On September 20th, 1960 Robert Keith Wiggins was born, known in the hip hop world as Keef Cowboy, or just Cowboy.

Keef Cowboy was an American rapper from the Bronx and was a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. He is also widely credited for inventing the term “Hip Hop”

In 1978 while teasing a friend who had just joined the United States Army. Keef Cowboy teased his friend by scat-singing the made-up words “hip/hop/hip/hop” to mimic marching soldiers’ rhythmic cadence.

Cowboy later worked the “hip hop” cadence into his stage performance, being early in the genre’s infancy —it stuck, and the genre now had a name!

Here is Keef Cowboy along with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five on the cover of The Message. The Message remains one of the most influential and popular rap and hip-hop classics of all time.

This photo was taken in Harlem on the corner of Fredrick Douglas Blvd and 123rd Street just two blocks away from the Apollo Theater in Harlem.