Rap Pioneer Lovebug Starski, Who Popularized The Term ‘Hip Hop,’ Dies At 57

blogged by @lanaladonna

Kevin Smith, a DJ from the Bronx, and better known as Lovebug Starski who coined the term “hip-hop,” unfortunately passed yesterday at age 57.

#RollingStone reports his death was caused by a heart attack he had in Las Vegas, where he recently relocated. Starski’s daughter, Tiffany Smith, confirmed the cause of death.

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Starski was among a core group of DJ pioneers that include #DJKoolHerc, #AfrikaBambaataa, #GrandmasterFlash and #GrandWizardTheodore. Rolling Stone says they all helped shape hip-hop’s parameters in the days before recorded rap in the 1970s.

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DJ Grandmaster Flash told rolling stone what made Starski so different from the rest.

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“What set him apart was he was able to DJ and talk on the mic and do both at the same time, and he was really really good at this,” explained Flash. “He played an extremely important role in the development of this. We all do it now, talk on the mic and DJ same time, but in the hip-hop world, Starski was probably the first to handle it.”

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Some may argue that Keith “Cowboy” Wiggins of Grandmaster Flash and the #FuriousFive introduced the word “hip-hop,” but Smith accepted credit for the term in an interview with Amoeba Music in 2017.

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“That was one of my rhymes when I would get stuck for words and I used to go ‘hip, hop, the hip, the hip, hip the hopping,” he said. “You know it was just a nursery rhyme that coincided with the music, and that’s the God’s honest truth.”

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Condolences are sent to Smith’s family and friends. Salute to all “hip-hop” icons everywhere.