Reggae and Dancehall’s Influence on Hip-Hop

This year Hip-Hop celebrates its 50th anniversary as a genre. You can’t talk about hip-hop and not talk about the influence that Jamaican sound culture played on hip-hop as a genre. DJ Kool Herc, who is of Jamaican descent popularized playing records is between one another, using two record players. This music playing technique became the backbone of the movement in the late 70s and early 80s. While DJ Kool Herc isn’t the only accredited foundation member there are definitely other influences like R&B, Disco and poetry also contributed to the genre. In this episode, we discuss the connections and growth trajectory.