In early hip-hop, the DJ was the main focus, and the person who accompanied the beats with rhymes and lyrics was called the MC (or emcee), short for master of ceremonies. DJs Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa are also cited as pioneers of early hip-hop music and culture. Herc moved his parties to NYC clubs and perfected his technique of blending unique tracks.
Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc (“the Father of Hip-Hop”) is credited with innovating the techniques of hip-hop music when he used turntables and mixers to curate beats from soul and funk records in 1973. However, DJing is known as one of the five main elements of hip-hop (along with MCing, graffiti, breakdancing, and knowledge). The terms DJ and disc jockey predate hip-hop. (We know hip-hop heads will tell us which ones we missed!) Like hip-hop itself, the final word list is a tapestry that represents multiple eras, facets, and flavors.
Of course, hip-hop transcends any attempt to neatly define it, and there were dozens of words that we weren’t able to include in the final 50. We also performed our own data analysis of decades of hip-hop lyrics to identify prominent terms and trends, including the first instances of slang and other words in lyrics. We looked at hip-hop through several lenses, considering essential elements, historical milestones, influences, and analyses and rankings of artists, albums, and songs. On the occasion of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, we set out to capture its trajectory from cultural mashup to source of global influence by highlighting the words essential to hip-hop-the words that have defined it and that have been defined by it. On August 11, 1973, Clive Campbell-aka DJ Kool Herc-and his sister Cindy organized a back-to-school party for mostly high-schoolers in the Bronx, bringing together the elements that would form the foundation of an art form, a culture, and a phenomenon: hip-hop.
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