August 15, 1973 is considered the birthdate of Hip Hop. Today, after 50 years since DJ Kool Herc (nee Clive Campbell) threw that famed back-to-school party in the Bronx, New York, Hip Hop has impacted American society, cultures, and history. Performance is inherent in Hip Hop’s influence on American expressions of entertainment, storytelling, social movement, consciousness, and historiography. Hip Hop has even transformed American Theatre through historical remixes, such as Hamilton: The Musical based on Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton. This course will explore the history of Hip Hop from its inception in 1973 as an urban subculture and its effects on American history and theatre through its reflection and imitation of American society and language, literature, and performance. By centering the course in 1973, we will be able to trace—go back … way back—historical phenomena that led to the creation of Hip Hop while marking a timeline that traverses modern to contemporary theatre history. This course will fulfill the history credit offered every semester. The 2A, 3B, and 5T domained versions of this course are, respectively, Critical Identity Studies 266, 267, and 268. (Also listed as THDA 251.)