Hot 21 Radio

While it’s impossible to distill a history as rich as hip-hop’s down to just 50 defining moments, here are many of the music’s game-changing artists and achievements over the past 50 years.

By Karu F. Daniels, Brian Niemietz, Tim Balk and Amber Garrett, New York Daily News While it’s impossible to distill a history as rich as hip-hop’s down to just 50 defining moments, here are many of the music’s game-changing artists and achievements over the past 50 years: Aug. 11, 1973: 1520 Sedgwick Ave. in the Bronx earns its place in history as the birthplace of hip-hop when DJ Kool Herc (Clive Campbell) and his sister Cindy throw a back-to-school party in their building’s community room. Community center in ground floor of apartment building 1520 Sedgwick Avenue is recognized as official birthplace of Hip Hop on August 16, 2007 in Bronx Borough of New York City. (Peter Kramer/Getty Images) Nov. 12, 1976: Afrika Bambaataa makes his DJ debut at a party at the Bronx River Community Center, spinning vinyl on a sound system his mom gave him as a graduation present. July 13, 1977: During a two-day New York City blackout, inner city youth reportedly break into local electronics stores across the city to scrap together turntables, microphones, mixers, speakers and other audio equipment to become deejays and emcees. 1979: Sugar Hill Records is co-founded by Joe and Sylvia Robinson. The Sugar Hill Gang’s single “Rapper’s Delight,” released later that year, becomes the first rap song to be played on the radio and the first to be a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. 1980: Kurtis Blow is signed to Mercury Records, believed to be the first major record deal for a rapper. Rapper Kurtis Blow performs on stage at the 15th annual Art for Life Gala hosted by Russell and Danny Simmons at Fairview Farms on July 26, 2014 in Water Mill, New York. (Brian Ach/Getty Images for Art For Life Gala) Feb. 14, 1981: Funky 4 + 1, a Bronx-based group composed of Jazzy Jeff, Sha-Rock, D.J. Breakout, Guy Williams, Keith Keith, The Voice of K.K. and Rodney Stone, become the first rap act to perform live on national television as the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live.” 1981: Street art trailblazer Jean Michel Basquiat and graffiti artist Lee Quiñones appear in the music video for Blondie’s “Rapture,” which brings the genre to the pop music mainstream. The song spends two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 1983: Herbie Hancock’s synth and drum machine-driven “Rockit” wins a Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance in 1983. 1984: Def Jam Records is founded in Rick Rubin’s NYU dormitory room. The label, with Russell Simmons as its face, will go on to boast a roster that includes LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Foxy Brown, Method Man, Redman, Jay-Z, Ja Rule and Rihanna. Russell Simmons speaks during the first ever “Def Jam Master Class” March 3, 2003 at the Martin Luther King Jr. High School in New York City. (Scott Gries/Getty Images) Oct. 25, 1985: “Krush Groove,” a movie loosely based on the backstories of Def Jam Records, is released. It features performances by Kurtis Blow, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, The Fat Boys and introduces the world to LL Cool J. Although panned by mainstream critics, the film is a box office success. July 15, 1986: Run DMC’s third studio album “Raising Hell” achieves platinum status, becoming the first hip-hop album to sell 1 million units. It would go on to achieve triple platinum status the following year. Nov. 15, 1986: The Beastie Boys release their debut studio album, “Licensed to Ill,” proving that white boys could rap, too. The trio, composed of Michael “Mike D” Diamond, Adam “MCA” Yauch and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, became the first rap group to have an album top the Billboard 200 Dec. 8, 1986: Salt-N-Pepa releases “Hot, Cool & Vicious.” The meteoric success of the sexually suggestive “Push It” propels the Queens-based group into superstardom as the first Grammy-nominated female rap group. Dec. 4, 1986: Run DMC becomes the first rap group to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone. American rap group Run DMC pose at the Grammy Awards, 1980s. (L-R): Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell), Joe ‘Run’ Simmons and Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) March 29, 1988: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, also known as Will Smith, release hip hop’s first double album, “He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper.” The album goes platinum and the duo win a 1989 Grammy for best rap performance” for their family-friendly hit “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” August 1988:The Source magazine launches, becoming the first and last word on hip-hop music on newsstands. What started as a newsletter became the top-selling music magazine in the U.S. by 1999. A “5 Mic Rating” from The Source comes to designate an album as an instant classic. Aug. 6, 1988: MTV debuts “Yo! MTV Raps,” hosted by Fab 5 Freddy, featuring Ed Lover and Doctor Dré. The network had been famously called out for neglecting Black artists during a 1983 interview with MTV host Mark Goodman who said, “We have to play the music we think an entire country is g Read more