Ever wanted to feel like a real DJ spinning records at a block party? The Hip Hop Google Doodle puts you behind the turntables and lets you mix classic breakbeats that shaped an entire genre. Released on August 11, 2017, this interactive Doodle celebrates the 44th anniversary of hip hop’s birth — and it’s one of the most ambitious Doodles Google has ever made.
The experience kicks off with an animated history lesson narrated by Fab 5 Freddy, the legendary host of Yo! MTV Raps. He takes you back to August 11, 1973, when an 18-year-old Jamaican-American DJ named Kool Herc threw a back-to-school party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx. Instead of playing full songs, Herc did something nobody had done before — he used two turntables to loop just the instrumental “breaks” where the crowd went wildest. His friend Coke La Rock grabbed the mic to hype everyone up, and just like that, hip hop was born.
After the intro, you’re handed the decks. You get two virtual turntables, a crossfader, and a crate stuffed with legendary samples. We’re talking Incredible Bongo Band’s “Apache” (sampled over 500 times), Billy Squier’s “The Big Beat” (used in everything from Run-DMC to Jay-Z’s “99 Problems”), The Isley Brothers’ “Between the Sheets” (Biggie’s “Big Poppa”), and tracks from George Clinton, Zapp, Ohio Players, and DeBarge. There are even three exclusive beats from producer Prince Paul, known for his work with De La Soul.
Completing different actions unlocks 10 achievements that reveal facts about hip hop pioneers and landmarks like Disco Fever club in the South Bronx. The graffiti-style logo was designed by Cey Adams, founding creative director of Def Jam Records. Google brought back this Doodle during COVID-19 in May 2020 as part of their “Stay and Play at Home” series.
How To Play Hip Hop Google Doodle
- Watch the intro or skip to the turntables — Fab 5 Freddy’s tutorial shows you the basics of mixing
- Click the record crate icon (bottom right) to browse through classic sample records
- Drag records onto either turntable to load them up
- Slide the crossfader left or right to switch between decks or blend both together
- Click and drag on the records to scratch, adjust the BPM sliders to match tempos, or hit the sync button to auto-match beats
- Complete all 10 goals (scratching, changing records, playing two tracks in the same key) to unlock info cards about hip hop legends
