Kool Herc
Did you know that a man named Clive Campbell who was born in 1955 in Kingston, Jamaica is The Father of Hip Hop? Why don’t you? Kool Herc emigrated to the Bronx in 1967 when he was 12 years old. While attending Alfred E. Smith High School he spent a lot of time in the weight room. That fact coupled with his height spurned the other kids to call him Hercules. His first deejay gig was as his sister’s birthday party. It...
Jazzy Jay
This pioneer started his illustrious career playing in the streets of the Bronx, under the guidance of Afrika Bambaataa. During the 80’s club revolution, Jazzy went from performing on the streets and in small clubs to spinning records in NYC’s hottest clubs: Negril, the Roxy, the Ritz, and Danceteria. He was one of the first to bring Hip Hop music to the airwaves, on KISS FM. Jazzy’s three hour show became so...
Grandmixer D.ST
Grandmixer D.ST., or Derek Showard, was known for his precise deejay abilities as well as his showmanship at parties. Sometimes he would break out into a dance, or use body parts other than his hands to cut the records. All this brought him to the attention of Afrika Bambaataa who asked him to join him for parties. D.ST’s original group was The Infinity Four MC’s consisting of Kingpin Shahiem, Mike Nice, Baron and...
DJ Smalls
DJ Smalls was known as the Son of DJ Hollywood, (similar to DJ Run being known as the son of Kurtis Blow). They performed together around ’77-81. At times he jammed with a couple of MC’s named Nasty T and MC Poo. He was part of The Marvelous 3 with Busy Bee and AJ Scratch. “Summertime Rap” was a hit on Dazz Records in 1981. Info submitted by Mark Skills and Mr. Ed Back to DJ’s...
DJ Hollywood
DJ Hollywood is widely considered one of the most underrated and most often forgotten of the hip hop legends. There is little information around about his involvement in the genre, but when you hear other old school artists talk about pioneers, Hollywood’s name is inevitably among the names mentioned. He was born in 1954. As a disco deejay in the early to mid 1970’s, he became one of the first people to rhyme over the...
