Sample This: The Birth of Hip Hop

KISS frontman Gene Simmons is the rather oddball choice of narrator for this documentary centering on a ‘70s album track that gave birth to hip-hop. Director Dan Forrer starts with the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, which had a huge impact on Michael Viner, one of the presidential candidate's aides. Viner left politics behind to pursue a career in music, moving from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles, where he worked as a producer and music supervisor. That eventually led him to football-player-turned-actor Rosey Grier, who here recalls their time as roommates. Commissioning bongo tracks for two films, including the Grier vehicle The Thing with Two Heads, Viner assembled the Incredible Bongo Band, which began life under the leadership of Perry Botkin Jr. and featured in-demand session players such as percussionist King Errisson and drummer Jim Gordon. Unfortunately, their records didn't sell, and the group later dispersed. Meanwhile, New York DJ Kool Herc came across the band's cover of the surf instrumental “Apache.” By extending the break beat, Herc drove the crowd wild, after which Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, and others added it to their arsenal. Rapping and scratching made the transition to hip-hop complete. Forrer doubles back to catch up with members of the Bongo Band—a colorful crew who went on to play with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Eric Clapton (although one would also become a murderer). By the time the credits roll on this fascinating documentary, the participation of Simmons—a friend of Viner's (who died in 2009)—doesn't seem so strange after all. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)