1970
Jamaica is buzzing with the early sounds of dancehall, and jazz.
During this time it was a group called The Last Poet who released a
self-titled album that paired spoken word poetry to jazz instrumentals.
This later developed into what is called MCs (master of ceremonies)
otherwise known as rap.
1973
Now, Hip Hop has begun to whisper in the ears of Jamaica and
quickly started to gain more whispers in America. However, it was a
famous night at a block party located at 520 Sedgwick Avenue,
Bronx, New York in 1973 where Hip Hop gave birth to a new era. It
was at this block party where DJ Kool Herc took two records and
mixed them into a sound no one has ever heard before. It was this
sound in 1974 that led to Grandmall whileaster Caz, Grandmaster
Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa to play at parties all over the Bronx,
thus DJ/MC/Crowd Pleaser Lovebug Starski started referring to
this culture as "hip-hop."
Old School Hip Hop - Mid 70s to Mid 80s.
During this time, DJ parties continued across New York City bringing
that hip hop sound and along with that sound came
“scratching” which was invented by DJ Grand Wizard Theodore. As
more of the sound evolved, rapping was introduced into it with
many of the lyrics shedding light on West African griots, blues,
black power, poetry, and urban life. It wasn’t until 1978 that the
music industry first used the term “rap music,” which shifted the
focus in hip hop from the DJs to the MCs. The first rap song to get
national play was in 1979 when Sugarhill Gang’s song “Rapper’s
Delight'' debuted on Billboard Hot 100, entering the chart at No. 84
and peaking at No. 36.
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