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“Some people loved it, and some people hated it,” recalled drummer Clem Burke

There was a time when artists representing two of America’s biggest homegrown musical genres wouldn’t get a look in at the Grammys.

This week we're celebrating 50 years since the birth of hip-hop. More than a musical genre, it’s a global phenomenon. Business, sport, fashion, politics – hip-hop influences it all. Our culture team has recorded a four-part series in New York and Paris to trace its journey from the streets of…

Its widely accepted birth date is 11 August 1973, when a now legendary party was thrown in a community room at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, a tower block in the Bronx, New York. It was organised by Cindy Campbell, a Jamaican-born teenager, who charged 25 cents for ladies and 50 cents…

The genre, which turns 50 this month, has led to surprisingly few movies but the best include a black-and-white comedy and a starry documentary

On August 11 1973, DJ Kool Herc and his sister Cindy threw the now legendary Back To School jam in the recreation room of 1520 Sedgewick Avenue in The Bronx, New York.

The pioneering DJ reveals how he built sound systems from junk and what he thought of Blondie's Rapture: "Shit, she kept her word!"

Remember the first rap song you heard

Remember the first rap song you heard