1973 was the year hip-hop pioneer DJ Kool Herc deejayed his first party. Djs were a staple in the New York disco scene of the 1970s, but Herc was the first to slap old funk, soul and R&B records onto the turntables and deliberately manipulate them to showcase what people called the "get-down" parts of the songs. These percussive, high-energy, instrumental breaks - or break beats - came to form the basic vocabulary of hip-hop music

DJ Kool Herc

Born in Jamaica, Herc moved to the Bronx in 1967, when he was 13. With memories of Jamaican yard parties still fresh in his mind, Herc began spinning at parties and clubs. Not content with the disco music in fashion at the time, Herc instead focused his attention on classic funk, soul and R&B tunes, resurrecting hits by artists such as James Brown and Aretha Franklin. His technique of highlighting the instrumental "get-down" sections in songs brought people flocking to the dance floor, and Herc quickly became the most respected, sought-after DJ in the Bronx. These "get-down" sections - later known as breakbeats - went on to serve as the foundation for all hip-hop music to come. They also played an important role in the development of breakdancing, so named because it was during these kinds of high-energy breaks that the dancing took place. Centered on the breakbeat, breakdancing (performed by break boys, or b-boys for short) was a uniquely stylized form of dancing that grew and developed in complexity (and popularity) in tandem with its musical counterpart. In this way, Herc's breakbeats contributed to the rise of the larger phenomenon of hip-hop culture. This photo features Herc with DJ Tony Tone of the Cold Crush Brothers, DJ Breakout of the Funky Four plus One, and others.