A Sparkling Birthday Party given by Kool Herc at The Sparkle

Party flyers were a staple in the early years of Hip-Hop and hard-copy invitations were the main medium for communicating information and promoting an event. The flyers symbolized many key appearances, acts, conventions, DJ performances, and contests in the Hip-Hop scene. Many flyers were created by local graffiti artists such as Buddy Esquire and Phase 2. The flyers were often presented by Hip-Hop promoters, DJs, and MCs who hosted the parties. Money was given to the artist to draw creative art and graphics for about $40-$60 for approximately 1,000 party flyers. The parks’ open public spaces have provided the perfect venues for park jams, impromptu dance-offs, DJ battles, and rap battles that established the sound, fashion, art, and message of Hip-Hop. Most of the Hip-Hop parties were a space for positivity where many of the Hip-Hop community could escape the realities of racism that included police brutality, drug abuse, and gang violence in their surrounding communities.

Many of the original Hip-Hop parties took place at local roller rinks, community centers, parks, and clubs. Roller rinks were an important cultural site for fun in the late 70s and 80s where adults and teens would attend roller discos and Hip-Hop parties.  The space would be used as a place for DJs to spin, rappers to show their talents, and for breakers to showcase their dancing skills on the large skate floor. Community centers were another important space in the early years of Hip-Hop for youth to gather and escape their everyday life. Additionally, community centers and recreation centers were the original spaces where DJ Kool Herc would spin in his early era of DJing. The community centers such as the Bronx River Center and the PAL were usually located in the middle of the projects. But local promoters would give parties and give money back to the center for books and trips for the local kids in the community.

DJ Kool Herc is known as the founding father of Hip-Hop . Having Caribbean roots and growing up in the Bronx, Kool Herc (Clive Campbell, b. 1955) is known for cultivating the Hip-Hop genre with his DJing skills and parties that opened the space for youth parties starting in the late 1970s at 1520 Sedgwick Ave. Before becoming a DJ, he was a graffiti writer who wrote "Kool Herc."  He became popular as a DJ in the Bronx with his massive sound system that was affectionately dubbed "The Herculords." The birth of Hip-Hop ’s unique sound was Herc’s ability to enhance the sound of the speaker, connect two turn tables and used channel knobs as his mixer, an echo chamber and eight microphones so he can play music and talk to the crowd which was something people never experienced musically before. The new sonic skill that Herc emphasized during his DJ sets was the extension of the breakdown also known as the break. He began searching for disco, funk, rock, soul and Caribbean records because of the sound of their break which he then played two of the same records on the turn tables back-cueing a record at the beginning of the break that normally lasted five seconds where he began to extend them together. Kool Herc’s unique DJ style and ability to amplify speakers and having MCs on the mic revolutionized the way urban youth in the Bronx danced and listened to disco and funk music.

Coke La Rock (b. 1955) La Rock performed alongside Kool Herc for his first party to celebrate Herc's sister Cindy's birthday in 1973. At this party and several parties afterward, La Rock had no stage name and performed out of sight from the audience, so no one knew who was doing the rapping. Coke La Rock was a friend and musical partner of DJ Kool Herc, who himself is generally considered to have laid down the foundation for Hip-Hop music starting in 1973. La Rock was thus an original member of Herc's MC crew the Herculords. According to Herc, Coke La Rock's MC name had various iterations, beginning as "A-1 Coke" and then moving on to "Nasty Coke" before it was finalized as "Coke La Rock". His original raps were shout-outs to his friends before the actual poetry emerged in his lyrics. He originated phrases such as "You rock and you don't stop" and "Hotel, motel, you don't tell, we won't tell".

Leader of the Zulu Nation and known as one of the “Godfathers of Hip-Hop,” Afrika Bambaataa (Lance Taylor, b. 1957) is a DJ, producer, rapper, and songwriter from the Southeast Bronx. As a former gang member, Afrika Bambaataa began DJing at local parties in the early 1970s, playing Funk and Disco records. He stood out as a unique and eclectic DJ because he would play records across different genres like Rock, Pop, Salsa, African, and Latin. Afrika Bambaataa also established two Rap crews: the Jazzy 5 and the Soul Sonic Force. Afrika Bambaataa has crafted the foundation of Hip-Hop by establishing the five elements or five pillars: DJing, MCing, b-boying, graffiti, and knowledge. Afrika Bambaataa’s impact on Hip-Hop culture has defined the genre as a staple of creativity and expression emerging out of the Bronx.