When the beat was born : DJ Kool Herc and the creation of hip hop

Title:

Author:

Hill, Laban Carrick.

Added Author:

Taylor, Theodore, III,

Personal Author:

Hill, Laban Carrick.

ISBN:

9781596435407

Edition:

1st edition.

Publication Information:

New York : Roaring Brook Press, 2013.

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 26 cm

Abstract:

An introduction to pioneering DJ Clive Campbell describes how he devised new ways of playing music between dance songs, sharing insight into his youth in 1970s Jamaica and the Bronx, and how his musical achievements helped counter gang violence.

Reading Level:

AD 910 Lexile.

Ages 9-12.

Personal Subject:

Kool DJ Herc-Juvenile literature.

Subject Term:

Disc jockeys -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.

Rap musicians -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.

Summary:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Broad Rock	Book	B KOOLDJH H	Searching... Unknown
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Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A John Steptoe New Talent Award Winner

Before there was hip hop, there was DJ Kool Herc.

On a hot day at the end of summer in 1973 Cindy Campbell threw a back-to-school party at a park in the South Bronx. Her brother, Clive Campbell, spun the records. He had a new way of playing the music to make the breaks--the musical interludes between verses--longer for dancing. He called himself DJ Kool Herc and this is When the Beat Was Born . From his childhood in Jamaica to his youth in the Bronx, Laban Carrick Hill's book tells how Kool Herc came to be a DJ, how kids in gangs stopped fighting in order to breakdance, and how the music he invented went on to define a culture and transform the world.

Reviews (2)

Horn Book Review

Clive (Kool Herc) Campbell, the "father" of hip hop, moved from Jamaica to the Bronx with a passion for music and a dream of DJing. Hill's "hippity hop[py]" text eventually settles on an appropriate cadence. Taylor's double-page illustrations capture Herc's skilled hands at the turntables and the vitality of a burgeoning art form. A welcome addition to an underrepresented subject. Timeline, websites. Bib. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

The origin of one of the most influential cultural movements in recent times--hip-hop--is presented through the story of DJ Kool Herc, the man who "put the hip hip hop, hippity hop into the world's heartbeat." Young Clive fell in love with music as a child in Jamaica, watching a popular DJ unpack crates of records to set up for house parties. When he moved to the Bronx, Clive became Kool Herc, and when he had the opportunity to throw his own dance parties, he became DJ Kool Herc. Herc's innovative style as a DJ, stretching the breaks in songs from seconds into minutes, allowed the creativity of others to erupt, such as break dancers, rappers and MCs. Hip-hop was born. Hill and Taylor have accomplished something special with this picture book, capturing the energy of the early hip-hop movement and presenting it in a manner that is accessible for children. The rhythm and balance of text make this an engaging read-aloud for young children, while the subject matter and animated style of the full-page illustrations will appeal to independent readers as well. This effervescent celebration of the roots of hip-hop will make readers feel the beat. (author's note, timeline, bibliography) (Picture book. 4-9)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.