Did you know that Prince’s song “Darling Nikki” was the catalyst for the parental advisory sticker? Yes, Tipper Gore, wife of then-Senator Al Gore, purchased the album Purple Rain a gift for her 11-year old daughter. She was quoted as saying in her book, “When we brought the album home, put it on our stereo, and listened to it together, we heard the words to “Darling Nikki”: 'I knew a girl named Nikki/Guess (you) could say she was a sex fiend/I met her in a hotel lobby/Masturbating with a magazine," she recounted. "The vulgar lyrics embarrassed both of us. At first, I was stunned, but then I got mad! Millions of Americans were buying Purple Rain with no idea what to expect. Thousands of parents were giving the album to their children — many even younger than my daughter.”
Black History 365 | #14 - Grandmaster Flash
Shoutout to Grandmaster Flash! Another reputable founding father of Hip-Hop. He and his group Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five are the first Hip-Hop act to be inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame. He created a DJ technique that provided a seamless loop of the drum breaks on records. This technique also gave birth to cutting and scratching. It’s called the Grandmaster Flash Quick Mix Theory. This is where you use two turntables with identical records and rapidly switch between them to extend the rhythmic break.
Black History 365 | #13 - Kool Herc
What do you know about Kool Herc? Kool Herc and his sister are credited for throwing the first party thst essentially birthed Hip-Hop. DJ Afrika Bambaata, and DJ Grandmaster Flash are also synonymous with the birth of the culture. Definitely the founding fathers of Hip-Hop. “MC’s never showed loyalty yet. Kool Herc ain’t never get a royalty check.”
Black History 365 | #12 - 1520 Sedgwick Avenue
Did you know 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in The Bronx, New York is credited as the birthplace of Hip-Hop? August 11th, 1939 to be precise. Yep, a 102-unit building built for working classes families was where it all started. Humble beginnings for the 50 year old art form. Now, in 2022 Hip-Hop generated $15.9 billion off of music streams and purchases alone, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Across the globe, it's changed how businesses outside the culture/genre of Hip-Hop now market their products even if they’re not directly using an artist to market their products. This culture is huge business now. Where’s those royalty checks for the founders?
Black History 365 | #31 - MANSA MUSA
Did you know Mansa Abubakari II, the mariner King of Mali ruled one of the largest and richest empires on earth covering nearly all of West Africa? With his ambitions to explore he gave up all his power and gold in 1311 to his brother Kankou Moussa to pursue knowledge and to discover more of the world. He left with 2000 boats loaded with men, women, livestock, food, and drinking water and made trades with indigenous people. He landed in America nearly 200 years before Christopher Columbus. And never claimed to discover it because of the indigenous people he met there. Respectful, and player-like. ✨