UK Gig Guide UK Music Venues Music News Home | Encyclopaedia |
History | Twentieth Century | HipHop/ Rap  Music History -
HipHop/ Rap  A large percentage of African-American youths faced
unemployment and lived in conditions close to poverty during the
1970s and 1980s compared to white Americans. Hiphop and Rap
music originated from this background of hardship, drugs and
gang-related violence in New York's inner cities such as the
South Bronx. DJs started off playing for private parties and
instead of playing whole songs, played short fragments,
percussion breaks and started to sample different types of
polyrhythmic music.  One DJ pioneer was Kool DJ Herc (a.k.a.
Clive Campbell), who started spinning in 1973. He is now
regarded as one of the founders of Hip Hop. He also pioneered
the use of break beats which are the non-instrumental percussion
sections of a track and to spin them back to back. His technique
was given the name merry-go-round and it wasn't long before
other DJs began to emulate him. Herc was als