History & Culture · New York City
Hip-hop was born at a Bronx back-to-school party
On August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc spun records at a rec-room party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue and helped start hip-hop. New York State marks the building as the music's birthplace.
Published June 21, 2026 · Last verified June 21, 2026
Here’s a thing to be proud of: one of the world’s biggest music styles started in a Bronx apartment building. On August 11, 1973, a young DJ named Clive Campbell, better known as DJ Kool Herc, played a back-to-school party in the rec room at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in Morris Heights. His sister Cindy Campbell threw the party. That night is widely called the birthday of hip-hop.
What made it special was a trick Herc figured out on the turntables. Instead of playing a whole song, he looped the “break” — the part where the drums take over and the crowd goes wild. He called it the Merry-Go-Round. Dancers and rappers built a whole culture on top of that beat.
New York State recognizes 1520 Sedgwick as the birthplace of hip-hop, and the story is featured on the state’s Empire State Plaza site. The building is a private apartment home, so it’s not a museum you can tour. But you can stand on the sidewalk on Sedgwick Avenue and know you’re at the spot where it all began.
Where to see it
1520 Sedgwick Avenue is in the Morris Heights neighborhood of the west Bronx. It is a private residential building, not a museum, so view it respectfully from the public sidewalk. The nearest subway is the 4 train; the Major Deegan Expressway and Metro-North run nearby along the Harlem River.