# When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop - Hardcover

by **Laban Carrick Hill** (Author), **Theodore Taylor** (Illustrator)

A John Steptoe New Talent Award Winner

Before there was hip hop, there was DJ Kool Herc.

On a hot day at the end of summer in 1973 Cindy Campbell threw a back-to-school party at a park in the South Bronx. Her brother, Clive Campbell, spun the records. He had a new way of playing the music to make the breaks--the musical interludes between verses--longer for dancing. He called himself DJ Kool Herc and this is _When the Beat Was Born_. From his childhood in Jamaica to his youth in the Bronx, Laban Carrick Hill's book tells how Kool Herc came to be a DJ, how kids in gangs stopped fighting in order to breakdance, and how the music he invented went on to define a culture and transform the world.

### Author Biography

**Laban Carrick Hill** is the author of _America Dreaming: How Youth Changed America in the 60s_, _Harlem Stomp!: A Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance_, which was a National Book Award finalist, and _Dave the Potter_, a Caldecott Honor book, illustrated by Bryan Collier. He lives in Burlington, Vermont.

**Theodore Taylor III** is an artist, designer, and photographer living in Washington, D.C. _When the Beat Was Born_ is his first picture book.

**Number of Pages:** 32

**Dimensions:** 0.38 x 10.1 x 10.1 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** August 27, 2013

**Award:** Coretta Scott King Award (2014)

**Award:** Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens (2014)

**Award:** Bluebonnet Awards (2016)

**Accelerated Reader:**

**Quiz Name:** When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop

**Interest Level:** Lower Grades, K-3

**Reading Level:** 4.2

**Point Value:** 0.5

## Details

- **Price:** 19.99 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 19.99 USD | In stock |

## Images

- When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop - Hardcover

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> Updated: 2026-07-23