‘The Get Down’ is a Netflix Original Series with 6 wonderfully illustrated episodes so far. It is a fictional series, however it includes many historical truths including the influences of DJs Grand Master Flash and Kool Herc. The show takes place in the early 70s in the Bronx when Disco music was commercially popular and hip-hop was like a baby developing in the womb of music.

Although I am a 90s baby, I have been an old school hip-hop fan all of my life..but it was not until 2011 when I first walked into a Sunday Night Party in New York City called “,The Funk Box” that I actually learned to appreciate the nature of MUSIC and the skill of BLENDING that DJs and producers possess. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. I felt that I found a party that took me back to the era I always wished I could have lived through, the 70s & 80s. Don’t get me wrong, nothing about THE FUNKBOX is outdated, it bleeds a love for music and rhythm. I heard hiphop,soul, funk, and disco, all being perfectly blended together with multiple beats and sounds. Not once did you see a confused face on the dance floor. You know, that look, the one where everyone is trying to figure out what the next dance move should be because the entire beat and rhythm switched up instantly. Instead, I walked in and felt a rhythm in my soul that never stopped and saw dancers on the floor that never stopped either. I saw all kinds of dance moves from break dance (windmills,hip twists, head spins, top rock, airflares,freezes, and suicides to name a few) to a true hip-hop head from New Jersey this was a dream come true. I grew up wanting to learn all these moves, my brother and friends would throw break dance parties and we all would prepare for weeks practicing our best break dance moves, attempting to wear matching wind breaker suits, and perform our best moves for everyone else who attended. For a decade of my life this was the closest thing to disco and real hip-hop appreciation that I would experience.

Not only was the dance part captivating but the music was what allowed the dancers to express themselves so freely. Because the music was blended so perfectly over a constant beat that never ends dancers were able to continue in motion without ever having to stop in their tracks unless of course it was part of the move they were doing. I heard vocal sampling with lyrics that hit your heart followed by an explosion of bass that made your body feel weightless. I was astounded by the DJs ability to keep the party going so perfectly for hours into the morning. DJ Tony Touch is his name, and Voodoo Ray is his co-host. I was so intrigued by this feeling of freedom within dance and music that I started following their parties and attending their events. The next surprise was TOCA Tuesdays, where I heard blends of old school hip-hop that made me feel like a kid again when I would first discover a new hip-hop song. It is to no wonder that DJ Tony Touch and Voodoo Ray have traveled the world and been influential to many of us for decades. If you look them up you will still find the information to their parties and be able to attend the dopest, sickest, most entertaining, and positive vibe filled parties you will ever go to in your life. Not to mention Voodoo Ray has a strong dance and choreography background that brings out a talented dancer crowd to many of his events.

It was because of this discovery that I became so intrigued by disco, house, and the birth of hip-hop. I wished I was born in the later 60s so I could have experienced a Grand Master Flash or Kool Herc party. There is something about a DJ who uses Vinyls and blends and scratches perfectly that is just so impressive to me. Not anyone can just buy the equipment and have a crowd feel in tune with what they play with it. Hearing a sample from an old disco track playing over a hip-hop beat then blended with a soulful house melody, it all is like a musical science.

I have gone to several events hosted by Voodoo Ray over the last years including “,Puerto Rock Steady” an annual celebration put together by CRAZY LEGS of the Rock Steady Crew (a historical internationally recognized break dance crew that formed in the late 70s in the Bronx.) It is a 5 Day event that takes place in the most private beautiful areas of Puerto Rico in which members of the Rock Steady Crew from around the world come together as well as anyone else who would like to attend. When I attended two years ago, I experienced memories of a lifetime. Breakdance battles and lessons, Performances by Barbara Tucker and Big Daddy Kane, DJs from around the world played hours of sets as we kicked back and danced on the beach. They even had a Freestyle Battle on the Beach, in which congas were played under the moon and stars, and about 10 MCs battled including myself. I am not going to lie I was terrified but the friends I made at Puerto Rock Steady pushed me to get in on it after hearing me freestyle for fun, and to my surprise I was crowned the 2015 WORD is BONFIRE Puerto Rock Steady Winner. I felt a universal love for music being shared by kind exchanges of smiles, laughs, dances, and friendships being created. I was one of the youngest of the crowd along with a few others and I remember getting on the airplane back home and closing my eyes and saying to myself “,I wish I was born in the 60s, these people I met although they are my parents age they are so full of energy,passion, and talent all through a mutual love and admiration for the culture in which they grew up in.”

Now, back to ‘The Get Down’ although it is mostly fictional it highlights some main points in hip-hop history that are true. It also paints a vivid picture of how the Bronx was a forgotten corrupt place, yet there was so much talent and soul that has came from the Bronx and has made a major influence in our culture until now. ‘The Get Down’ also depicts how hip-hop was first looked at as a means on unity with understanding one another and how the DJs pushed to keep their parties non-violent and peaceful. I enjoy watching the struggles that these young artists faced as they tried to make a place for themselves in the world and I am eager to see what happens in the future episodes as the artists learn more about how the world works. I watched all 6 episodes over the course of two days, and how ironic is it that I spotted VOODOO RAY in a few scenes. If you read this, thanks Ray and DJ TONY TOUCH, and CRAZY LEGS for carrying your culture and passions into the new generations that have come after you and keeping the spirit of YOUR GENERATION and ART alive for all of us ! and Thank you to everyone who participated in writing, creating, and acting out ‘The Get Down’ including Grand Master Flash himself, who was hired to teach the actor who played his role the ins & outs.. you have now opened up the eyes and ears for people who once had no idea about this to possibly realize it and embrace music just a little more!