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Earl Tucker is a dancer who mixes floats and slides into his routines, which would later inspire breakdancing. -
Clayton Fillyau, James Brown's drummer, uses the break beat on the album Live at the Apollo. Break dancers would subsequently be influenced by these beats. -
Muhammad Ali delivers one of the earliest rap lines before his bout against Sonny Liston. -
"Sex Machines" and "Funky Drummer" are two songs by James Brown. Both tracks would subsequently influence hip hop percussion. -
Hip hop first appears in the Bronx. -
DJ Kool Herc deejays his first block party in the Bronx. -
After seeing DJ Kool Herc perform, other DJs in the Bronx begin to perform in similar styles. This movement is originally referred to as "hip-hop" by DJ Pleaser Lovebug Starski. -
DJ Grand Wizard Theodore invents the record scratch. -
DJ Afrika Bambaataa battles Disco King Mario in the first DJ battle. -
The term "rap music" was coined by the music industry to move the attention of hip hop from deejays to emcees. -
Ice T is a West Coast rap pioneer. Michael Jackson does the moonwalk, a dancing routine he learned from b-boys. -
Fresh Fest, a hip hop tour including musicians such as Run D.M.C., grosses $3.5 million. Hip hop is here to stay.
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Salt-n-Pepa enters the scene as one of the first female rap groups. -
The Beastie Boys release Licensed to Ill. -
Public Enemy releases Yo! Bum Rush The Show. -
N.W.A releases Straight Outta Compton. -
A group of friends in Manhattan forms A Tribe Called Quest. D.O.C releases No One Can Do It Better. -
N.W.A sells nearly one million copies of N****z For Life in its first week of release. -
Dr. Dre’s album, The Chronic, goes multi platinum. Wu-Tang clan release 36 Chambers.
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Queen Latifah wins a Grammy award from Best Rap Solo Performance. -
Reasonable Doubt is Jay-Z's album. The Score, The Fugees' album, wins two Grammys and debuts at number one. Tupac Shakur is shot and killed. -
Missy Elliott releases Supa Dupa Fly. Notorious B.I.G is shot and killed. -
Lauryn Hill’s solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, earns 11 Grammy nominations and five wins. -
Eminem sells four million copies of The Slim Shady LP. -
Dr. Dre sues Napster. -
Talib Kweli debuts his solo album and introduces himself as a political voice. -
After being discovered using the N-word, Eminem receives backlash and sparks a debate about hip-hop and racism. Murder Inc.'s headquarters were raided by federal agents. -
Jay-Z becomes the first rapper to headline Glastonbury, the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. -
Nicki Minaj releases Pink Friday, which hits number one on the US charts. -
Kanye West releases his eighth studio album, Ye, which debuts at number one.
