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BBC: Once Upon a Time in New York – The Birth of Hip Hop, Disco and Punk

Being offered is a well-executed and extensive BBC documentary entitled Once Upon a Time in New York – The Birth of Hip Hop, Disco & Punk. Making the point that by the 1970s most pop music in the USA was dominated by West Coast artists and that NYC – despite being home to a plethora of creative types, was experiencing a period of stunted growth – the video goes on to explain how three unique and revolutionary genres of music managed to sprout from the squalor of this gritty, decades-old New York. From the rise of punk in the Bowery’s legendary CBGB to the glamorous all-night debauches of Studio 54 in midtown Manhattan, and the rough beginnings of modern hip-hop in the South Bronx, Once Upon a Time in New York does an excellent job of chronicling how the city reclaimed musical relevance in the 1970s. Including interviews with the likes of Patti Smith, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Chuck D, Tommy Ramone, Chris Stein, David Mancuso, Jayne County and more, the video is certainly worth a watch for anyone interested in the history of music.