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 ...

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 ...

“The Message” is often credited with stretching what hip-hop could be — not just party music but also social commentary. Big Daddy Kane, Daddy-O of Stetsasonic and longtime hip-hop promoter Charlie ...

CUYAHOGA FALL, Ohio - The tour’s title is a query, “Where The Party At?” The answer on a balmy Tuesday evening was Blossom Music Center, as a quartet of turn-of-the-century hip-hop stars Nelly, Eve, ...

“Rapper’s Delight” will always be considered the song that introduced hip-hop to the masses. The Sugarhill Gang classic with its tongue-twisting opening – “I said a-hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie to ...

Welcome to The State of R&B, ESSENCE’s look at the past, present and future of rhythm and blues. In this piece, ESSENCE editor Rivéa Ruff reports on the blending of hip-hop and R&B. Since the ...