Module 5: When the Beat was Born

Summary

When the Beat was Born is a picture book biography of DJ Kool Herc and his role in the creation of DJ-ing, breakdancing and hip-hop. DJ Kool Herc began as Clive, a kid who loved music and rhythm and grew up in Jamaica idolizing the Jamaican DJs and the parties they had. This made him want to become a DJ. Clive then moved to New York City when he was thirteen and became known as "cool as Clyde" for his basketball talent and "Hercules" because of his large size, and he then combined the two names and called himself "Kool Herc."

Kool Herc then used his father's sound system to throw a dance party and he then became known as DJ Kool Herc. At these parties, he noticed people dancing very hard to the breaks in the song and he would then loop the breaks so they could dance longer. It was here that break-dancing was born. Also during the breaks in the song, he would call out the name of his friends in little raps and so rapping and the MC was born. These parties became so large that people from all over would go to these parties and that was where some of the other big names in early hip-hop got started, which then started hip-hop on the path to becoming mainstream. 

Reference

 Hill, L. C., & Taylor, T., III. (2013). When the beat was born: DJ Kool Herc and the creation of hip hop. New York: Roaring Brook Press. 

Impressions

This book is a great introduction to the origins of hip-hop and the elements of hip hop: breaking, DJ-ing, and MC-ing (rapping). It is quite an inspirational story to hear that hip-hop all started with a kid who loved music and used the tools he had around, which were turntables and speakers. From there, a movement of community and music was born with people coming together for self-expression. The illustrations are also well-done in that they give a glimpse of what it was like back when DJ Kool Herc was younger. At the end of the book there is a timeline of important milestones in hip-hop history and it was nice to see when these things happened in relation to each other. 

Professional Review

Bush, E. (2013). When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop by Laban Carrick Hill (review). Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 67(2), 95. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved October 2, 2016, from Project MUSE database.

Library Uses

When I was working at the Chino Hills Branch Library of the San Bernardino County Library system, I started a weekly open breakdance/DJ session for the teens in the community that were into Hip-Hop dance and music. This book would have been good to use as an introduction to the origins of Hip-Hop breakdancing and DJ-ing.