Lovebug Starski

Lovebug Starski
Lovebug Starski
Background information
Birth name	Kevin Smith
Born	May 16, 1960; The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
Died	February 8, 2018 (aged 57); Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper; DJ; record producer;
Years active	1971–2018

Kevin Smith (May 16, 1960 – February 8, 2018),^[1] best known by his stage name Lovebug Starski, was an American MC, musician, and record producer. He began his career as a record boy in 1971 as hip hop first appeared in the Bronx, and he eventually became a DJ at the Disco Fever club in 1978. He is one of two people who may have come up with the term "hip-hop".^[2]^[3] Starski claimed that he coined the phrase, while trading the two words back and forth, while improvising lines with Keef Cowboy of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, at a farewell party for a friend who was headed into the Army.^[1] In an interview with Dave Hill in the newspaper The Observer, Starski explained, "I picked up the mic and just started saying ‘a hip hop, hip hop, de hibbyhibbyhibbyhibby hop’. The people couldn’t believe it but it stuck."^[4]

^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference nytobit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Lynskey, Dorian (August 7, 2016). "Grandmaster Flash: 'Hip-hop's message was simple: we matter'". The Guardian.
^ "The Sacramento Bee 12 Oct 2004, page 46". Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
^ "The Observer 15 Jun 1986, page 27". The Observer. Retrieved May 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[nytobit-1] Cite error: The named reference nytobit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[2] Lynskey, Dorian (August 7, 2016). "Grandmaster Flash: 'Hip-hop's message was simple: we matter'". The Guardian.

[3] "The Sacramento Bee 12 Oct 2004, page 46". Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 22, 2023.

[4] "The Observer 15 Jun 1986, page 27". The Observer. Retrieved May 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

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