Hip hop music's humble beginning is explained in "When the Beat Was Born" by Laban Carrick Hill. Do you know why it's called "break-dancing"? It was what dancers did in a break in the music, and it started in the Bronx in 1980. A boy named Clive moved to New York from Jamaica and wanted to be a great DJ. He lived a poor neighborhood, but his Dad gave him a great sound system. Clive wanted to share the music, so he would rent out the rec room in his apartment complex, but after word spread that he was a talented DJ, the parties got too big for the space. He took it to the streets and threw even bigger parties. It started with neighborhood friends, but soon people were coming from all over the city to hear him spin. He wanted everyone to feel the dancing beat; that's where hip hop was created. Clive went by DJ Kool Herc and he inspired legendary DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Sugar Hill Gang.
--Angie R., Headquarters
