HIP-HOP

Hip-hop is kin on the road, not reggae’s child. Clive Campbell — Kool Herc, born in Kingston — carried sound-system practice to Bronx block parties in August 1973: massive systems, talking over records, playing the parts the dancers wanted most. From that spark, Bronx Black and Latino youth built hip-hop’s own culture: breaks, MCing, graffiti, b-boying. To say hip-hop “comes from reggae” erases that Bronx work. Since the 1990s the conversation runs both ways — dancehall and rap feed each other constantly.