Can't Stop Won't Stop: Making a Name

This Chapter gives a great example of one of the elements of KRS's nine elements of Hip Hop, Street Entreprenur Realism. On the first page, it describes how Kool Herc's sister, Cindy Campbell decided to throw a party to raise money for school clothes. She convinced Herc to headline and took the measly paycheck she had to invest in the rent for a rec room, advertisement, and "some Olde English 800 malt liquor, Colt 45 beer, and soda" (p.68).

This is one innovative way to raise some extra cash. She had to target a specific demographic, supply the goods and services that attracted them, provide inciting advertisement, budget her limited funds to get the most out of her money, recruit and fairly compensate employees, and manage many different people in a chaotic environment. I think it is incredible the business savvy approach she had at such a young age. And as sad as it is that they had to assimilate, Herc even practiced speaking until his accent became less noticeable so he could be more marketable and his target audience could identify with him better (p.68).

Hearing people complain about the music usually played at parties, he tailored his selection to match the descriptions of what the party-goers clamoured for (p68). So, once he gained a following he continued to survey the crowd, reading their responses to stay on top of any changes in opinion or new fads. And he discovered that people were waiting for particular portions of songs, so he began buying records just for the "break" (p.79). He even allowed drunken fans to grab a mic and make shout outs (p.78).

Essenatially, Herc was a great business man. He did market research to stay in the latest trends, developed new name recognition, spared no expense to get the top notch equipment, made the people feel apart of the experience, and was an excellent showman. It is no wonder he succeeded. And all without an MBA, let alone a highschool degree.

---I just have to put this out there because there have been a few times I read things in these books that don't agree with what Professor Ryan says and I always wish I could find it again to show him, so I found something saying that gangs & crews were the same thing (to back up Brittany). On page 81, Herc says, "That name 'crew' took the place of gang. When they say 'crew', we knew it was a gang."
And in Yes Yes Ya'll, on page 90, Kool DJ AJ starts off calling the guys who protected the DJ gangs and then reverts to crews, using the terms interchangeably.