The search engine giant Google has unveiled a new doodle on its home page commemorating the birth of hip hop 44 years ago.

By clicking on today’s Google doodle you are transported to an interactive player that allows you to choose records, fade between them, choose the pace of the beat and even scratch.

For the celebration animation, Google has teamed up with visual artist and rapper Fab 5 Freddy.

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The story goes that Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc was the first to extend the break beat of a song by using two records, which in turn allowed dancers to move for longer and MC’s to rap over the music.

The first example of this, according to Fab 5 Freddy, was at a party in the South Bronx in New York City in 1973.

The art form has moved on from the early days and a lucky few have made an extremely rewarding career.

In a piece that trended on LinkedIn last year TV host Paul Carrick Brunson predicted that Sean ‘Puffy’ Coombs would become the first hip hop billionaire in 2017.

Forbes currently calculates Coombs’ worth to be about $750 million from his investments in drinks companies and fashion as well as music.

Another rap mogul that could tip over into billionaire status is Andre Romelle Young, better known by his stage name Dr. Dre.

The rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics.

Beats Electronics is a headphone and speaker company acquired by Apple in 2014 for $3 billion.