Senator Chuck Schumer is not actually a hip hop or rap or any type of music expert, even if he has been spotted hangin' with Jay-Z and Beyonce in the past. In Williamsburg, no less. At a Grizzly Bear concert. Still, he is a politician, so we're guessing he probably doesn't even know what Chillwave is, even if he's riding his bike all over Brooklyn. So the fact that he mixed up L.L. Cool J and DJ Kool Herc is really not very surprising. more ›

Earlier this week word spread of DJ Kool Herc, the father of Hip-Hop, needing some financial help for his medical problems. Jeff Chang, author of Can't Stop Won't Stop got the ball rolling and set up a website to collect donations for the Bronx native, who it turns out is in need of treatment for kidney stones, but lacks insurance. Chang addressed those visiting the website, saying, “He has given so much to make our lives better. Let us do the same for him.” And Herc has a message, as well, writing: “Now we are fighting for health care not just for me, but for everyone. I see this as another quest for me to shine light on a sensitive issue for the community." You can donate to the cause here. [via City Room] more ›

NY1 reports that Bronx apartment building 1520 Sedgwick Avenue was sold to a new owner. The address is known as the "Birthplace of Hip-Hop" because DJ Kool Herc first "introduced extended break beats" in the apartment building's rec room back in 1973. Tenants had been trying to preserve its Mitchell-Lama status and keep it affordable by buying it themselves, but the landlord chose developer Mark Karasick to buy the building. Last week, Housing Preservation Department commissioner SHaun Donovan questioned the sale, "It is difficult to understand why the owners would choose to put the affordability of over 100 families’ homes at risk.” DJ Kool Herc himself told NY1, "We have landmark status in our hearts. The fight will continue." more ›

Some good news in the ongoing saga to save 1520 Sedgwick, better known as the Birthplace of Hip Hop. Today Senator Schumer, who has been lobbying on behalf of the tenants to preserve the building's affordability, announced that "the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development rejected the proposed sale to developer Mark Karasick because current rents could not be sustained if the sale had gone through." The move doesn't insure that the building’s owner won't still opt out of the Mitchell-Lama program, however. more ›

Bronx legend Clive Campbell, who as DJ Kool Herc is widely credited as one of hip-hop’s founding fathers, is not suing Jay-Z, developer Bruce Ratner and Barclays bank, as previously reported by the Observer online. The $5 billion lawsuit is being brought by a much less famous Brooklyn activist also named Clive Campbell, and the mix-up is probably a big publicity boon for his lawsuit, as it echoed far and wide across the internets before the Observer corrected it. Campbell is demanding the money as slavery reparations because of Barclays’ history with the slave trade; the bank has secured the naming rights for the controversial Nets stadium Ratner is trying to build at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards, which would be part of a bigger residential development. more ›

Last year we visited 1520 Sedgwick Avenue's past and uncertain future. The "Birthplace of Hip Hop" was, and still is, in danger of losing its lifeblood when the landlord (BSR Management) announced they wanted to abandon the Mitchell-Lama program. Essentially buying out of the program and leaving the doors open for a rent increase. Then things got worse when BSR made it clear they would be selling the building to a real estate mogul Mark Karasick, which was set to happen next month. more ›

This is a pretty interesting clip from a documentary on hip hop called Beat This. In 1984 New York graffiti artist Brim talked about the Vandal Squad, Mayor Koch and New York's finest having a problem with things they can't control. more ›

A while back we reported on possible changes at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, more widely known as "the birthplace of hip hop." Tenants of the apartment complex, as well as its supporters, have been fighting to get the building landmarked. Just as important, they want to keep the apartments rent stabilized. more ›

Blender has a list of 100 Days That Changed Music, and not surprisingly a good amount of them took place in New York. Here are a few, see any missing? more ›

In 2005, hip-hop pioneers DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Caz, Melle Mel and more, lent their names and likenesses to a vintage hip-hop clothing company called Sedgwick & Cedar. The press release for the company told this story: "on August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc's sister Cindy Campbell decided to throw a back to school party in her building's small rec room at 1520 Sedgwick Ave. Kool Herc introduced extended break beats, which mesmerized the jam packed crowd. Soon, he had to take the party outside and down the street to Cedar Park, drawing thousands throughout the night to see the birth of the art form." From the one building, that art form saturated the world. more ›