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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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296:. 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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280:" with former co-worker J.B. Moore. The duo gave the song to rapper Kurtis Blow, who Ford met while working on his "Jive Talking N.Y. DJs..." article. The song was released by
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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
125:(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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694:"Breakin' News From the Bronx: The Landmark Hip-Hop Reporting of Robert Ford Jr"
519:"Robert Ford Jr., Hip-Hop Pioneer & Former Billboard Journalist, Dies at 70"
586:"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
658:"Russell Simmons Reveals Veteran Hip Hop Producer Robert Ford Jr. Has Died"
555:"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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315:. He later founded his own management company that helped launch
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622:"Hip-Hop Journalist and Producer Robert Ford Jr. Dead at 70"
465:"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)
734:Jive Talking N.Y. DJs Rapping Away in Black Discos
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311:In the late 1980s, Ford became vice president of
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292:), who then introduced him to his older brother
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187:there. After graduating, he briefly attended
131:in 1978, Ford wrote the first article about
347:on May 19, 2020. He received obituaries in
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790:Record producers from New York (state)
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361:, with the latter publishing multiple
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268:Songwriting and record production
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216:. In 1978, Ford traveled to
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421:Full Force Get Busy 1 Time!
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785:American music journalists
620:Yoo, Noah (June 5, 2020).
185:Andrew Jackson High School
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727:B-Beats Bombarding Bronx
253:while spinning records.
288:(later known as Run of
108:in a major publication
260:get an internship at
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405:(1984) – Kurtis Blow
233:focused on DJs like
424:(1986) – Full Force
313:Rush Communications
70:New York City, U.S.
54:New York City, U.S.
805:People from Harlem
470:The New York Times
396:Rodney Dangerfield
350:The New York Times
177:St. Albans, Queens
141:Rodney Dangerfield
365:on his reporting.
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161:Harlem, Manhattan
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65:(2020-05-19)
63:May 19, 2020
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750:1949 births
708:October 10,
674:October 13,
602:October 13,
569:October 10,
385:Kurtis Blow
243:Kurtis Blow
226:drum breaks
181:Larry Smith
137:Kurtis Blow
84:Occupations
744:Categories
638:October 6,
535:October 6,
489:October 6,
429:References
415:Full Force
410:Full Force
298:The Breaks
272:Ford left
195:Journalism
155:Early life
145:Full Force
90:Journalist
47:1949-06-30
698:Billboard
627:Pitchfork
591:Billboard
559:Billboard
524:Billboard
479:0362-4331
413:(1985) –
394:(1983) –
383:(1981) –
354:Pitchfork
274:Billboard
262:Billboard
230:Billboard
218:the Bronx
208:Billboard
128:Billboard
702:Archived
668:Archived
663:HipHopDX
632:Archived
596:Archived
563:Archived
529:Archived
483:Archived
402:Ego Trip
345:Brooklyn
123:Ford Jr.
321:Hi-Five
317:R&B
304:by the
290:Run-DMC
173:R&B
133:hip-hop
106:hip-hop
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319:group
251:rapped
245:, and
202:Forbes
171:, and
143:, and
115:Robert
380:Deuce
249:that
214:disco
165:blues
119:Rocky
79:Rocky
710:2023
676:2023
640:2023
604:2023
571:2023
537:2023
491:2023
475:ISSN
306:RIAA
205:and
169:jazz
60:Died
41:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
