Record scratching, a technique that came to define the sound of hip-hop, was invented by a 12-year-old.

DJ Kool Herc pioneered the use of breakbeats for hip-hop

Inspired by Jamaican dancehall culture and Manhattan's disco scene, Herc used a new style that used two turntables, seamlessly mixing and looping "breakbeats"—isolated drum breaks from funk, soul, and rock records—that kept dancers at the "back to school jam" moving. Herc's technique would be the basis for modern sampling and hip-hop's first few decades.

Grandmaster Flash’s DJing masterclass

For some people, DJing is nothing more than pressing play on a few songs, but for hip-hop DJs, it’s a precise art form that requires real skill. Need proof? Watch this 1983 tutorial from Grandmaster Flash, one of the genre’s pioneering DJs, as he walks you through beatmatching and mixing on his spartan set-up of two turntables and a basic mixer.

The word ‘hip-hop’ is often credited to DJ Lovebug Starski

The name was coined by Bronx DJ Lovebug Starski, who ad-libbed the term to match the rhythm of a beat while he was rapping. While it began as nonsense, the term went on to describe the music and multifaceted culture that surrounded it.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks.

Rapping has roots in numerous aspects of the Black oral tradition

Although “rapping” began in New York with hip-hop in the early 1970s, it can be traced back to griots, who were storytellers in West Africa, and “toasting,” which was a similar talk-sing style practiced by dancehall DJs in Jamaica.

By the mid-1980s, rappers began developing complex techniques

Early hip-hop featured straightforward meter and rhyme, with rappers generally following the beat and using rhyming couplets in the style of nursery rhymes. MCs like Rakim, though, began pushing the limits of the form through varied stresses and dynamic, multisyllabic slant rhymes.

The 1973 ‘back to school jam’ was the night hip-hop was born

Hip-hop began in New York’s Bronx borough with the “back to school jam,” an August 1973 dance party hosted by Cindy Campbell and her brother, DJ Kool Herc, in their apartment building’s recreation room.

The sound of hip-hop's 'Golden Era' is thanks to a shared lexicon

The music’s “Golden Era,” between 1987 and 1994, saw producers and DJs developing more sophisticated approaches to sampling, or repurposing existing sound, by crafting elaborate collages. Many of them used the same references, thanks to a popular bootleg compilation called “Ultimate Break Beats.”

Basquiat produced an early hip-hop classic

The 1983 track “Beat Bop” features emcees Rammellzee and K-Rob rapping over a beat produced and arranged by Basquiat. Though it leans into several tropes from the early days of hip-hop, it’s also singular, with elements of dub, funk, and disco blending over its 10 minutes.

Jazz built the template for hip-hop

Hip-hop was born out of obscure samples, including many that were taken from the annals of jazz. That style was especially popular in rap's early eras, with the subgenre "jazz rap" becoming an accurate descriptor for New York groups like A Tribe Called Quest and Gangstarr.

Grandmaster Flash’s ‘The Message’ set the template for hip-hop composition

This 1982 single is one of the most recognizable beats in hip-hop history, thanks to some inspiration from popular disco and new wave records. The song’s bigger contribution, though, is that it pushed lyrics front and center, turning the rapper from a party-rocking master of ceremonies into a truth-telling MC.

Deconstructing the most popular hip-hop samples over the last 50 years

Hip-hop celebrated its 50th birthday in 2023, a genre with humble origins that now dominates playlists and charts worldwide. A major, lesser-known feature of hip-hop is its artful use of samples from older records, a technically complex method that forms the unique soundscape of each hip-hop song. To honor the anniversary, sampling company TrackLib created a half-hour video showcasing both visually and auditorily the process used in hits over the last 50 years.

The Sugarhill Gang’s ‘Rapper’s Delight’ introduced hip-hop to the masses

While it’s not technically the first hip-hop song set to record—that’s Fatback Band’s “King Tim III (Personality Jock)”—1979’s ”Rapper’s Delight” is the song that proved rap was worth putting on wax and introducing the music to a broader audience by reaching the US top 40.

A DJ helped popularize the term 'rock 'n' roll' to resell rhythm and blues to a broad audience.

The most popular drum sound of the 1980s was discovered by accident

You know it when you hear it: the distinct snare drum of songs like Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" or Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA." It's called "gated reverb," and it's something most people associate, for better or worse, with the sound of the '80s. This Vox explainer breaks down how it was discovered by accident, thanks to a microphone typically used for communication that picked up additional sounds.

Prince pioneered what would come to be known as 'the Minneapolis Sound'

Inspired by eclectic artists like Sly and the Family Stone, as well as lesser-known mentors and peers in the Twin Cities, Prince blended R&B, rock, pop, new wave, soul, funk, punk, and more, creating a sound that defied easy categorization.

The earliest known country recording is a 1891 wax cylinder of Louis Vasnier's 'Thompson's Old Gray Mule' that was discovered by accident over a century later.

Jelly Roll Morton claimed he invented jazz, though experts disagree

The pianist and arranger was one of the genre's biggest names in the early 20th century, though very few believed him when he claimed he had invented the music in 1902. One of his biggest contributions to the genre was a 1938 session with ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, who recorded nearly 8 hours of music and stories that have become an essential part of the music's history.

The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother' has the most famous break in music

"Amen, Brother," a once-forgotten track from gospel group the Winstons, became one of music's most sampled songs after a six-second snippet was featured on "Ultimate Break Beats."

Philadelphia's Cornbread claims to be the first modern graffiti artist

Darryl McCray began writing his nickname, "Cornbread," across his hometown of Philadelphia in the 1960s. That style was a way of posting a personalized signature across neighborhoods and would become known as "tagging." In time, that style spread to New York, where it took off among other young people.

The Beastie Boys started as a punk band

Before they became a legendary rap group, the New Yorkers played fast, scrappy hardcore in the style of Bad Brains. Still, they were fans of the explosion of hip-hop culture in their city and recorded a jokey track in 1983, which led to a record deal and conversion to hip-hop.

Graffiti became an integral part of hip-hop culture

The visual art form began taking off in New York alongside the music of hip-hop. Both were postmodern forms of art that repurposed preexisting materials. For graffiti, that was by using the city as canvas. For rap, that was through sampling. This retrospective not only shows how the two forms intersected, but also how the public perception of both changed over time.

Sylvia Robinson is considered ‘the Godmother of Hip-Hop’

While hip-hop was soundtracking countless parties in the early ‘70s, Robinson saw the music’s potential. She began writing, producing, and releasing some of the music’s earliest singles through her Sugar Hill Records label and helped build a place in the music industry for the young music. Robinson’s groundbreaking work led to a 2022 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

How British youth resurrected overlooked American soul music

Motown released some of the 1960s' biggest soul records and changed the sound of pop music. The label also inspired countless smaller, regional labels that released songs by lesser-known artists that received limited attention. That changed with the rise of British Northern Soul, an underground scene that repurposed these obscure records (including several overlooked Motown releases) for all-night dance parties and, in the process, minted some unexpected American superstars.

The history of the 808, the drum machine that changed pop music

Roland's TR-808 is one of the most consequential pieces of gear in the history of popular music, providing the framework for innovative hip-hop, dance, and pop records in the early 1980s.

Dig through an archive of nearly 500 early hip-hop flyers for events featuring acts like the Sugar Hill Gang, Treacherous 3, and more.

Prolific Nigerian funk musician William Onyeabor left music in the mid-1980s, but was rediscovered by record collectors decades later.

Hip-hop producer J Dilla reimagined musical time

There are few names in hip-hop more revered than J Dilla, a producer who’s credited with redefining the feel of the music by playing with its timing.

Def Jam’s first office was Rick Rubin’s NYU dorm room

The essential hip-hop label was founded by Rick Rubin in 1984. At the time, Rubin was a New York University student and converted his dorm room into the label’s original office. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin would release landmark albums from LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, and many others.

A 19-month-old boy went viral for his natural drumming skills

A mother gifted her husband a drum set for Christmas, but was surprised to find their young child take a liking to the instrument. The musician couple noticed that over time the young boy taught himself proper form and how to keep up with the beat of the music. TikToks they filmed of their son went viral and amassed millions of views.

Daniel Johnston's home recordings have inspired countless rock legends

The singer-songwriter self-released cassettes in the early '80s that were not fit for the radio—their sound quality was poor, and the songs were often little more than an organ and Johnston's high-pitched voice, singing about things like Casper the Friendly Ghost. The tapes eventually found their way to alternative tastemakers, who lauded the songs' brilliance and inspired a cult following that has admired Johnston's music for decades.

Listen to Bruce Springsteen's first band, the Castiles, which he joined when he was still a teenager.

The Grateful Dead pioneered a massive 3-story, 75-ton, 600-speaker sound system that revolutionized live audio in the early 1970s.

A 'boombox' is the cool term for a Portable Radio Cassette Recorder

The technology debuted in the mid-1960s, revolutionizing portability of recording radio and playing music. As urban culture, especially hip hop, took advantage of the innovation, the "boombox" was born. See a gallery of old boomboxes and learn their history.

Hip-hop is both a music and a culture

While the word is often used to describe the popular genre, it’s historically been used to describe the culture that sprang up around the music in 1970s New York, including breakdancing and graffiti.

Prince was known as a genre-crossing polymath

The son of two Minneapolis jazz musicians, Prince was surrounded by music from a young age. His full name, Prince Rogers, was actually derived from his father's group, the Prince Rogers Trio. He eventually learned how to play his father's piano, teaching himself the themes to popular TV shows. Eventually, he learned other instruments and expanded his music tastes, indulging in records by Sly and the Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, and more. Below is his junior high school yearbook photo.

Champagne has a rich history in hip-hop

The drink is both aspirational and a bragging right. Famous artists name-check brands like Cristal, and up-and-comers long for the day when sparkling wine will flow like water. The trend traces back to the early 1990s and Branson B., “hip-hop’s unofficial sommelier.” The Harlem-based artist would bring bottles of his favorite bubbly to parties, celebrations, and, crucially, recording studios, where friends like the Notorious B.I.G. were laying down some of rap’s foundational tracks.

The Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows,' the final track from 1966's 'Revolver,' used innovative recording methods—including a rudimentary form of sampling—to redefine the sound of popular music.

Clive Davis was responsible for signing influential artists and superstars, including Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, and Alicia Keys.

An early Sly and the Family Stone live recording was discovered in 2002

A live recording of the legendary funk band in 1967—shortly before their mainstream breakthrough—was found in 2002 by two of the band's unofficial archivists. However, the full recording, "The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967," wasn't released until 2025.

Watch an early performance by Bruce Springsteen at a Greenwich Village coffeehouse in 1972.

Southern rap redefined the sound of hip-hop in the '90s

In the 1980s, most attention focused on New York, the birthplace of hip-hop, and Los Angeles, the epicenter of its burgeoning gangsta variant. By the mid-90s, though, artists like Outkast, Master P, and Missy Elliott shifted the focus to the south.

‘Moshing,’ an aggressive style of dancing, was initially called 'mashing'

The style, which involves audience members thrashing their bodies into one another, evolved from “pogoing,” a style popular in England where listeners jumped up and down in place. The term “moshing,” sometimes called “slam dancing” in California, is believed to come from HR, the lead singer of Bad Brains.

According to Kurt Cobain, Wipers invented grunge

Wipers began in Portland, Oregon in 1977, playing a form of punk rock that sounded darker and heavier than their contemporaries in New York, California, and England. The band remained an underground secret for years, influencing countless artists, including Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. "What more can I say about them?" he said in an interview. "They started Seattle grunge rock in Portland, 1977."

Death, early innovators of punk, were unknown for decades

The band of three brothers from Detroit recorded a 1974 demo that predicted the punk explosion that would arrive just a few years later with the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. But the band, Death, were complete unknowns until collectors rediscovered their music in the 2000s.

Biz Markie's "Alone Again" changed the laws for sampling

Before 1991, there was no established legal standard for the gray area of sampling. That changed when Gilbert O-Sullivan sued Biz Markie for using his song "Alone Again (Naturally)." After the case, labels were required to clear all samples, and artists were discouraged from creating sample-heavy music.

In July 1979, tens of thousands of people rioted on the Chicago White Sox field during 'Disco Demolition Night,' a promotional event that advertised the public burning of the genre's hit records.

TAKI 183 was a teenager whose graffiti drew widespread attention

Inspired by graffiti he saw throughout the city—including some tags he saw as early as 1964—the 16-year-old began tagging surfaces with "TAKI 183," a reference to a Greek nickname for Demetrius and his street (183rd) in Washington Heights. After a 1971 New York Times profile, his tag—and graffiti culture in New York—exploded.

Motown Records used an assembly-line approach to songwriting, inspired by founder Berry Gordy's time at Ford Motor Company.

How Apple's GarageBand changed music

Apple's preinstalled, easy-to-use software GarageBand was first released in 2004. Since then, it's changed the way artists write and record music. The program's accessibility and ease of use have allowed beginner artists to experiment and find their voice, while major artists like Rihanna, Grimes, and Bjork have used the program to record hit singles and perform live. This article from the Red Bull Music Academy explains how the basic interface reshaped an industry.