A music history lesson on DJ Kool Herc and the “breaks.”

On August 11, 1973, a legendary DJ by the name of DJ Kool Herc started an art form on the turntables and revolutionized hip-hop music forever. When using two record players, a DJ can extend and loop a beat by isolating the percussion breaks. The beats between the two records can be switched using a mixer/crossfader. We now call this “scratching” or “breaking.”

And I’m shook y’all, because Google just created one of the illest DJ simulation game on their home page and I’m stuck here grooving. Watch as hip-hop filmmaker Fab 5 Freddy give a brief history lesson with animation and then give a tutorial on the simulation. You’ll be a given a digital crate so you can easily choose from a wide variety of old school vinyl records. Yup, the same ones DJ Kool Herc would have used back in the day. With all the new DJs entering the scene today and creating their own unique sounds, sometimes bringing it back to the very beginning can seem like a breath of fresh air, or a new beat ringing in our ears. Get the party started here!