“Reggae and hip hop is big time family.” — U-Roy

During Hip Hop History Month, those words from reggae legend U-Roy remind us of the deep bond between two of the most powerful music movements ever created. While hip hop’s birth in the Bronx is widely credited to DJ Kool Herc, a Jamaican immigrant who brought the sound system culture of Kingston to New York, the truth is reggae and hip hop have been intertwined since the very beginning.

🎚️ From Kingston to the Bronx: The Foundation

The 1970s marked a revolution in urban music. Street block parties in the Bronx became the testing ground for what would become hip hop culture, but much of the DNA came directly from Jamaica’s sound system tradition — the art of toasting, versioning, and controlling the crowd through rhythm and mic presence.

Artists like U-Roy, Big Youth, and Count Machuki pioneered “talk-over” styles that later influenced early MCs and DJs in New York.
When DJ Kool Herc (Clive Campbell) began looping breakbeats on turntables, he unknowingly fused Caribbean sound system techniques with funk, soul, and breakbeat — giving birth to a global art form.

 

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🇨🇦 Toronto’s Unsung Role in Hip Hop History

Few realize that Toronto, being right next door to hip hop’s birthplace, was also building its own foundation in the 1970s.

The city’s multicultural makeup — heavily influenced by Jamaican and Caribbean communities — gave rise to the Sunshine Sound Crew, DJ Ron Nelson, and later Michie Mee and Maestro Fresh Wes, who all helped put Canadian hip hop on the map.

Toronto’s nickname, “Screwface Capital,” came from its reputation for being tough on its own artists — a city where local talent often had to leave to gain respect. Yet, that same grit helped build a scene that would later produce Drake, Kardinal Offishall, Pressa, and countless others who represent the city globally today.

🌍 The Reggae-Hip Hop Bloodline

Both genres grew out of community, storytelling, and survival. Whether in Kingston or the Bronx, they became voices for the voiceless.
As U-Roy once said, reggae and hip hop are “big time family” — two expressions of rhythm, resistance, and resilience.

From DJ Kool Herc’s Bronx block parties to Toronto’s underground sound clashes, the connection between reggae and hip hop continues to shape music culture worldwide.

📺 Watch the Full Feature

WorldWide Entertainment TV dives into the reggae and hip hop connection — exploring how pioneers from Jamaica to Toronto influenced each other and helped create the blueprint for today’s global hip hop movement.

🎥 Watch Toronto Rappers & Hip Hop Full Documentary here → [NOW OR NEVER DOCUMENTARY]

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