HIP-HOP WAS BORN IN THE BRONX IN the summer of 1973. To celebrate the music’s 50th anniversary, “Rolling Stone” will be publishing a series of features, historical pieces, op-eds, and lists throughout ...

Rap music often revolves around the artist, who gets the accolades, adoration and top billing. But at one time, there was a clear understanding in hip-hop that the DJ was at the top of the food chain.

Aug. 11, 1973 is widely considered to be the day that hip-hop was born, when DJ Kool Herc brought out his "merry-go-round" style of record-spinning during a party at 1520 Sedgewick Ave., in the Bronx, ...