Robert ‘Rocky’ Ford Jr Wiki, Biography
Robert ‘Rocky’ Ford Jr was a former Billboard journalist and Kurtis Blow collaborator has died at 70. Ford’s cause of death has not been made public. Simmons said in his Instagram post that Ford had suffered from diabetes during his life.
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Age
He has died at the age of 70 years old.
Family
Ford Jr. had a son Robert Ford, who conveyed the news about his father’s passing.
Hip-Hop Article
Ford began working with Billboard Magazine in the 1970s and is credited with writing the first major article about hip-hop culture. Ford wrote the piece, “B-Beats Bombarding The Bronx: Mobile DJ Starts Something With Oldie R&B Disks” in July 1978. The article followed the adventures of Cool Herc and the parties he hosted. The article concluded with the lines:
Herc hopes that someday he will be able to produce an entire B-beat album featuring, “Bongo Rock,” and other obscure numbers. Till then he plans to keep packing them in at the clubs and dances he works in The Bronx.
Ford left Billboard Magazine in 1979 to work with Kurtis Blow on the early hip-hop breakthrough hit, “Christmas Rappin’.” Ford worked on the song with another former Billboard Magazine employee, J.B. Moore. As a result of the success of the song, Ford helped Blow secure a deal with Mercury Records. This made Blow the first rapper to have a major recording contract.
Ford then worked with Blow again, this time alongside Russell Simmons, J.B. Moore, and Larry Smith on the hit song, “The Breaks.”
Robert ‘Rocky’ Ford Jr Death Cause
According to his son, Robert Ford, and his longtime friend and mentee Russell Simmons, the Hip Hop veteran died on May 20. The cause of his death has not been made public, although Simmons said in his Instagram post that Ford had suffered from diabetes during his life.
