Kool Herc, Founding Father of Hip Hop, Faces Medical, Financial Crisis

We caught wind of DJ Kool Herc’s current condition over the weekend, through outlets like DJ Premier’s blog, and AllHipHop.com, and wanted to make sure our audience was aware of this situation. Kool Herc, widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of hip hop music, is ill, having been in and out of the hospital, and requires costly surgery, facing financial difficulty making it difficult to acquire the care he needs.

Several outlets have written about and are discussing Kool Herc’s predicament, commenting on his particular issues, as well as the greater issues of the lack of health care options for musicians, as well as a lack of corporate support for pioneering hip hoppers, many of whom have helped make such corporations many millions of dollars over the years.

We’ll ask our readers to read and contribute their comments on those respective sites, as well as notify you about a fundraiser in the works scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 1 at Sutra in NYC (as per Davey D). Details to follow.

Donations are being collected as well, and can be sent to a mailing address or by PayPal, listed below. Details on the event will be posted as they solidify.

Please take some time to look into this issue, and if you are so inclined, donate. While this sort of thing happens to many “regular people” on a daily basis, and many of us are walking around with no insurance ourselves, there is no denying the impact that Kool Herc had on our lives as hip hoppers, and I’m sure that every penny counts.

You can send donations to:

KOOL HERC PRODUCTIONS
P.O. BOX 20472
HUNTINGTON STATION , NY 11746

or via paypal to:

cindycampbell1@aol.com