Connecticut celebrates 50th anniversary of hip hop

Friday marked an important milestone for music as hip hop is turns 50 years old, and people in Connecticut were celebrating the occasion.

“Unity, music, becoming a lifestyle,” Queen Allen of Bloomfield said.

Hip hop was the name of the game in Bloomfield. People gathering for an afternoon of music, food, and breakdancing to honor 50 years of hip hop.

“It’s how we express ourselves. Hip hop is more than music. It’s like a way of life for us,” Chelsee Hill of Bloomfield said.

Hill said she has listened to decades of hip hop.

“It’s evolved a lot, but I still prefer the old school,” she said.

Old school music that bassist Doug Wimbish is familiar with. He’s performed with classic hip hop acts such as the Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

“There’s a root that’s always consistent and that is the groove and the beat things that make people want to wiggle and dance,” Wimbish said.

In 1973, a person by the name of DJ Kool Herc was credited with developing the break beat in the south Bronx and became the “father” of hip hop.

“1973. 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. Kool Herc having a party and that party has been rocking ever since,” Wimbish said.

He said the key element in the early days of hip hop was the use of a live band.

“There were no samples that were being used so that was the basis of all the songs we recorded at Sugar Hill,” he said.

He said the genre has evolved every few years, but sees hip hop’s future in good hands.

“Hopefully it will stay bright. Hopefully people’s pens will get very creative, and the music will continue to stay creative,” Wimbish said.

For people in Bloomfield, the message of hip hop will continue to resonate.

“They’re talking about where they come from and things they might have seen when they came up and just having a good time,” Hill said.