When people think about the Bronx hip hop scene today, they might first consider Big Pun and Cardi B. But the musical style of rapping over breakbeats originated back in 1973. From there, hip hop was born in the Bronx neighborhood of Morris Heights at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. Hip hop’s godfather, DJ Kool Herc, lived in the building and hosted a party on August 11, 1973 where the genre came to be. Now, August 11 is recognized annually as Hip-Hop Celebration Day. (Fun fact: the United States Senate officially commemorated it in 2021!)

Learn the story of how hip hop originated right here in New York City in a mid-rise Bronx apartment building.

DJ Kool Herc and 1520 Sedgwick Avenue

On Aug. 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc — born Clive Campbell in Kingston, Jamaica — threw a “back-to-school party” with his sister Cindy Campbell in the building’s ground-floor recreation room, drawing friends and neighbors. While spinning records, Herc showed off a method he had developed for extending the drum break in funk records. He used two turntables, with a copy of the same record on each. Doing so created a longer breakbeat for the “break boys” and “break girls,” as he labeled them, to show off their dancing skills. Herc referred to those drum breaks — common sections of songs by James Brown and Incredible Bongo Band — as “the get-down.”

As Herc spun breakbeats, his pal Coke La Rock started talking over the beat, shouting out friends. What he didn’t realize was that this would make him present at hip hop’s creation as its very first MC.

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The party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue influenced hip hop pioneers for decades to come

The style developed by DJ Kool Herc and Coke La Rock spread quickly within the South Bronx, then throughout NYC. Later, many rappers would claim to have attended Herc and Cindy’s famous party in 1973.

South Bronx native Joseph “Grandmaster Flash” Saddler was one of the most important turntablists early in the scene. Saddler refined Herc’s technique of mixing records and was the first to use a drum machine live.

Meanwhile, Harlem rapper Kurtis Blow inked a deal with Mercury Records in 1979, making him the first rap artist signed by a major label. But it wasn’t until the Sugar Hill Gang released “Rapper’s Delight” in 1980 that the genre began to go mainstream.

1520 Sedgwick Avenue nearly became market-rate rentals

In 2008, an investor bought 1520 Sedgwick Avenue intending to turn it into market-rate rentals. After the housing market crashed that year, the new owner could no longer afford the mortgage payments, and the building quickly fell into disrepair.

Although they hadn’t lived in the building for decades, DJ Kool Herc and Cindy Campbell kept in touch with some tenants who filled them in on the building’s dilapidated status. Residents went months without heat or gas, upkeep of the grounds wavered, the roof leaked, and the elevators often didn’t work — a major inconvenience in an 18-story, 101-unit building.

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1715 Nelson Avenue

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1715 Nelson Avenue

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1520 Sedgwick Avenue is now home to affordable rentals

Herc and Cindy partnered with the tenants and the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board to help tenants stay in their homes. The hip hop pioneer’s involvement caught the media’s attention and eventually the city’s, which helped sell the building to the Workforce Housing Group in 2011.

The building underwent some much-needed renovations, including the famous recreation room where Herc made history. Under its new ownership, the units are now affordable, rent-subsidized apartments for residents who meet certain income requirements.

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731 Gerard Avenue

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5 Lincoln Avenue

$2,430 base rent

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Mott Haven

5 Lincoln Avenue

$2,430 base rent

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Mott Haven

5 Lincoln Avenue

$2,138 base rent

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5 Lincoln Avenue

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3206 Fairfield Avenue

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3550 East Tremont Avenue

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228 East 135th Street

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While there currently aren’t any available rentals listed at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, hip hop enthusiasts can take a Birthplace of Hip Hop Tour from Hush Tours, which regularly stops by the building for photos.

Hip Hop Boulevard and The Hip Hop Museum

On February 25, 2016, the city renamed a section of Sedgwick Avenue as Hip Hop Boulevard to honor the street’s contribution to music history.

Paying further homage, The Hip Hop Museum is slated to open in fall 2026, with Kurtis Blow as Chairman Emeritus of its board of trustees. The museum will be the first brick-and-mortar hip hop museum in the nation.

Though you likely won’t find a place to rent or buy in hip hop’s 1520 Sedgwick Avenue birthplace anytime soon, you can browse more Bronx and NYC rentals right here on StreetEasy.