<P> Hip hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s in New York City from the multicultural exchange between African - American youth from the United States and young immigrants and children of immigrants from countries in the Caribbean . Hip hop music in its infancy has been described as an outlet and a voice for the disenfranchised youth of marginalized backgrounds and low - income areas , as the hip hop culture reflected the social , economic and political realities of their lives . Many of the people who helped establish hip hop culture , including DJ Kool Herc , DJ Disco Wiz , Grandmaster Flash , and Afrika Bambaataa were of Latin American or Caribbean origin . It is hard to pinpoint the exact musical influences that most affected the sound and culture of early hip hop because of the multicultural nature of New York City . Hip hop 's early pioneers were influenced by a mix of music from their cultures and the cultures they were exposed to as a result of the diversity of U.S. cities . New York City experienced a heavy Jamaican hip hop influence during the 1990s . This influence was brought on by cultural shifts particularly because of the heightened immigration of Jamaicans to New York City and the American - born Jamaican youth who were coming of age during the 1990s . </P>
who are the founding fathers of hip hop
DJ Kool Herc DJ Disco Wiz Grandmaster Flash Afrika Bambaataa