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ran his article about the trip, titled "B-Beats
Bombarding Bronx: Mobile DJ Starts Something With Oldie R&B Disks", which is now widely considered to be the first article about hip-hop in a major publication. In May 1979, Ford published "Jive Talking N.Y. DJs Rapping Away in Black Discos", which
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307:. Ford began taking Russell to industry events, encouraged him to become a record producer, and encouraged Blow to hire Russell as a manager. Ford, Moore, Smith, and Russell Simmons co-produced Blow's followup song, "
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Blow said about Ford: "He taught me how to be a man. I was very shy; he brought me out of that and turned me into this incredible performer"; Russell
Simmons said that Ford "taught the value of selling the truth".
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to figure out why certain obscure R&B records were suddenly in high demand at a popular record store in the area. He met with
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in
December 1979 to wide success, causing Blow to sign a deal with the label. Also in 1979, Ford met rapper
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to appear in any major publication. He went on to produce albums and write songs for acts including
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136:(June 30, 1949 – May 19, 2020) was an American journalist and record producer. While working for
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Ford married Linda Medley in 1998. The couple had two children, including sportscaster
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705:"Breakin' News From the Bronx: The Landmark Hip-Hop Reporting of Robert Ford Jr"
530:"Robert Ford Jr., Hip-Hop Pioneer & Former Billboard Journalist, Dies at 70"
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597:"B-Beats Bombarding Bronx: Mobile DJ Starts Something With Oldie R&B Discs"
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He then became a journalist for the latter magazine, primarily writing about
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records around the house while he was growing up. His family later moved to
669:"Russell Simmons Reveals Veteran Hip Hop Producer Robert Ford Jr. Has Died"
566:"Inside Robert Ford Jr.'s Crucial Reporting on Rap & Disco In the '70s"
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and learned that DJs were buying up these records in order to play short
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Ford began his career in journalism working as production manager for
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It was also in the late 1970s that Ford helped then-aspiring writer
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326:. He later founded his own management company that helped launch
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633:"Hip-Hop Journalist and Producer Robert Ford Jr. Dead at 70"
476:"Robert Ford Jr., an Early Force in Hip-Hop, Is Dead at 70"
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in the songs on repeat at parties. On July 1 of that year,
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in 1979 to concentrate on writing and producing the song "
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American journalist and record producer (1949–2020)
745:Jive Talking N.Y. DJs Rapping Away in Black Discos
322:In the late 1980s, Ford became vice president of
303:), who then introduced him to his older brother
311:", which became the first hip-hop single to be
198:there. After graduating, he briefly attended
8:
142:in 1978, Ford wrote the first article about
358:on May 19, 2020. He received obituaries in
174:, on June 30, 1949. His parents would play
781:Andrew Jackson High School (Queens) alumni
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29:
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801:Record producers from New York (state)
372:, with the latter publishing multiple
715:from the original on October 19, 2023
681:from the original on October 19, 2023
645:from the original on October 19, 2023
609:from the original on October 19, 2023
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528:Eggertsen, Chris (June 10, 2020).
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811:American hip hop record producers
806:African-American record producers
771:20th-century American journalists
595:Ford Jr., Robert (July 1, 1978).
279:Songwriting and record production
703:Lynch, Joe (November 13, 2020).
115:Writing the first article about
384:Selected production discography
200:Queensborough Community College
791:Journalists from New York City
667:Eustice, Kyle (May 20, 2020).
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190:, and he became friends with
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564:Lynch, Joe (June 10, 2020).
227:. In 1978, Ford traveled to
170:Robert Ford Jr. was born in
432:Full Force Get Busy 1 Time!
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796:American music journalists
631:Yoo, Noah (June 5, 2020).
196:Andrew Jackson High School
39:
738:B-Beats Bombarding Bronx
264:while spinning records.
299:(later known as Run of
119:in a major publication
271:get an internship at
776:Billboard (magazine)
416:(1984) – Kurtis Blow
244:focused on DJs like
435:(1986) – Full Force
324:Rush Communications
81:New York City, U.S.
65:New York City, U.S.
816:People from Harlem
481:The New York Times
407:Rodney Dangerfield
361:The New York Times
188:St. Albans, Queens
152:Rodney Dangerfield
376:on his reporting.
289:Christmas Rappin'
172:Harlem, Manhattan
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18:Robert Ford, Jr.
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76:(2020-05-19)
74:May 19, 2020
46:Ford in 1999
766:2020 deaths
761:1949 births
719:October 10,
685:October 13,
613:October 13,
580:October 10,
396:Kurtis Blow
254:Kurtis Blow
237:drum breaks
192:Larry Smith
148:Kurtis Blow
95:Occupations
755:Categories
649:October 6,
546:October 6,
500:October 6,
440:References
426:Full Force
421:Full Force
309:The Breaks
283:Ford left
206:Journalism
166:Early life
156:Full Force
101:Journalist
58:1949-06-30
709:Billboard
638:Pitchfork
602:Billboard
570:Billboard
535:Billboard
490:0362-4331
424:(1985) –
405:(1983) –
394:(1981) –
365:Pitchfork
285:Billboard
273:Billboard
241:Billboard
229:the Bronx
219:Billboard
139:Billboard
713:Archived
679:Archived
674:HipHopDX
643:Archived
607:Archived
574:Archived
540:Archived
494:Archived
413:Ego Trip
356:Brooklyn
134:Ford Jr.
332:Hi-Five
328:R&B
315:by the
301:Run-DMC
184:R&B
144:hip-hop
117:hip-hop
488:
330:group
262:rapped
256:, and
213:Forbes
182:, and
154:, and
126:Robert
391:Deuce
260:that
225:disco
176:blues
130:Rocky
90:Rocky
721:2023
687:2023
651:2023
615:2023
582:2023
548:2023
502:2023
486:ISSN
317:RIAA
216:and
180:jazz
71:Died
52:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
