Kurtis Walker, known professionally by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Walker is the first commercially successful rapper and the first to sign with a major record label. "The Breaks", a single from his 1980 self-titled debut album, is the first certified gold record rap song. Over his career he released 17 albums. He is an ordained minister.
The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop group formed in Englewood, New Jersey in 1979. Their hit "Rapper's Delight", released the same year they were formed, was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching a peak position of number 36 on January 12, 1980. This was the trio's only U.S. hit, though they would have further success in Europe until the mid-1980s. The trio reformed in 1994 and embarked on a world tour in 2016.
Keith Douglas Sweat is an American singer and songwriter. An early figure in the new jack swing musical movement, he is known for his collection of hits including "I Want Her," "Make It Last Forever," "I'll Give All My Love to You," "Make You Sweat," "Get Up on It," "Twisted," and "Nobody." He has released 13 solo albums and discovered the groups Silk and Kut Klose. Sweat's sound reportedly was influenced by Slave front man Steve Arrington and go-go music.
Double Dutch may refer to:
Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of antiphony.
A skipping rope or jump rope is a tool used in the sport of skipping/jump rope where one or more participants jump over a rope swung so that it passes under their feet and over their heads. There are multiple subsets of skipping/jump rope, including single freestyle, single speed, pairs, three-person speed, and three-person freestyle.
A clapping game is a type of usually cooperative game which is generally played by two players and involves clapping as a rhythmic accompaniment to a singing game or reciting of a rhyme, often nursery rhymes. Clapping games are found throughout the world and similar games may be known throughout large areas with regional variation.
A Great Day in Harlem or Harlem 1958 is a black-and-white photograph of 57 jazz musicians in Harlem, New York, taken by freelance photographer Art Kane for Esquire magazine on August 12, 1958. The idea for the photo came from Esquire's art director, Robert Benton, rather than Kane. However, after being given the commission, it seems that Kane was responsible for choosing the location for the shoot. The subjects are shown at 17 East 126th Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenue, where police had temporarily blocked off traffic. Published as the centerfold of the January 1959 issue of Esquire, the image was captured with a Hasselblad camera, and earned Kane his first Art Directors Club of New York gold medal for photography. It has been called "the most iconic photograph in jazz history".
"Mary Mack" is a clapping game of unknown origin. It is first attested in the book The Counting Out Rhymes of Children by Henry Carrington Bolton (1888), whose version was collected in West Chester, Pennsylvania. It is well known in various parts of the United States, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and in New Zealand and has been called "the most common hand-clapping game in the English-speaking world".
"Jump Around" is a song by American hip hop group House of Pain, produced by DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill, who has also covered the song, and was released in May 1992 by Tommy Boy and XL as the first single from their debut album, House of Pain (1992). The song became a hit, reaching number three in the United States. A 1993 re-release of the song in the United Kingdom, where the initial release had been a minor hit, peaked at number eight. Its music video was filmed in New York City, featuring footage from the 1992 Saint Patrick's Day parade.
Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Puerto Ricans in the Bronx.
The rope is an apparatus used in the sport of rhythmic gymnastics. It is one of the five apparatuses utilized in this discipline, alongside the ball, clubs, hoop, and ribbon. While previously used at both the senior and junior level and in both individual and group exercises, the rope has been mostly phased out of usage and is now only used in the junior group exercises in some years.
"Double Dutch Bus" is a funk song by Frankie Smith, made famous for its extensive use of the "izz" infix form of slang. It was released in February 1981, although some sources indicate 1980 as the original release date. The single capitalized on the concepts of the double-decker bus and the jump rope game called Double Dutch, popular with American children since the early 1970s. The song became a foundation of hip hop music and dance.
A skipping rhyme, is a rhyme chanted by children while skipping. Such rhymes have been recorded in all cultures where skipping is played. Examples of English-language rhymes have been found going back to at least the 17th century. Like most folklore, skipping rhymes tend to be found in many different variations. The article includes those chants used by English-speaking children.
Jump In! is a 2007 sports drama film released as a Disney Channel Original Movie, which premiered on January 12, 2007. It was released on Disney Channel UK on April 27, 2007. The film, starring Corbin Bleu and Keke Palmer, revolves around a young boxer, Izzy Daniels (Bleu), who trains to follow in his father's footsteps by winning the Golden Glove. When his friend, Mary (Palmer), asks him to substitute for a team member in a Double Dutch tournament, Izzy discovers his new love for the sport. At the same time, he discovers true love in Mary and he deals with the conflict between him and his father about boxing. Filming took place from June–July 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The fifth season of America's Best Dance Crew premiered on January 28, 2010. Similar to the live casting specials featured in the first two seasons, the first three episodes consisted of separate regional auditions before proceeding to the official national-level competition. Shane Sparks did not return as a judge this season, due to his arrest, and was replaced by Omarion in his only season as a judge. In the live finale, which aired on April 8, 2010, Poreotix was declared the winner.
Doubletime is a documentary film about the sport of modern-day jump roping and Double Dutch. The film follows two disparate teams—one suburban white and one inner-city black—as they train to compete against each other for the very first time.
"Christmas in Harlem" is a song by hip-hop recording artist Kanye West. The track features rapper Cyhi the Prynce and R&B singer Teyana Taylor, both of whom are signed to West's label GOOD Music. Produced by Hit-Boy, it is a christmas hip hop song that contains samples of "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "Mercy Mercy Me ", both by soul musician Marvin Gaye, and "Strawberry Letter 23" by singer-songwriter Shuggie Otis. The track features a holiday theme, and features various references to Christmas and customs associated with the holiday.
Kyra Danielle Gaunt is an African American ethnomusicologist, Black girlhood studies advocate, social media researcher, feminist performance artist, and professor at the University at Albany in New York State. Gaunt's research focuses on the hidden musicianship of black girls' musical play at the intersections of race, racism, gender, heterosexism, misogynoir, age, and the kinetic-orality of the female body in the age of hip-hop. Her current research focuses on "the unintended consequences of gender, race, and technology from YouTube to Wikipedia."
The traditional games of New York City are one of the notable aspects of New York City's culture; many of them were brought over by the diverse mix of immigrants that settled in New York City, particularly from Europe. Many of these games used street furniture and other features of New York City's high urban density and were therefore also played in other cities of the United States. Most of these games have declined or disappeared in the modern era.
