Clive Campbell, was born in Jamaica 1955 and emigrated with his family to New York in 1967. The Campbell family found their home at 1520 Cedric Avenue in the Bronx where Clive would immerse himself in his first great passion: music. Campbell also loved to spend a lot of time in the weights room and was an avid bodybuilder. His tall stature and muscular physique earned him the nickname “Hercules” which was eventually shortened to Herc.
The DeeJay & Emcee Revolution
Herc loved music, particularly Jamican reggae and American including James Brown. Herc started holding parties from his home sharing his music with friends and other neighbourhood residents. However he became tired of repeatedly playing the same songs and started to experiment with the sounds to extend a song’s break section point where the vocals stop and the beat and instrumental section carry on. Herc’s soon began hosting Block Parties in a variety of locations around the Bronx.
Herc used duplicate copies of the same record, which would be played on separate turn tables. Herc’s technique involved playing the break beat on one record, then throwing it to the other turntable and back again. Herc rotated the record back to the spot where the break beat began and repeated the process thereby creating a continuous seamless beat. This was the earliest form of looping. Then at a pinnacle moment Herc would segue way into a fresh track, e.g. James Brown’s Sex Machine, completely changing the beat and tone.
In the middle of his segment Herc would start shouting into the microphone. One rendition might go something like
“Yo this is Kool Herc in the joint-ski saying my mellowski Marky D is in the house” (Hip Hop Network, see below)
This would send the crowd cheering and responding with their own chants. Soon the lyrical additions became more elaborate but as his dejejaying became more involved Herc handed the lyrical duties to his friends Coke La Rock and Clark Kent. They took popular phrases and schoolyard rhymes giving them a twist, changing a word or two. Thus the first emcees (MC’s, Rappers) were born.
A Legend is Born
Herc became a legend and pioneer with his musical style. People travelled from all over the city and all walks of life to see him in action. Herc earned the respect of some of the city’s notorious gangs, his unique sound combined with his open door friendly persona seemed to unify even the most adversarial bunch. He inspired Kevin Donovan the leader of the South Bronx’s most notorious and largest street gang, to leave the gang and concentrate on harnessing the unifying power of music to spread a message of peace, love and unity he would become known as Afrika Bambaataa.
Herc gained the reputation for having the loudest sound system in the Bronx. Wherever he played be it in park, clubs, or abandoned buildings in one of his famous block parties his music could be heard from all over. Rival performers and DJ’s who had tried to oust Herc from the stage by playing for longer than their allotted time soon learned to their detriment that the reputation was no boast.
The Club Scene
As the “Hip Hop” scene began to grow, Herc introduced his unique musical style to a wider audience and on a professional basis. He was offered his first professional role in 1973 at The Twilight Zone club. Herc’s reputation resulted in a full house nearly every night and before long he became a local celebrity. Herc would perform at community venues to raise money and awareness for local charities and causes.
Herc wanted to DJ for the famous Hevalo club in the Bronx. He tried to get in on previously but was turned away at the door, and an attempt to promote his talents to management outside the club resulted in him being chased away by security. Not phased Herc settled into his role at The Twilight Zone where word travelled around the city about his unique blending of musical styles, and the crowds he always managed to attract. Unable to ignore rumours about this talented young man, the Hevalo sent scouts to the club to see what all the fuss was about. In 1975 Herc’s wish came true when the Hevalo offered him the top performing spot.
The Rise and Fall
Herc enjoyed success at the Hevalo and even took up guest performances at other clubs including The Sparkle and The Executive Playhouse. However by 1977 Herc found himself competing against younger DJ’s, emulating his style such as Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, and Afrika Bambaataa with his Zulu nation. Despite this Herc was able to hold his own until Herc was stabbed three times at one of his own Block parties.
After taking extensive recovery time Herc returned to the music scene to find that more acts had emerged, flooding the club scene. In fact Hip Hop became so big that some acts secured recording contracts documenting Hip Hop’s first steps to commercialisation. Herc on the other hand never recorded a single segment of his music, despite having been offered many recording contracts.
As Hip Hop became a global phenomenon interest in Herc seemed to remerge. He appeared as himself in the film Beat Street and was featured in the BBC Arena documentary Beat This: A Hip Hop History. Herc continues to dazzle audiences with his unique blends throughout America and Europe and although seems to have been forgotten by modern hip hop DJ’s and rappers of today, there are many who still remember DJ Kool Herc and acknowledge him as The founding father of hip hop.
Sources
“Beat This: A Hip Hop History” BBC Documentary
Ramon Youseph - An English Graduate with Honours, Ramon lives and works in Bristol, a city in the South West of England, where he juggles a full time job ...
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