyn, New York, George still resides in the Fort Greene section of the borough. Literary work George has authored numerous non-fiction books, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rapping
Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The components of rap include "content" (what is being said, e.g., lyrics), "flow" ( rhythm, rhyme), and "delivery" ( cadence, tone). Rap differs from spoken-word poetry in that it is usually performed off-time to musical accompaniment. It also differs from singing, which varies in pitch and does not always include words. Because they do not rely on pitch inflection, some rap artists may play with timbre or other vocal qualities. Rap is a primary ingredient of hip-hop music, and so commonly associated with the genre that it is sometimes called "rap music". Precursors to modern rap music include the West African griot tradition, certain vocal styles of blues and jazz, an African-American insult ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lovebug Starski
Kevin Smith (May 16, 1960 – February 8, 2018), best known by his stage name Lovebug Starski, was an American MC, musician, and record producer. He began his career as a record boy in 1971 as hip hop first appeared in the Bronx, and he eventually became a DJ at the Disco Fever club in 1978. He is one of two people who may have come up with the term "hip-hop". Starski claimed that he coined the phrase, while trading the two words back and forth, while improvising lines with Keef Cowboy of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, at a farewell party for a friend who was headed into the Army. In an interview with Dave Hill in the newspaper ''The Observer'', Starski explained, "I picked up the mic and just started saying 'a hip hop, hip hop, de hibbyhibbyhibbyhibby hop'. The people couldn't believe it but it stuck." Career Starski recorded his first single, "Positive Life", on the Tayster record label in 1981. (The British Group MARRS would sample this in 1987 with the No. 1 sing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DJ Hollywood
DJ Hollywood (born Anthony Holloway; December 10, 1954) is an American MC and disc jockey. His rhythmic MC sets have led him to be credited as one of the first-ever rappers. Career In the 1970s, DJ Hollywood became known for DJ sets during which he addressed the audience with rhythmic call-and-response segments. In contrast to earlier MCs like Coke La Rock, who simply spoke over backing tracks, DJ Hollywood incorporated rhythm and rhyme into his sets, which has led him to be described as the progenitor of "hip-hop-style rapping" by figures such as Kurtis Blow and author Jonathan Abrams. Abrams identifies DJ Hollywood's influences as Jocko Henderson, Pigmeat Markham, Gil Scott-Heron, and Rudy Ray Moore. In 1978 and 1979, DJ Hollywood was the first DJ to bring turntables and a mixer to perform at the Apollo Theater. Before long, club owners in the South Bronx hired Hollywood to play at a club called Club 371. Most of DJ Hollywood's body of musical work was live, not record ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Cheeba
Eddie Cheeba (October 18, 1956 – February 13, 2024) was an American DJ in New York in the 1970s, considered to be the number one club DJ. Eddie, real name Edward Sturgis, was born in New York and grew up in the Douglas Projects of the Bronx where he attended Brandeis High School. Cheeba was a close friend of DJ Hollywood and they frequently influenced each other's styles. Cheeba is credited with inspiring Def Jam Recordings founder, Russell Simmons to pursue a career in hip-hop when Simmons heard Cheeba perform in Harlem in 1977. Kurtis Blow took his name imitating Cheeba at the suggestion of Russell Simmons, copying the pattern from Eddie Cheeba as "blow" was a force of power as "cheeba" was slang for marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has .... Cheeba die ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
