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 ...

When Sugarhill Gang’s 1979 hit “Rapper’s Delight” became the first hip-hop song to land on the Billboard Hot 100, it opened the door for the 1980s to be a massive decade for the new genre. Beginning ...

What were the most important albums in hip-hop history? Rap was different before that album — and afterwards, it was forever changed? Hip-hop started at block parties in the Bronx 50 years ago, but it ...

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 linguistic anthropologist was captivated by hip hop rhymes in the 1980s and went on to build a model archive ...

John "Ecstasy" Fletcher, founder of the 1980s hip-hop group Whodini, died Wednesday at 56, according to a statement released by his family. John "Ecstasy" Fletcher, founder of the 1980s hip-hop group ...

What were the most important albums in hip-hop history? Rap was different before that album — and afterwards, it was forever changed? That's the question that Morning Edition posed to cultural critic ...

Hip-hop is 50 years old. An official anniversary is coming next month, so we asked cultural critic Kiana Fitzgerald to identify some of the game-changing moments in hip-hop history. She starts with ...

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.