DJ KOOL HERC | KOOL HERC
The Father of Hip Hop Music?
Clive Campbell also known as Kool Herc, DJ Kool Herc and Kool DJ Herc, is a Jamaican-born DJ who is the father of hip hop music.
Kool Herc was born on April 16, 1955.
Kool Herc emigrated to the Bronx in 1967 when he was 12 years old. While attending Alfred E. Smith High School he spent a lot of time in the weight room. That fact coupled with his height spurned the other kids to call him Hercules
Kool Herc first deejay gig was as his sister’s birthday party. It was the start of an industry.
Kool Herc played his last Old School party in 1984.
Campbell had an affinity for music from a young age. He not only listened to Jamaican music, but also searched out American sounds like James Brown and the Ohio Players.Campbell began to isolate the instrumental portion of the record which emphasized the drum beat—the “break”—and switch from one break to another to yet another.
He broke up different records and put them together with other records so he could play breaks from different songs on the same record..
This breakbeat DJing, using hard funk, rock, and records with Latin percussion, formed the basis of hip hop music.
Although hip-hop culture evolved as an alternative to gang activity, drugs, crime, and violence were still inextricably woven into New York City street life. In 1977, Herc was stabbed three times at one of his own events. He survived, but decided to withdraw from the club and party circuit for a while. He eventually came back to the scene that he helped build, but the rise of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five and Bambaataa’s numerous crews stole much of his stature as a deejay and his career never fully recovered.
He appeared as himself in the film Beat Street.