NEW YORK, NY.- The start of hip-hop dates to Aug. 11, 1973, when DJ Kool Herc created continuous breakbeats by working two turntables during a party in a rec room at 1520 Sedgwick Ave. in the Bronx borough of New York City. On Friday night, exactly 50 years later, a concert was held at Yankee Stadium roughly a mile and a half from hip-hops birthplace to honor the occasion, featuring Run-DMC, Slick Rick, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Lil Kim and Nas. DJ Kool Herc, 68, also appeared onstage to accept an award.
Before the show, which was billed as Hip Hop 50 Live, the scene outside the stadium was heavy with fans of the sounds from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Middle-aged couples on date nights arrived wearing matching Adidas track suits. A man strolled the promenade carrying a boombox and wearing a Kangol hat. Hawkers sold pins with pictures of Biz Markie and The Notorious B.I.G.
Outside a McDonalds opposite the stadium, a street musician performed Tupac Shakur hits, while an in-line skater entertained the crowd with basketball tricks. Stationed beside a subway entrance was an 8-year-old rapper, Hetep BarBoy, who, accompanied by his father, was selling CDs of his album. I prefer old-school hip-hop, Hetep said. I like Rakim because of his flow and the clean message he was putting into the world. He rapped about positivity, and thats also what my music is about.
In the edited interviews below, attendees reflected on hip-hops 50th. Some recalled witnessing the park jams and parties that defined the genres beginnings.
Tamika Talbot
Executive assistant
Pick a side: Old-school hip-hop or new? Old-school all day. I was at the rap battles in the parks. Hip-hop came from the dirt. You had to be a lyrical assassin then. If you werent, you were trash. I feel if you have something to say now, youre seen as wack. Back then your flow had to be intact.
Your old-school hero? Big Daddy Kane was once the prince of hip-hop. He had crazy lyrical flow. He was super-duper fly. He was unmatched.
Richard Byars
Celebrity chef
Which old-school hero are you here to see? Ice Cube. To me he represents the beginning of hip-hops renaissance. But Id never use the term old-school. I call artists like him true-school.
Whats a significant hip-hop history moment for you? The public access television show Video Music Box was essential to hip-hops growth in the 1980s. All the forefathers appeared on that show.
Adam Jenkins
Fiber-optics specialist
Old-school or new? I saw the birth of hip-hop as a kid growing up in the Bronx. I was at those Sedgwick Avenue parties. I saw Cold Crush Brothers and Afrika Bambaataa. So this all goes way back for me. Its amazing to see how hip-hop has become a global force, but when I was a kid, it was just about having fun in the park. It wasnt about how nice your car was or how much money you had.
Do you ever boast about seeing hip-hops birth? I do sometimes tell young people that I saw the beginning of all this, but it usually falls on deaf ears, and they dont get it. But that kind of response is also part of hip-hop to me, because its a genre thats supposed to be always evolving from its past.
Lesley Smith
Home-care aide
Old-school or new? For me its still all about Melle Mel, the Sugarhill Gang and Kurtis Blow. Theyre the originals. Back in the day hip-hop was wholesome and fun. I dont even understand it now.
Primo Gonzalez
Security guard
Whats a significant hip-hop history moment for you? I remember seeing Beat Street in the movie theater in the 1980s. It was a world I already knew from seeing B-boys on University Avenue, but for many people, that was the first time they ever saw break dancing culture.
Mary Olivette Bookman
Fordham University music student
Who do you consider a pioneer? Missy Elliott. She had something to say. What she was doing was sonically unique, and her skill and individuality were always immediately visible in her rap style.
Who are you here to see tonight? Im here to see them all. I want to see hip-hop history. Tonight is music education for me.
Gearni Thompson
Music marketing professional
Whats a significant hip-hop moment for you? I can still remember riding in a car with my friends when I heard Rappers Delight by the Sugarhill Gang for the first time.
Old-school or new? I love the old-school. I feel like the new school is about all the wrong stuff, like buying jewelry and expensive cars. Grandmaster Flash was reaching the kids in a good way. Old-school rap was about community and where we came from. It changed our lives.
Ricardo Varona
Street ball entertainer
Your old-school hero? Snoop Dogg. When he and Dr. Dre came out with The Chronic it shook the world. Everyone followed their way after that.
Whats a significant hip-hop moment for you? An important artist who I feel is too little known now is Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam. Her hit Can You Feel the Beat was impossible to not want to sing and dance to when it came out.
Wisdom McClurkin
Hospitality professional
Who do you want to see tonight? Lil Kim. Shes a pioneer. Shes from the block. Shes the queen of everything. She was the blueprint. If it wasnt for her, there would be no Nicki Minaj.
William Gaines
Retired chef
Old-school or new? I grew up in the boogie-down Bronx, so I went to all those legendary park jams. Theyd hook up the turntables and speakers, and the cops would eventually come to turn it all off. Youd see Biz Markie and Doug E. Fresh. It was a good time. It all started from nothing and became something. But it all began with us just saying to each other: Yo, theyre having a party on Sedgwick Avenue tonight. Want to go?
This article originally appeared in
The New York Times.