Aug. 11, 1973 is considered the official birthdate of hip hop because it was on that day that an 18-year-old Jamaican-American DJ called Kool Herc threw a back-to-school jam in the Bronx, which seemed to have been one of the first of its kind.

The jam had a DJ, the two turntables and a crossfader, rapping (or "toasting") over the music, a reggae sound system, and Herc would elongate and loop certain parts of funk records to get people dancing.

Now there's some debate about the official birth of hop hop - because hip hop as a culture was not named "hip hop" until a year later. But at any rate, let's dive into the genre of hip hop this morning.

For today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what hip hop would you like to hear?

Respond with your song ideas in the comments below.

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Songs played

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - The Message
Outkast - Rosa Parks
Lauryn Hill - Lost Ones
A Tribe Called Quest - Scenario
Missy Elliott - The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
Public Enemy - Rebel Without A Pause