cover story
to O
By Elle Rahilly
n August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc hit the switch on his turntable at a party in the South Bronx and created a sound that would revolutionize the world. While entertaining at his sister’s back-toschool bash, the Jamaican-American deejay extended an instrumental beat to let people dance longer and began rapping over the music. Five years later, while teasing a friend who’d just enlisted in the Army, emcee Keef Cowboy of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five coined the term “hip-hop” while scat-singing in the cadence of marching troops. Hip-hop crews developed in Hartford in the late 1970s as youth became inspired to emulate what they learned from the Bronx-based styles. This small scene wasn’t fully recognized by a larger audience here until August 1983, when Peace Train, a Hartford nonprofit, produced a breakdancing contest in Bushnell Park, where an estimated 15,000 spectators watched 40 crews compete.
22
magazine
Throughout the 1980s, hip-hop continued to make waves in Connecticut with artists like The Skinny Boys out of Bridgeport and Stezo, a New Haven native who would become a trailblazer by introducing one of the most quintessential breakbeats used in hip-hop. Underground artists surfaced throughout the 1990s, including Apathy, a renowned local rapper from Willimantic who helped put Connecticut hip-hop on the map. Across the country, the healing power of hip-hop helped transform the violence of the streets into playful dance and rap battles, and the culture became a hub for education and activism. The genre offered a beacon of hope for urban America. Early on, the Universal Zulu Nation arose as an international hip-hop awareness organization promoting love, peace and unity for all races, religions and civilizations. It provided a stage for young people to express themselves through hip-hop, creating a sense of community and belonging, and became a platform to share stories, struggles and aspirations. It was also a place to