Hip-Hop
Boombap to trap — the culture's soundtrack.
60 DJs · 12 upcoming events
The sound
Hip hop originated in the Bronx, New York City, during the early 1970s, emerging from block parties where DJs isolated percussion breaks. It sounds like rhythmic vocal delivery (rapping) over sampled or synthesized beats, with turntablism, drum machines, and bass-heavy production as core elements.
Listen for: Listen for the breakbeat—the stripped-down, percussion-only section of a funk or soul record—and how DJs loop or extend it, as that is the rhythmic core from which all hip hop flows.
Where hip-hop actually lives — by the DJs we track
Facts, with receipts
- Hip hop's foundational elements were developed in the Bronx, New York, in the early 1970s, with DJ Kool Herc's 1973 back-to-school party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue often cited as a key starting point. · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- The term 'hip hop' was popularized in 1979 with the release of the Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight,' the first commercially successful hip hop single. · The Guardian
- The Roland TR-808 drum machine, introduced in 1980, became a defining sound of hip hop production, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. · Roland Corporation (official product history)
- The 1988 album 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back' by Public Enemy is widely credited with establishing politically conscious rap as a mainstream force. · Rolling Stone
- The 1990s saw the rise of regional subgenres, including West Coast G-funk (e.g., Dr. Dre's 'The Chronic,' 1992) and East Coast hardcore rap (e.g., Wu-Tang Clan's 'Enter the Wu-Tang,' 1993). · AllMusic
- The digital streaming era, beginning in the mid-2010s, shifted hip hop's distribution and consumption, with platforms like SoundCloud launching the careers of artists such as Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti. · Pitchfork
In the family tree
Full lineage graph →Hip-Hop — emerged late 1970s, The Bronx, NYC.
DJs
Upcoming Hip-Hop nights
Boombap to trap — the culture's soundtrack.
