Alex Ogg with David Upshal

Thanks to pioneers such as DJ Kool Herc, the Sugar Hill Gang, and Fab 5 Freddy, rap emerged while disco music was on the decline. Instead of the elite discos that primarily catered to wealthy white clients, the urban street was rap's early arena, and the music spoke both to and from a black urban experience that was rapidly taking shape as the b—boy culture of break dancing. Alex Ogg is the author of The Guinness Book of Rap. David Upshal is the producer and director of The Hip Hop Years in the United Kingdom.