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. The birthplace is in the West Bronx neighborhood of Morris Heights at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. This apartment building, where DJ Kool Herc lived, was host to a party on August 11, 1973. Now, August 11 is Hip Hop Celebration Day. (FYI, the United States Senate passed it!)

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University Heights

2281 University Avenue

$1,500 No Fee

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1

Mt. Hope

247 East 175th Street

$1,961 No Fee

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1

Mt. Hope

250 East 176th Street

$1,987 No Fee

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1

Mott Haven

276 Grand Concourse

$2,267 No Fee

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Mott Haven

276 Grand Concourse

$2,434 No Fee

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Mott Haven

276 Grand Concourse

$2,335 No Fee

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Mott Haven

276 Grand Concourse

$2,284 No Fee

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Mott Haven

276 Grand Concourse

$2,197 No Fee

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Riverdale

5570 Netherland Avenue

$1,850 No Fee

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Riverdale

3935 Blackstone Avenue

$2,350 No Fee

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Riverdale

5545 Netherland Avenue

$2,150 No Fee

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Spuyten Duyvil

500 Kappock Street

$1,800 No Fee

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DJ Kool Herc & 1520 Sedgwick Avenue

On Aug. 11, 1973, 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 part.”

As Herc spun breakbeats, Herc’s pal Coke La Rock started talking over the beat, shouting out friends. He did not realize that this would make him present at hip hop’s creation and its first MC.

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Washington Heights

539 West 155th Street

$1,870 No Fee

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Central Harlem

137 West 137th Street

$2,250 No Fee

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East Harlem

101 East 116th Street

$2,595 No Fee

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Murray Hill

533 Third Avenue

$2,600 No Fee

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Fort George

510 West 190th Street

$2,395 No Fee

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Gramercy Park

222 East 21st Street

$2,850 No Fee

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Lenox Hill

410 East 75th Street

$2,795 No Fee

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East Village

336 East 5th Street

$2,735 No Fee

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East Harlem

112 East 103rd Street

$1,850 No Fee

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Inwood

108 Park Terrace East

$1,825 No Fee

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East Harlem

204 East 112th Street

$2,350 No Fee

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Hamilton Heights

427 West 154th Street

$2,495 No Fee

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The Party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue Influenced Hip Hop Pioneers

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. He was 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.

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Riverdale

3840 Greystone Avenue

$363,000

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Spuyten Duyvil

3530 Henry Hudson Parkway

$555,000

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Spuyten Duyvil

601 Kappock Street

$399,900

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Spuyten Duyvil

3210 Arlington Avenue

$355,000

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Locust Point

10 Pennyfield Avenue

$439,000

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Melrose

837 Washington Avenue

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Melrose

837 Washington Avenue

$425,000

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Riverdale

4901 Henry Hudson Pkwy W

$425,000

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Riverdale

3725 Henry Hudson Parkway West

$595,000

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Riverdale

3725 Henry Hudson Parkway West

$440,000

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Spuyten Duyvil

3050 Fairfield Avenue

$479,000

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Riverdale

3840 Greystone Avenue

$350,000

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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, 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.

Morris Heights Rentals Under $2500 on StreetEasy Article continues below

Morris Heights

2028 Davidson Avenue

$2,300 No Fee

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Morris Heights

1655 Undercliff Avenue

$2,349 No Fee

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1520 Sedgwick Avenue Is Now Home to Fair Housing Rentals

DJ Kool 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, 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 affordable, rent-subsidized apartments for residents who meet certain income requirements.

While there aren’t any available rentals listed at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, hip hop enthusiasts can take a “birth of hip hop” tour from Hush Tours, which regularly stops by the building for photos.

Hip Hop Boulevard

Although DJ Kool Herc hasn’t reaped the same financial success as his hip hop brethren for creating what has ballooned into a billion-dollar industry, the city renamed a section of Sedgwick Avenue Hip Hop Boulevard in 2017 to honor him.

The Universal Hip Hop Museum also named Herc an honorary advisory board member. The museum, coming in 2024, will be the first brick-and-mortar hip hop museum in the nation. However, the organization already hosts free concerts and other events for the public.