On August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc hosted a legendary party. Right here, at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, he invented the groundbreaking technique of repeating the breaks by switching between two copies of a record. People started dancing to these „beat breaks”. Coke La Rock fired up the crowd with rhymes, and rap music was born.
50 years later, the same spirit of creative expression, of celebrating oneself and one’s community, makes Hiphop the biggest pop-cultural movement of our time. Sedgwick Ave. Dry Gin is an ode to this day and this place, a celebration of Hiphop Culture.
However, the gin is not only intended to honor the culture’s past, but also to promote its future. All profits from the limited first edition will go directly to selected non-profit organizations (NGOs) in New York City to support and strengthen hip-hop culture and its community.
Grand Wizard Theodore, one of the pioneers of hip-hop, inventor of scratching, and a witness to its early days in the Bronx, says, „We are incredibly proud of our culture and the positive impact it has had all around the world. The fact that a monument is now being built in its honor in Germany and the proceeds from the gin will support important projects in the Bronx is something that brings us great joy.“
