Early Pioneers of hip-hop

Although some have argued that blues musicians in US during the 1920's were the first to rap to their tunes, it was not until the mid to late 1970's until rap or hip-hop music began to become mainstream in American pop culture. Artists such as the sugarhill gang [who had one of the first rap hits in 1979 with 'Rappers Delight'] were starting to become very popular especially in eastern states such as New York and New Jersey where the majority of artists during the decade were being produced. The Bronx and Queens area in New York was regarded as hotbeds of hip-hop music and in the early 1980's artists such as Run-DMC, Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys were founded. The question in this instance seems to be why was New York such a hotbed for early hip-hop music. Perhaps a reason for this would be because of the popularity of block parties [a get-together of a certain area in a city]. The music in these block parties would be played usually by dj's who would incorporate funk and soul music, which became especially popular with the crowds. Upon noticing this success, the dj's began introducing the percussive-style breaks of popular songs to their music. This technique was first introduced to New York by Jamaican immigrants in which that style of music was popular back in the Carribean.