A party in the Bronx, on August 11th, 1973, is widely considered to be the birthplace of Hip-Hop. Kool Herc made history that night when he and his sister hosted the “Back to School Jam” in the recreation room of their Bronx apartment building at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. This historic party launched the hip-hop movement.
Kool Herc used a powerful sound system and acted as a master of ceremonies (or M.C.) to hype up an audience. Both decisions were inspired by his Jamaican roots. He also developed a signature “Merry-Go-Round” technique that extended a song’s instrumental break for long periods of time. These extended “breakbeats” provided the early musical foundation for break-dancers (b-boys and b-girls) to showcase their moves. These instrumental breaks not only led the way for break-dancing innovations, but also opened the doors for emcees to rap over the beats.
This summer, all over the country, there are concerts and celebrations honoring the artists who have made Hip-Hop a global phenomenon.
To join in the celebration and to share our love of Hip-Hop, CLP staff put together a list of our favorite Hip-Hop albums, books and movies.
Albums
- Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star | Black Star | Hoopla
- Criminal Minded | Boogie Down Productions | CD
- Black Sunday | Cypress Hill | CD
- 3 Feet High and Rising | De La Soul | CD
- Stakes Is High | De La Soul | CD
- The Grind Date | De La Soul | Hoopla
- Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) | Digable Planets | CD & Hoopla
- Endtroducing | DJ Shadow | CD
- The Chronic | Dr. Dre | CD & Hoopla
- Nothing Was the Same | Drake | CD
- Doris | Earl Sweatshirt | CD
- The Slim Shady LP | Eminem | CD & Hoopla
- Paid in Full | Eric B & Rakim | CD & Hoopla
- The Score | Fugees | CD
- The Message | Grandmaster Flash | CD & Hoopla
- Liquid Swords | GZA | Hoopla
- The Blueprint | Jay-Z | CD & Hoopla
- The Forever Story | JID | Hoopla
- All-AmeriKkkan Bada$$ | Joey Bada$$ | CD & Hoopla
- Veteran | JPEGMAFIA | Hoopla
- Damn | Kendrick Lamar | CD
- To Pimp a Butterfly | Kendrick Lamar | CD & Hoopla
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The Best of Kurtis Blow | Kurtis Blow | CD
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The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill | Lauryn Hill | CD
- Swimming | Mac Miller | CD & Hoopla
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MM…FOOD | MF DOOM | Hoopla
- The Cookbook | Missy Elliott | CD & Hoopla
- Under Construction | Missy Elliott | CD & Hoopla
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The Infamous | Mobb Deep | CD
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Illmatic | Nas | CD
- Ready to Die | Notorious B.I.G. | CD
- Straight Outta Compton | NWA | CD
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Aquemini | Outkast | CD
- It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back | Public Enemy | CD & Hoopla
- Illadelph Halflife | Roots | CD
- Very Necessary | Salt N Pepa | CD & Hoopla
- The Diary | Scarface
- Black Up | Shabazz Palaces | Hoopla
- Luv 4 Rent | Smino | Hoopla
- The Dogfather | Snoop Dogg | CD & Hoopla
- Rapper’s Delight | Sugar Hill Gang | CD
- Paul’s Boutique | The Beastie Boys | CD & Hoopla
- Whack World | Tierra Whack | Hoopla
- Midnight Marauders | Tribe Called Quest | CD
- People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm | Tribe Called Quest | CD
- The Low End Theory | Tribe Called Quest | CD
- We Got It From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service | Tribe Called Quest | CD
- Flower Boy | Tyler the Creator | CD
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Wu Tang Forever | Wu-Tang Clan | CD
- Decoded | Jay-Z | CD
Books
- Decoded by Jay-Z
- Hip Hop Family Tree by Ed Piskor
- Hip Hop Raised Me by DJ Semtex
- She Begat This by Joan Morgan
- God Save the Queens: The Essential History of Women in Hip-Hop by Kathy Iandoli
- When the Beat Was Born by Laban Carrick Hill
- The Roots of Rap by Carole Boston Weatherford
-
Vibrate Higher by Talib Kweli
DVDs
- Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme by DJ Organic
- Wild Style by Charlie Ahearn