The $25 Room Where Hip-Hop Began

A rec room that rented for $25. A quarter for girls, fifty cents for guys. On August 11, 1973, Cindy Campbell threw a back-to-school party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx to pay for new school clothes. Her big brother, Clive "Kool Herc" Campbell, played only the drum breaks. His friend Coke La Rock picked up the mic and started talking over them. This is the story of that night: the Bronx that came before it (the Cross Bronx Expressway, the fires, the gang truce of 1971), the party itself, the "merry-go-round" that turned a drum break into a loop, and the long fight to save the building where it happened. Where the sources disagree (crowd size, Herc's age, when he first ran the merry-go-round), we say so. The famous "Back to School Jam" index card you've seen online is a later recreation, according to Christie's, so we show you real Campbell family invitations from 1974 instead. Besides Herc and Cindy, who deserves credit for the start of hip-hop? Tell me in the comments. Chapters 00:00 August 11, 1973 00:37 Title 00:43 Why start here 01:07 The highway 01:33 The Bronx at a low point 02:05 Black Benjie 02:31 The peace 03:07 Clive from Kingston 03:38 Hercules 04:07 The get-down part 04:32 Cindy's plan 04:52 The index cards 05:12 The night 05:33 The breaks 05:59 Coke La Rock on the mic 06:25 Who was there? 06:47 The next day 07:12 The merry-go-round 07:43 What the loop became 08:13 The others 08:38 The hard years 09:03 Rapper's Delight 09:34 Saving the building 09:59 The fight 10:29 Saved 11:04 The honors 11:37 What it changed 12:13 Next time Sources (all opened in October 2026) NPR, "50 years ago, teenagers partied in the Bronx and gave rise to hip-hop" (2023) New York magazine, Michael A. Gonzales, "The Holy House of Hip-hop" (2008) The Guardian, Angus Batey, DJ Kool Herc's first block party (2011) NPR Fresh Air, DJ Kool Herc interview (2005, republished 2023) New York Times CityRoom: July 23 2007, Sept 26 2008, Nov 7 2011 U.S. Senate, S.Res.305 (118th Congress, 2023), GovInfo THE CITY, "The 'Black Benjie Way'" (2023) New York Amsterdam News, Kool Herc's illness (2011) Jamaica Gleaner (2020, 2023); Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Bronx Times, Hip Hop Boulevard (2016); Washington Post via HNN, Smithsonian (2006) Okayplayer, "Is Hip-Hop's Birthday Mythology?" (2023); Christie's, DJ Kool Herc sale (2022) Wikipedia: 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, DJ Kool Herc, Coke La Rock, Cross Bronx Expressway, Hoe Avenue peace meeting, Hip Hop Boulevard, Rapper's Delight, Breaking at the 2024 Summer Olympics Photos and footage Credited on screen. Includes the DJ Kool Herc and Cindy Campbell collection (Christie's Images, 2022), New York magazine / Cindy Campbell, EPA DOCUMERICA (public domain), Library of Congress HAER (public domain), Wikimedia Commons contributors (licences on screen), CW11, NY1, ABC7, AP, BBC and Voice of America (public domain). Music "Documentary Piano" by leberch (Pixabay) and an original drone bed. Short clips of: James Brown, "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" (King Records, 1969); The Jimmy Castor Bunch, "It's Just Begun" (RCA, 1972); The Sugarhill Gang, "Rapper's Delight" (Sugar Hill Records, 1979). All rights belong to their owners. Narration: Andre's own voice #HipHopHistory #KoolHerc #Bronx