Which Bronx DJ hosted the August 11, 1973 party often cited as hip hop’s birth?

DJ Kool Herc hosted the August 11, 1973 Bronx party often cited as hip hop’s birth.

The event took place at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, New York, during a back-to-school party organized by Cindy Campbell, Herc’s sister. Herc, born Clive Campbell, supplied the music and used two turntables to extend instrumental drum sections, known as breaks, so dancers could keep moving.

The party was not officially called the birth of hip hop at the time. That description developed later because the event represents several elements of the culture coming together: DJing, breakdancing, MCing, and a neighborhood-centered party scene. Herc’s Jamaican sound-system background also influenced his approach to amplification and crowd interaction.

Other pioneers, especially Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash, made major contributions soon afterward. The August 1973 date is therefore a landmark commonly cited by historians, not a claim that every part of hip hop began in one single moment.