The era of Hip-Hop was born on August 11, 1973 at a party held at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, New York. It is a culture that exploded into a multi-billion dollar empire. Hip-Hop became an iconic culture that changed the world. Therefore, it was only befitting that the Hip-Hop Museum of Washington, DC induct: Coke La Rock(Father of Rapping), Grand Wizard Theodore (Inventor of the SCRATCH, Fantastic 5, L-Brothers), Grandmaster Caz and MC G.L.O.B.E. (Soul Sonic Force), with a private induction ceremony hosted by comedian Russell Peters at the birthplace of Hip-Hop.
Historian Jay Quan had the pleasure of inducting these four legendary artists into the museum for their invaluable contribution to what became the culture for generations to come. A monumental addition to the ceremony was the display of the original flyers designed by ‘King of Hip-Hop Flyers’ Buddy Esquire who passed away in 2014. Johan Kugelberg who was Buddy’s friend and Biographer donated the collection to the museum in hopes of keeping his legacy alive. “Hip-Hop has now grown into the largest financial and cultural export the United States has ever produced. The importance of this donation and the enormity of this induction ceremony, which allows us to honor the icons and give them their flowers, is deeply meaningful for reasons of cultural preservation and legacy,” states Museum Founder, Jeremy Beaver.
The museum’s publicist proudly boasts, “Hip-Hop is a culture and art movement that was created by African Americans, Latino Americans, and Caribbean Americans in the Bronx. Its evolution was shaped by many different artists, but there’s a case to be made that it came to life precisely on August 11, 1973, at a birthday party in the recreation room of an apartment building in the Bronx, New York City. This historic party was the birthday girl’s brother, Clive Campbell—better known to history as DJ Kool Herc, founding father of hip-hop and Coke La Rock, founding father of rapping. Born and raised to the age of 10 in Kingston, Jamaica, DJ Kool Herc began spinning records at parties and between sets, his father’s band played while he was a teenager in the Bronx in the early 1970s. Herc often emulated the style of Jamaican “selectors” (DJs) by having Coke La Rock “toasting” (i.e., talking) over the records he spun. Together with the help of repeating the record’s ‘drum-break,’ the two created what is now known as Hip-Hop.”
Leland Robinson, the head of the Sugar Hill Records estate was also in attendance at this historical event. He is the son of Sylvia Robinson, the co-founder of Sugar Hill Records. The label released the single, “Rapper’s Delight” performed by the Sugar Hill Gang, on September 16th, 1979. It went to the top of the charts and commercialized Hip-Hop elevating it to the world stage.
All of the mentioned players are an intricate part of Hip-Hop history and the world is indebted to them for their invaluable contribution to the culture.
Visit HipHopMuseumDC.org for more videos and information on the ceremony and how you can be involved in helping to preserve America’s #1 export.