Jeff Chang

And this is where things like the splits and going down to the floor

and doing a lot of those types of gymnastics stuff, acrobatic type stuff.

The evolution comes from that, from kids going week after week to compete against each other in the cypher and show what the styles are that are the dopest, the freshest.

It's like somebody has reached down from the skies and just plucked all of the lights as if they were candles and snuffed them out.

And so one thing that happens when the blackout happens is they realize

wow there's all these dj stores that we can break into right and like relieve them of their sound systems and so all of these dj stores like become first targets for some of the kids

and so when you talk to the kids who are younger like three or four years younger than harkin cindy they're like man we wanted to be rap crews we wanted to have the sound systems you know we couldn't afford it but now like there's a black market trade happening in all of these speakers and turntables and wires and you know amplifiers and all those kinds of things and so what happens after

After July 13th is literally all these brand new crews start up.

And the fall of 1977, you have like this resurgence in this new scene.

All of these new dance styles are coming in.

You know, all this new music, all of these rap crews are getting started.

It's sort of this stylistic explosion.

And that's the generation that actually goes on to become famous when the record companies come calling in.

When Rapper's Delight comes along and it goes like global, right?

Everybody's like, oh, well, actually, no, the records are the way to make the money.

The record hit at the right time.

You know, it was like people were kind of getting tired of disco music.

It was kind of getting overexposed and there was a need to be able to kind of make this available again to the younger folks.

This is like me.

I'm 12 years old on an island in Hawaii, like hearing the song.