Sunday, January 30, 2011

Hip-Hop's Founding Father Kool Herc Hospitalized, In Need Of Financial Assistance

(AllHipHop News) Hip-Hop pioneer DJ Kool Herc is currently in the hospital suffering from an unknown health condition.

According to Gangstarr's DJ Premier, Kool Herc's health is deteriorating and he is in need of financial assistance, because he reportedly doesn't have health insurance.

"Kool Herc is very sick," DJ Premier revealed on his XM Satellite radio show Live From Headqcourterz. "For those that know about Hip-Hop, who we call the father of Hip-Hop, Kool Herc, is not doing well. It's funny how we have a father of a culture that still lives, where as in some cultures they are dead and gone even though they may still be worshipped or reflected on in some kind of way."

According to DJ Premier, he spoke to Herc, who revealed that he was in need of financial assistance because he didn't have medical coverage.

Kool Herc, 55, is recognized by music historians as the Founding Father of Hip-Hop for his style of "Break" DJ'ing, which isolates the rhythm of a particular portion of a record.

He is credited for laying the foundation for the most popular genre of music in the world, after a party he hosted at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, in the South Bronx.

DJ Kool Herc is also a community activist who led a multi-year effort to prevent the sale of 1520 Sedgwick to greedy real estate speculators.

In September of 2010, the building received a $5.6 million dollar federal loan that halted the sale of the building, allowing hundreds of tenants to keep their homes.

Additionally, the building has officially been recognized as the place Hip-Hop music during the party, which took place on August 11th, 1973.

"Being as though he is the man that set this whole culture off, y'all [the fans] should be willing any type of way you can." Via All Hip Hop