Kool DJ Herc

Kool DJ Herc, also known as Clive Campbell, was born on April 16, 1955 in Kingston Jamaica. He was a developer of Hip-Hop in the early 1970s, who is accredited for creating break-beat DJing. He moved to the Bronx at the age of 12 and loved to study and use sound systems. He started to throw his own free neighborhood parties which were the locations of creating the break-beat DJ style. Break-beat DJing is when funk songs are played, which feature percussion, that are isolated and repeated in order to have long lasting dance parties. He is remembered for having outstanding sound systems, and for initially using Reggae music rather then funk, but due to popular demand he later switched to funk. Herc created the Herculords, an MC crew, where rap and reggae artists collaborated and helped influence the growth of both genres of music. Herc was later stabbed to death at one of his own parties in the late 1970s. Although Herc died a sudden and upsetting death, he will forever be remembered for his early influence on the Hip-Hop culture.