Happy Birthday Kool Herc.

Hip Hop's Founding Father, Clive Campbell, better known as DJ Kool Herc turns 54 today. Respect Due. This is the man who essentially birthed the Hip Hop Culture back in the Bronx in the 70's. Aside from throwing some of the first hip hop parties in history, he's credited for developing the blueprint for hip hop music, in which he would isolate the "break" part of a record, and prolong it by continuously looping the section by using 2 of the same records on the 2 turntables. This became the section that the dancers enjoyed most. Because they danced to the break part of the record, Herc began calling his dancers "break-boys" and "break-girls", or simply b-boys and b-girls. Herc also contributed to developing the rhyming style of hip hop by punctuating the music with slang phrases from the DJ's microphone, with classic phrases like: "Rock on, my mellow!" "B-boys, b-girls, are you ready?" "This is the joint!" "To the beat, y'all!" "And you don't stop!" For all his cultural contributions, he is credited as the Father of Hip Hop, and an icon and hero in the beginning of hip hop music and culture.

This man is truly a legend. If he wasn't for him, most of us wouldn't be doing what we are doing today. Pay respect and pay Homage. We salute you, Herc.