Hip-hop has made history!

After almost 50 years of being the most influential genre in music and culture, hip-hop has been granted two months dedicated to the genre and its own official holiday. On Thursday (July 29), the United States Senate passed Resolution 331, naming August 11 national Hip-Hop Celebration Day. Additionally, it has been announced that August will be recognized as “Hip-Hop Recognition Month” and November as “Hip-Hop History Month”. 

According to a tweet posted on the Senate Periodicals' Twitter account on Thursday, the vote was passed with unanimous consent. It marks the first time hip-hop has been officially recognized by the Senate.

August 11, 1973, marks the official birthday of hip-hop. When DJ Kool Herc and his sister Cindy Campbell hosted a back-to-school party in their home of the Bronx, New York. This was the first party that would lay down the groundwork for what would become one of the most significant cultural movements in American history. 

Kool Herc is credited with inventing “the break,” utilizing two turntables to create a drum instrumental, giving partygoers more time to dance, eventually creating breakdancing, and rapping over the breakbeats birthing an entirely new genre of black music. 

Join us this month in celebrating Hip-Hops birthday, as we honor the music and culture that means so much to us!