Who invented hip-hop? Though the beat-driven form originated in underground clubs in the Bronx, it was Herbie Hancock who drove it into the spotlight with “Rockit,” an irresistible mix of keytar, turntables and sheer brilliance that rocked the GRAMMY Awards in 1984, bringing a star-studded audience to their feet.

It wasn’t the first time Herbie Hancock had boldly blended musical styles. Long an adventurous music maker, Hancock couldn’t resist experimenting, fascinated by the way that jazz and funk, rock, electronic, and more could be blended and juxtaposed into new forms in a way that Duke Ellington would have described as “beyond category.”

Born in 1940 in Chicago, the son of Winne Belle Griffin, a secretary and Waymand Edward Hancock, a government meat inspector, Herbie was a musical kid who started piano lessons at age seven, quickly becoming recognized as a prodigy.

Continue reading Herbie Hancock: In Quest of the New Appearing In Norfolk On September 22 at The New Journal and Guide.