Summary: So far in Cant Stop Wont Stop, the author introduces one of the most famous Dj's of our time, who is actually recognized as beginning hip hop, and he goes by the name of Dj Kool Herc.Clive Campbell, Dj Kool Herc, was originally born and raised in Jamaica, he was the oldest of six children, born to Keith and Nettie Campbell. His father was involved in the working class and had a job that was somewhat recognized and involved with politics, but his father was smart and did not involve himself with the 2 Jamaican political parties. His mother on the other hand wanted a better life and decided to move to America to pursue a career in nursing; she saw that the public schools were free and wanted to move their immediately. Keith on the other hand protested, but eventually went along. The children, one by one would come and slowly adapt to America. In the Bronx, where they lived, Nettie made sure to protect her children from the drugs and violence that they were surrounded by. She made sure that no one tried to stick a needle in Clives arm or trick him into buying or selling drugs or anything of that matter. Through the years, Clive became more and more comfortable, involving himself in sports and becoming very popular and even got his name from the kids always calling him Hercules. From then on Herc developed more and became one of the most brilliant Dj's alive. He had his own little technique called the "Merry Go-Round," where he would take verses of different records, play them back and then combine it and mix it with the verse of another song to make it fit. He Dj'd for many parties and even assembled his own clique of Dj's and dancers. Overtime, he developed more and became better after each party, as he got older he moved onto a more mature scene and Dj'd at clubs, started hosting his own parties and events.
Dj Herc was just one of the many Dj's introduced, another notable Dj would be Bambaataa. Born and raised in South Bronx Bambaataa was a very strong and empowering individual. He was a man that changed the world in both a musical aspect and physical, like life changing as well. He was apart of the spades gang, which does not come as a surprise because he grew up around activist, especially his mother and uncle. From the novel, Bambaataa had come along way, from being apart of an active gang to actually trying to change and shift that gang into an organization. He was somewhat like everyone else is at times, stubborn, and not trying to get help from anyone, but his trip to India and him focusing more on the bigger picture made him come to realize that the world was not what it seemed. He created the Zulu nation in hopes to recruit youths from all around so that the violence and fighting could stop. The Zulu nation was "returning the nation to an era of style, celebration and optimism." The Zulu organization may have looked somewhat gang related, but the main focus was to survive in life. To gain knowledge and teach others, to be open minded about dealing with all that walks, talks, or occurs on this earth and so on. Some people weren't for the Zulu nation, but Bambaataa made sure that all the youth in Bronx knew that the peace was here and that they were ready to move forward whether they liked it or not.
Quote: " You had some Christian groups that came around from different churches, radical reverends that came out and spoke to a lot of the street gangs. Some of us just pushed it aside. (Chang 100)
Reaction: My reaction to this quote is somewhat neutral, i don't really feel much because in a time period where there was so much activism, revolution, and violence etc. that it didn't come as a shock for me that someone would say this. Bambaataa was part of the Spades, so the whole fighting attitude did not come off as a surprise to me. Many people tried to get the youth out of gangs, but when you have that one superior feeling or the feeling that you want to conquer and take over just because you can, there's really no helping or stopping them, which is why i think that Bambaataa said that he just brushed it off. However, what did surprise me was his transition after he said that. As i read more Bambaataa was starting to have a change in attitude, he started looking deeper into the struggles that everyone had or has faced, the meaning of 'superior' and why the "white man" did what he did. Later he even won himself a trip to India and was amazed at how Blacks had their own business and were contributing just as much to the country as anyone else. As opposed to America where Blacks aren't "able to do anything." He brought his knowledge back to the Bronx and hoped to stop the violence and fighting through his organization. That transition made me happy, to see someone that didn't want help or brushed help off to actually becoming the help and creating an organization to stop the violence and reach out to kids that were in his shows was very empowering to me.
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