The Bronx River houses is a low income housing project in the Bronx. While it has had problems with crime and, like much of the Bronx, fell victim to urban decay in the 1970’s, it has been the home to or provided a start for such hip-hop luminaries as Kool DJ Red Alert, Afrika Bambaataa and “Son of Bam” Afrika Islam, DJ Jazzy Jay, and more

The Patterson Houses and Mill Brook Houses are both Bronx housing projects that were built in the 1950’s. The Patterson Houses, below:

Much like the gangs they were often affiliated with, DJs in the early days of hip-hop had territories. Tricia Rose enumerated how it broke down in the early days in her seminal book Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America:

Like the graffiti and breakdance crews, DJs battled for territories. Four main Bronx DJs emerged: Kool Herc’s territory was the west Bronx, Afrika Bambaataa dominated the Bronx River East, DJ Breakout’s territory was the northernmost section of the Bronx, and Grandmaster Flash controlled the southern and central sections

Joseph “Grandmaster Flash” Saddler was the DJ who perfected and popularized the now-ubiquitous technique of scratching. His work with the Furious Five provided some of early hip-hop’s most popular songs, including “The Message” and Flash’s personal showcase, “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash On the Wheels of Steel”.

The Nine Lives Crew, also known just as the Nine Crew, were another Bronx gang of the era

Afrika Islam, known as the “son of Bam”, was yet another Bronx DJ who held court at a lot of the early park jams. He is far right, below, next to Ice-T and Bam:

Yes, Everlast is really a white rapping Irish Muslim, though the powers-that-be somehow saw it fit to censor Em’s revelation of this fact. He grew up in a Catholic family, but converted after being introduced to Islam by his friend and sometimes collaborator Mark “Divine Styler” Richardson (pictured below):

Fred “DJ Red Alert” Crute is a pioneering DJ and was also the manager of such acts as Monie Love and A Tribe Called Quest

Charles “DJ Chuck Chillout” Turner was another important early DJ who had a hip-hop radio show on NYC station 98.7 KISS-FM starting in 1982

Pioneering hip-hop journalist Davey D remembers the early parties:

Parties in the park often ended in a shootout with someone getting killed. Hip-hop pioneers like Flash used to roll with notorious gangs like The Casanova Crew, who not only worked security but also frequently fleeced patrons who attended the events. Gangs like Zulu, Casanovas and The Nine Crew were all a part of hip hop. They were factors in the game

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