*DJ Kool Herc has taken legal action against HBO’s popular music series, “Vinyl,” over how he was portrayed on the show.
As previously reported, the 61-year-old musician, whose real name is Clive Campbell, filed legal documents last week in a Manhattan Court. In his suit, Herc claims that the “Mr. Campbell” character on the show is actually him.
Herc and his lawyers allege that when HBO offered him $10,000 for “waiving his rights and consultation services regarding the show,” he declined to sign off on the offer. However, HBO denies the agreement was meant to get Herc’s permission to use his likeness, especially since the “Mr. Campbell” character wasn’t portrayed in a negative light.
The Bronx DJ is seeking more than $10,000 from HBO.
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The Jamaican American DJ is credited for originating hip hop music in the early 1970s in The Bronx. During a 1989 interview, he explained why he’s credited with the title.
Hip-Hop started when my father brought a PA system and didn’t know how to hook it up. I was messing around with the music and I started out by buying a few records to play at my house. When I was doing that I saw a lot of kids playing outside in the backyard. My sister asked me to give a party one day. Actually, she wanted me to play at a party [1520 Segdwick Ave] and I went out and got around twenty records that I felt was good enough and we gave a party and charged about twenty five cents to come in and made 300 dollars.
At the time I was into graffiti so there was a lot of curiosity was about who I was. And so when they came there they saw who I was and what I did, I fulfilled their expectations on me. Herc could talk and play good music and people didn’t mess around in his party. The ‘babes’ [fine women] were there and he [Herc] might call your name on the mic. In those days ain’t no body know about calling your name on the mic or hearing records back to back…
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