Jamaican Sound System Dynamo Kool Herc to be Inducted Into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Kool Herc, a trailblazing Jamaican sound system dynamo widely hailed as the father of hip hop, is one of 13 persons to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame this year. The ‘Rock Hall’s latest inductees were announced May 3.
The 68 year-old Kool Herc was born in Kingston but migrated with his family to the United States in 1968. Growing up in The Bronx, New York, he developed an admiration for funk music, especially James Brown whose songs he would play at house parties.
Many hip hop historians believe Kool Herc was the first DJ to use two turntables. They also credit him with creating the breakbeat, a style where the DJ intersperses music from various songs, allowing guests to party without stopping. Also known as the ‘break’, it defined early hip hop and is the backdrop for many of the genre’s classic tracks.
In a 2012 documentary posted on the GoodStuff79 YouTube channel, Grand Wizzard Theodore of hip hop group The Fantastic Five, recalled going to Kool Herc dances in The Bronx DJ during the 1970s.
“Kool Herc was the first person I ever heard to do anything like that (breakbeat). ‘Cause I’m used to being in the house with my mother and she’d pull up a James Brown record and just let it play through. Kool Herc would play the break part back and forth and that really astonished me, I was really impressed when I see that because I’d never seen anything like that before,” he said.
Kool Herc, whose real name is Clive Campbell, will be the third Jamaican in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. Bob Marley was inducted in 1995 while Jimmy Cliff got in 15 years later.
Missy Elliott is the other hip hop artist acknowledged by the Rock Hall committee this year. The Class of 2023 is completed by composer Bernie Taupin, best known for co-writing some of Elton John’s biggest hit songs; Sheryl Crow, Kate Bush, Willie Nelson, Rage Against The Machine, George Michael, The Spinners, Chaka Khan, Al Kooper, Link Wray, and Soul Train founder Don Cornelius.
The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for November 3 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
