Making National Hip Hop Day Official
August 11th is the annual Celebration of National Hip Hop Day. Also known as National Hip Hop Day, was started in Texas in 2018 and recognized by Congress in 2021. Hip-hop promoter Callie Dee and DJ Rick of the Fishbowl Radio Network founded National Hip-Hop Day in 2018. Originating in Texas Fort Worth’s Whiskey Gardens hosted the first celebration.
In 2021, House Resolution 331 made Hip Hop Celebration Day an official holiday after it was adopted by the U.S House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. It also declared August to be Hip Hop Recognition Month and November to be Hip-Hop History Month.
Hip-Hop as a genre has progressed from a street corner into one of the biggest most impactful musical genres in the world. As with any style of music, hip hop has its roots in other forms and its evolution has been shaped by many different artists and deserves all the recognition it has finally received.
How it Came About
Considered the first ever Hip Hop performance was held in New York on Aug. 11, 1973, and the date was chosen to coincide with the anniversary. In the Bronx, DJ Kool Herc hosted the “Back to School Jam,” which featured innovative DJ techniques and rapping over beats, and later became known as the birth of hip-hop.
In the summer of 1973, D.J. Kool Herc had been developing and polishing his break-beat technique for over a year. In contrast, the celebration of his sister’s birthday on August 11 put him in front of his largest crowd yet with the most powerful sound system he’d ever used. Six years before the phrase hip-hop entered the common lexicon, the party’s success sparked a grassroots musical revolution.
Ironically enough the other holidays and observances for Aug. 11th include Annual Medical Checkup Day and President jokes day.
Read more about National Hip Hop Day on their official website here.
