The Musings of Ron Kapon: Hip Hop or Doo Wop

November 13, 2014

Hip Hop or Doo Wop

I admit it; I know almost nothing about Hip Hop. But Doo Wop, that is another story. I literally know thousands of songs and singers. While using my computer I often turn to the video jukebox of songs from the 1950’s & 1960’s and sing along (very loudly to my neighbors' demise) while I write. So why did I accept an invitation from Hush Tours (www.hushtours.com) to spend 4 hours on a lovely fall day touring Harlem and the Bronx on their Birthplace of Hip Hop Tour? Take a look and read on.

Debra Harris, aka Debbie Deb, founded Hush Tours Inc. in 2002. Hush is an acronym for the “Us” in Hip Hop and is all about telling the full story through its roots to current day. To some hip-hop may be just a music genre while to others it is “a culture.” It is undeniably one of the most influential, musically focused facets of American ideals in the past four decades.

Hush Tours has hip-hop celebrities as their tour guides as they explore the 4 elements of hip-hop: Dance, Graffiti (now known as Aerosol Art), DJing (Disk Jockey) and Mcing (Master of Ceremony)- aka-Rap. It is a NYC & NYS certified woman/minority business enterprise. Our tour driver John Shepherd is a vice president of the company. Our guides were Reggie Reg of the legendary Crash Crew (1977), assisted by Austin aka Rayza. They filled the TV screen with photos of the legends of hip-hop as well as music videos to illustrate the places we were visiting. The three of them explained and illustrated the history of hip-hop and made it easy for this novice to understand and enjoy the journey.

We met our van at 59^th off Lexington Avenue. Our group of 10 included guests from London, Amsterdam, Florida & New Jersey. As I had assumed I was the oldest person on the tour (by 40 years, alas). Our first brief stop was at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel at Madison Avenue & 81st Street where the likes of Biggie Small, Aaliyah, John Lennon and Notorious B.I.G. had their funeral services. To me the best part of the tour was stop #2 at 106^th & Park Ave in Spanish Harlem. We had a chance to view the Graffiti Wall of Fame at the playground of the Jackie Robinson Educational Complex. Across the street we watched a demonstration of break dancing by B-Boy Mouse. He is currently pursuing a Masters program in dance through Alvin Alley in NYC. Even yours truly managed a few moves. Our drive through the main part of Harlem took us past Graham Court, the first luxury apartment house in the area built in 1910 at 116^th Street & Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard. The former location of Harlem World Ballroom was pointed out as well as the once famous Hotel Teresa (Fidel Castro stayed there when visiting the UN). We had a short visit inside the lobby of the Apollo Theater and viewed the mural depicting many of the famous artists who performed there. On the way to the Bronx we stopped briefly at the world famous Holcombe Rucker Park at 155th Street & Lenox Ave & its Entertainers Summer Basketball Classic.

http://youtu.be/H16tzyiWjBQ?list=UU9JorCWRvTSpbgGuCQ4LLlg

Check out my moves

There was a short photo opportunity at Yankee Stadium before we stopped at 1520 Sedgwick Ave that was the site of the first ever hip-hop party (hosted by DJ Kool Herc) on August 11, 1973. It might have been an historic moment in hip-hop but all we saw was the front of an apartment building. We then stopped to take photos of the iconic street murals dedicated to the legends of hip-hop including Big L & Kool Herc. We stopped for lunch (on our own and average at best) and then drove back to Manhattan finishing the tour at 59^th & Fifth Ave. The Harlem part of the tour was the best. The Bronx half needs some reworking. But, overall it was a unique and enjoyable journey and highly recommended.