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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 (magazine), 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 (producer), Larry Smith while attending Andrew Jackson High School (Queens), Andrew Jackson High School there. After graduating, he briefly attended Queensborough Community College. Journalism Ford began his career in jo ... [...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 contributing to the development of hip hop music in the Bronx, New York City, in the 1970s through his "Back to School Jam", hosted on August 11, 1973, at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. After his younger sister, Cindy Campbell, became inspired to earn extra cash for back-to-school clothes, she decided to have her older brother, then 18 years old, play music for the neighborhood in their apartment building. Campbell began playing hard funk records of the sort typified by James Brown. Campbell began to isolate 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 exhortatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Run-DMC
Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded 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 one of the most famous hip hop acts of the 1980s. Along with Beastie Boys, LL Cool J and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new school hip hop music. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship. With the release ''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 achieve this. '' Raising Hell'' (1986) became the first multi-platinum hip hop record. Run-DMC's cover of "Walk This Way", featuring the group Aerosmith, charted higher on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 than Aerosmith's original version, peaking at number f ... [...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 group Run-DMC. He is also a practicing 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. He is the younger brother of artist Danny Simmons and Russell Simmons, the co-founder of 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 "D.M.C." McDaniels and the late DJ Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell. Run began using the stage name of "Rev. Run" after he was ordained as a Pentecostal minister by E. Bernard Jordan, Simmons's spiritual mentor. Jordan also named him "Protege of th ... [...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. 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. Since the separation of Island Records, Motown, Mercury Records, and Def Jam Recordings combining the Island Def Jam Music Group, Mercury Records has been placed under Island Records, although its back catalogue is still owned by the Island Def Jam Music Group (now Island 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. In September 2020, the website was acquired by Warner Music Group. ''HipHopDX'' was nominated for "Best Hip Hop Online Site" at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards. On September 3, 2013, ''The Source'' named ''HipHopDX'', number three on their 2013 Digital Power 30 list, which ranks websites that are the most popular in the hip hop industry. Year-end awards SourceThe following sources are to reference each of each year's awards: MC/Rapper of the Year *2006: Lupe Fiasco *2007: André 3000 of OutKast *2008: Nas *2009: Raekwon *2010: Eminem *2011: Tech N9ne *2012: Kendrick Lamar *2013: Kendrick Lamar *2014: Big K.R.I.T. *2015: Kendrick Lamar *2016: Chance the Rapper *2017: Kendrick Lamar *2018: J. Cole Album of the Year *2006: ''Lupe Fiasco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Rappin'
Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He 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. Throughout his career he has released 17 albums and is currently 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, Kurtis 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 half a million copies. He released ten albums over ... [...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 currently lives in Fort Greene. Literary work George has authored 15 non-fiction books, including the bestseller ''The Mic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rapping
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The components of rap include "content" (what is being said), "flow" (rhythm, rhyme), and "delivery" (cadence, tone). Rap differs from spoken-word poetry in that it is usually performed off-time to musical accompaniment. Rap is a primary ingredient of hip hop music commonly associated with that genre; however, the origins of rap predate hip-hop culture by many years. Precursors to modern rap include the West African griot tradition, Cockney rhyming slang, certain vocal styles of blues, jazz, 1960s African-American poetry and ''Sprechgesang''. The use of rap in popular music originated in the Bronx, New York City in the 1970s, alongside the hip hop genre and cultural movement. Rapping developed from the role of master of ceremonies (MC) at ... [...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. 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 single " Pump Up the Volume".) Later, he recorded a song for the soundtrack of the 1986 film ''Rappin, which was released on Atlantic Records, before recording his first album, ''House Rocker'', on Epic/CBS Records. This featured ... [...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. Background According to Kurtis Blow and Pete DJ Jones, Hollywood was the first rapper in the hip-hop style, making him the "Father" of the Hip Hop style. Before Hollywood introduced "Hip Hop style" rapping, he had already impacted DJing by creating a set that included singing, rhyming, and call and response, where he interacted with the crowd. An example would be Hollywood saying, "If you're feeling good with Hollywood somebody say, Oh yeah!" And the crowd would shout back: "Oh yeah!" Other rappers have been using some of his creations for the last 30 years, such as "throw ya hands in the air and wave 'em like you just don't care." Holloway said, "Don't get me wrong, they had people horapped before me syncopated and unsyncopated. I cannot take nothing away from people like Oscar Brown Jr., Pigmeat Markham, the Last Poets, Gil Scott Heron, the Watts Prophets, Rudy Ray Moore, I used to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Cheeba
Eddie Cheeba was a pioneering DJ in New York City, New York in the 1970s, considered to be the number one club DJ. 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 slang for cocaine as "cheeba" was slang for marijuana. References American hip hop DJs African-American rappers {{Hiphop-DJ-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
