The Foundation of Rap

Let’s go back to 1973, to a birthday party in the Bronx, New York City. The address - 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. The DJ selecting the records, Clive Campbell - the birthday girl’s brother, now known as DJ Kool Herc - the founding father of Hip Hop. This is how he put in work.

What is the main idea?

• In 1973, there was a birthday party at 1520 Sedgewick Avenue in New York City

• DJ Kool Herc's real name is Clive Campbell.

• Hip Hop began at a birthday party in the Bronx with Clive Campbell.

• Clive Campbell selected the records to play for his sister's birthday party

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1955, born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1967, Clive immigrated with his family to the Bronx, New York City where Hip Hop begins. Herc started selecting the records at parties to spin between the times his dad’s band played while he was a teenager. Herc imitated the style of Jamaican “selectors,” “toasting” on the track, letting party people know what’s up, but his importance to Hip Hop is not singing or rap.

What is the main idea?

• Clive Campbell moved to the Bronx where he learned to be a DJ.

• Clive Campbell was born in 1955 and was raised in Kingston, Jamaica.

• DJ Kool Herc imitated the style of Jamaican Selectors.

• DJ Kool Herc selected the records to play at parties when he was a teenager.

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Herc noticed how crowds would react to drum breaks of a track, dancing where the music’s vocals and instruments stopped at. Herc decided to use two turntables: tools that are able to bring the drum beats back. Herc switched back and forth between two copies of the same track, extending the breaks so crowds had more time to dance and react.

What is the main idea?

• Herc noticed how crowds reacted to the drum breaks when the music changed.

• Herc used turntables to give people more time to enjoy the drum breaks in a song.

• People at the parties enjoyed having more time to dance and react to the music.

• Turntables are instruments used by DJs to make the drum breaks in a song repeat.

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There were other notable people on the spot like the mother of Hip Hop who organized parties on the block. Cindy Campbell, the birthday girl - Herc’s younger sister, she made history as a first ever Hip Hop promoter. She also helped Herc handle up on the breaks, getting the records together for them to loop and play.

What is the main idea?

• Cindy Campbell is known as the mother of the Hip Hop and a Hip Hop promoter.

• Cindy Campbell helped DJ Kool Herc by getting the records ready to play.

• Cindy Campbell organized block parties and was a Hip Hop promoter

• Cindy Campbell did many important things to help start Hip Hop.

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Another pioneer of the style is Joseph Saddler. Born 1958 in Barbados. Later, moved to the same area as Herc and Cindy in the Bronx, New York City. Attending DJ parties is how he got his start.

What is the main idea?

• Joseph Saddler is a pioneer of Hip Hop who started as a DJ in the Bronx.

• Joseph Saddler was born in 1958 in Barbados but later moved to New York City.

• Joseph Saddler began his career by attending DJ parties.

• Joseph Saddler and Cindy Campbell are both pioneers of Hip Hop.

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He began experimenting with turntable mixing, and later on, he perfected the art known as “scratching.” This is when a DJ uses the hands to rewind a track to make a percussive sound as the beat plays back. So fast with the tracks, he was called Grandmaster Flash, but unable to get into discos, he took another path.

What is the main idea?

• Grandmaster Flash perfected the art known as "scratching."

• Joseph Saddler was called Grandmaster Flash because he worked fast with music

• Joseph Saddler is a very skilled DJ who became known as Grandmaster Flash.

• "Scratching" is when a DJ uses his hands to rewind a track to make a percussive sound.

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Disco clubs were adults only, and they were not for Flash and his friends, so they had house parties on the block. This is how Grandmaster Flash put in work, constantly improving his craft but kept it down to earth. Out on the streets making beats for kids that were so po’ they couldn’t afford the -or.

What is a SUPPORTING DETAIL for the main idea?

• Joseph Saddler never gave up and found new ways to share his music as a DJ

• Grandmaster Flash is a Hip Hop legend who was not allowed into disco clubs.

• Joseph Saddler experimented as a DJ and developed Hip Hop into a new style.

• Grandmaster Flash shared his music at house parties in his neighborhood.

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Now, in 1977, Flash worked with Kurtis Blow, his first ever rap collaborator. But it wasn’t until he worked with a rap group of five that he made history his career coming alive.

What is a SUPPORTING DETAIL for the main idea?

• Grandmaster Flash and DJ Kool Herc are founding fathers of Hip Hop.

• Grandmaster Flash worked with different people and later became successful

• Grandmaster Flash worked with a group of five rappers and made history.

• In 1977, Grandmaster Flash worked with a rapper named Kurtis Blow.

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Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five pioneered a new sound that was all their own vibe. Turntables and records became instruments. The DJ and rapping MCs became a union. In 1979, they made their first album. The rest is history while Hip Hop still happens

What is a SUPPORTING DETAIL for the main idea?

• Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five pioneered a new sound.

• The rest is history while Hip Hop still happens

• The Furious Five was a unique group of rappers that made an album in 1979

• Flash and the Furious Five developed Hip Hop into a special style of music.

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What is the main idea of the entire song?

• DJs, rappers, and Hip Hop promoters are very talented people in Hip Hop.

• The pioneers of Hip Hop were from many different places and had different jobs.

• Many people were involved in developing Hip Hop and rap music.

• DJ Kool Herc, Cindy Campbell, and Kurtis Blow are important to Hip Hop.

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