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Google celebrates birth of hip hop with interactive turntable

Make your own mix on Friday's epic Google doodle.

A screenshot of Google's logo in honor of the birth of Hip Hop. (Photo: Google)

On August 11, 1973, the most important genre in modern music was born.

Google is marking the anniversary with a shout-out to hip hop on Friday through an interactive doodle transforming its logo into a turntable.

The logo was created by graffiti artist Cey Adams, and allows users to check out an interactive turntable to sample and mix classic tracks.

"The project is rooted in honoring the past," said Adams in an interview published by Google Friday.

The doodle includes a storytelling element narrated by Fab 5 Freddy, who co-hosted the popular hip-hop show Yo! MTV Raps.

"For those who have have grown up with this, they’re gonna be amazed to see such a huge part of their lives acknowledged," he said during a Google interview.

Users can explore samples, then incorporate them into a mix using a cross-fader. Once complete, they can choose to share their sample.

Hip hop was birthed at a party on Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx borough of New York City, Google explains. During the party, DJ Kool Herc decided to take songs and only play the instrumental parts — called breaks — instead of the entire tune.

The rest is history. Hip hop spawned some of the biggest names in music: Run DMC, LL Cool J, NWA, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., Jay Z, and countless others.

"Hip Hop originated as a way for young people to focus on something positive in the midst of the negative forces around them," said Perla Campos, one of the creators of the doodle who works at Google. "So I want people to feel that same hope and positivity from this Doodle."

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.

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