The musical genre of Hip-hop is said to have started in Brooklyn, New York in the late 60's. The term hip-hop is claimed to have been coined by a slew of different DJs and MCs from the early 70's. Some claim Kool Herc, others claim DJ Hollywood. The real creator of the term will most likely never be known for sure, but the use of the phrase was started around 1972. The influence of Hip-Hop over the years has not only been musical, its also affected fashion, art, and dance. The popularity of break dancing and graffitti owes a lot to the rising influence of the hip-hop culture in America and other parts of the world. The start of the genre has roots in funk, soul, jazz, and blues. James Brown released the album "The Big Payback" in 1970 that would later be considered a major influence in the early days of hip-hop.

Hip hop music would usually have vocals that have come to be known as rap or rapping, along with rhythmic backing beats. Many rappers "DJs" and hip-hop fans would divide the history of hip-hop into two eras, one being the "old school" era (1970-1985) and the other being the "golden age" era (1985-1993).

The original sound of hip-hop and rapping was much different than what we have come to know today. The late 70's star "DJs" and "MCs" include Afrika Bambaataa, Fab 5 Freddy, Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash, Furous Five and Kool Herc. As far as most fans and artists are concerned these are the "founding fathers" of hip-hop and their influence on the genre is un-deniable. In 1974 a former gang member met a grafitti artist who called himself "Fab 5 Freddy." The gang member turned "DJ" was Afrika Bambaataa and this meeting would prove to be a major driving force behind the hip hop scene. Shortly after the Zulu Nation was created, and they came up with what they call "The Four Elements" of hip hop which include: DJing, break dancing, graffiti art, and MCing (rapping).

In the early 80s the "founding fathers" of hip hop had risen to commercial success. The first to sign a record deal being Kurtis Blow with his single "The Breaks." In 1980, rock and roll band Blondie released a song with "rapping" verses and references to Fab 5 Freddy and Grandmaster Flash. This song furthered the hip hop influence in mainstream music. "Rappers Delight" by The Sugar Hill Gang also spent time on the pop charts in the early 80's.

In 1981, Whodini filmed the first video for a hip hop artist with the song "Magics Wand."

1982 was the release of the first movie focusing on hip hop culture, "Wild Style", the same year Run DMC formed and started practicing and performing together.

Former DJ and current producer Russell Simmons meets Rick Ruben in 1984, and they begin Def Jam Records in Ruben's college dorm room. Def Jam would later become a staple in the hip hop music industry.

In 1986 the first white rap group The Beastie Boys released "Licence to Ill." Also LL Cool J went platnium with his debut single, "Radio" and Rick Rubin signed up and coming rap group Public Enemy.

1987 was the release of "Paid in Full" by Eric B and Rakim, which is now considered a classic by many. Easy E used money he had earned selling drugs to fund "Ruthless Records" and recruits Dr. Dre as a DJ and Ice Cube as an MC. NWA released their first album "NWA and the Posse" which had little success. The same year Ice T became the first west coast rapper to gain commercial success, and he was also one of the first to use what would later be know as Gangsta Rap with his single "Six in the Morning" using vulgar lyrics about drug dealing, sexism, and violence.

1988 saw the death of DJ Scott la Rock, deeply hurt, his partner KRS 1 begins to devote his work to a more educated and socially aware version of hip hop. Public Enemy released "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back" which would later skyrocket them to popularity with there own brand of angry, hard hitting, and political lyric content. The same year NWA released "Straight Outta Compton" that set the standard for "gangsta rap" and opened the door to other artists in the sub genre.

In 1989 The Grammy Awards announced the category for best rap album, which was not viewed as good news by many who wanted the genre to remain "underground." Slick Rick released his debut album that year, which set yet another style of hip hop that included vivid, lengthy stories and calm collected presentation. Also Ice Cube of the NWA decides to part ways over a finacial dispute with Reckless Records.

The 90's saw hip hop's success rise to unexpected commercial levels. Many artists such as EMPD rejected this style and viewed it as "fake." Others were much more accepting of the rising popularity. In the 90's many artists like Fresh Prince (Will Smith), Vanilla Ice Salt N Peppa and Mc Hammer cashed in on the rising trend with pop singles.

In 1990, Slick Rick was arrested for shooting his cousin and leading the police on a high speed chase. He bailed out in time for his second albums release but was later sentenced to five years in prison. The same year Will Smith was featured on a new televison series, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

In 1991, Biz Markie becomes the first rapper to be sued over sampling music without proper permission. Initially this caused a lot of fear because most artists relied on samples for the beats, but still sampling remains very popular in hip hop today. Also Ice Cube stars in the movie Boyz N the Hood, and Dr Dre leaves NWA for similar reasons as Ice Cube and the group disbands.

In 1992, former Digital Underground back up dancer Tupac Shakur releases "2pacalypse Now". This album caused controversy over lyrics that were considered anti-government or anti-police. Tupac also gained popularity with his role in the movie "Juice." The same year saw the split of Eric B and Rakim and the creation of Death Row Records.

1993 was the undergroud release of "Protect ya Neck", a song put out by a 9 member group who called themselves "The Wu Tang Clan." This single created alot of anticipation for the groups first album, but ultimatly their first album had mediocre sales. Sean Combs starts Bad Boy Records in the same year and signs ex-EMPD roadie, Craig Mack and a local New York drug dealer who called himself Notorious BIG. Death Row Records released the debut album Doggystyle by Dr. Dre's protege Snoop Dogg.

1994 was the release of the highly anticipated debut of Illmatic" by Queensbridge rapper Nas. This album is an instant classic and is comparable to the hip hop legends. Notorious BIG released his album "Ready to Die" which was also considered an instant classic.

In 1995, 2pac is shot, in what was considered to be a robbery, he survives the attack and the rapper immediatly blames Notorious BIG for the incident. Dr. Dre's new partner Suge Knight insults Sean Combs at the Source Awards and fuels the dispute further, while his old partner Easy E dies of AIDS. The same year outlandish Wu Tang Clan member Ol' Dirty Bastard creates controversy while he lets MTV cameras televise him riding in a limo to The Department of Health and Human Services to pick up food stamps that he still technically qualified for.

In 1996, 2pac released the single "Hit em' Up", with obvious insults to Notorious BIG and his wife Faith Evans. Dr. Dre announces "gangsta rap is dead" and leaves Death Row Records. 2pac is later shot and killed in Las Vegas, Nevada as a result of a drive by shooting that still remains unsolved to this day. The same year rapper Eminem released his debut album "Infinate" which recieved little attention.

In 1997, after the Soul Train Music Awards Notorious BIG is shot in a drive by that is remarkably similar to the case of 2pac Shakur and also remains an unsolved crime. Suge Knight is sentenced to four years in prison for violating his parole and Snoop Dogg announces he is leaving Death Row Records after his dissapointing second album and obvious signs of the labels downfall. Also that year Def Jam records announced the signing of Jay-Z, marking their return into the ranks of respected hip hop labels.

In 1998, Master P's record label No Limit was producing almost all top hip hop albums. Snoop Dogg seeing their success joined the label and put out two more albums that received bad reviews and poor sales. A Tribe Called Quest disbands after their fourth release, and Q-tip quickly pursues a solo career and producing projects. This year also saw "rap-metal" gain commercial success with bands like Limp Bizkit, and DMX becoming the first rapper to have two number one albums in one year.

1999 was the year Jay Z's "Hard Knock Life Tour" took place, which was the first large scale hip hop tour in over a decade. Eminem also makes his commercial debut with "The Slim Shady LP" on Aftermath Records along with Dr. Dre's long awaited follow up album, "Dre 2001."

Since then hip hop history has essentially become pop music history and is very well documented on televison and in the media. Currenty the most popular acts in music are considered to be hip hop artists or rappers, even other styles of pop music are starting to be obviously influenced by hip hop culture. Though the current style is much different than what anyone would have ever expected while break dancing and DJing in Brooklyn all those years ago.http://www.hiphop-history.org/history-of-hiphop/