'Yes, yes y'all. And it don't stop!' Google Doodle celebrates birth of hip-hop

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Friday, August 11, 2017
44th anniversary of hip hop
Google Doodle marks 44th anniversary of the birth of hip hop.

HOUSTON, Texas -- "Yes, yes y'all. And it don't stop!"

Google's Doodle is bringing back some music history with the 44th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop.

From Sugarhill Gang, to Run D.M.C, A Tribe Called Quest and Beastie Boys, hip-hop has evolved into a big part of our culture.

According to Google, 18-year-old Jamaican-American DJ Kool Herc was involved with the birth of hip-hop when he played instrumental sections or "breaks" during a song at a back-to-school jam event in New York in 1973. Herc's friend, Coke La Rock, hyped up the crowd with a microphone and that's when hip-hop was born.

"The youth needed an outlet, a unifying sound, a beat, a voice to call their own. The Bronx DJ's and MC's rose to the task and the city loved them for it," YouTube's global head of music Lyor Cohen said.

Cohen is also the former head of Def Jam Records that discovered LL Cool J, Warren G, Jay-Z, among many others.

Friday's Google Doodle celebrates everything hip-hop with a custom logo graphic designed by graffiti artist Cey Adams and interactive turntables where users can mix samples from legendary tracks.

The Doodle is narrated by hip hop icon Fab 5 Freddy, former host of "Yo! MTV Raps."