10.2. Turntablism

One of the most important roles within hip hop music was that of the DJ. As the early style relied heavily on the use of turntables, the person spinning the breaks had to be at his (or her) best. DJ Kool Herc was one of the first to do this - Walter Gibbons, a disco DJ, was mixing disco and funk breaks around the same time (Lawrence, 2008) - and the technique quickly spread throughout New York until it was a staple part of performances, with pioneers Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa taking the trend into the rest of America and the world. Herc was originally from Jamaica and was something of a veteran when it came to sound systems and playing reggae. In the famous party at Sedgewick Avenue in 1973, his first party in New York, he started playing the soul/funk breaks. Hip hop as much of a cultural renaissance for the black community as it was a musical one. By the 80s, technology was incredibly sophisticated, with inventions like the Walkman, giving you the ability to listen to your music on the go. Coupled with the rich history of black popular music genres and labels now having to adapt to the new sound to survive, hip hop had the tools to become one of the biggest musical sensations in the post-war America