In August 1973, the Jamaican-born Clive “DJ Kool Herc” Campbell held his first block party in the Bronx, bringing the Jamaican sound system culture to America and inadvertently providing the first ...

From MPCs to FL Studio sessions, one thing remains consistent across generations of Hip Hop and R&B: The power of the sample. With that said, few eras have been mined more heavily than the 1980s. With ...

Hip-hop was created in 1973, and during that decade, it was a genre still in its early stages that was more DJ-centric with focuses on b-boy dances and live performances. However, by the time the ...

Born in the 1970s, hip-hop music was built largely on the beat breaks in disco songs. Some of the earliest hits in the genre sampled those dancey tracks, including “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill ...

The group known for hits like “Computer Love” and “More Bounce to the Ounce” continue to influence R&B and hip-hop music today. But in spite of the group’s success, the Troutman family would ...

Hip-hop is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Commentator Kiana Fitzgerald is looking back at the albums that changed the game. Kurtis Blow breaks hip-hop nationally with his 1980 debut What ...

The late summer months of August and September celebrate both the anniversary of hip-hop as well as Hispanic heritage, a fitting combination since Hispanic culture and sound have had a significant ...

As hip-hop evolves through time while sampling its own past, how do new audience members learn its history? Is there a correct way to learn about hip-hop?

Mr. Charnas is the author of “Dilla Time” and a professor at New York University. Of all the clichés about hip-hop we’ve endured over 50 years, the idea that hip-hop is the product of the streets — ...