Keef Cowboy

 Robert Keith Wiggins, known by his stage names Keef Cowboy and Cowboy, was an American hip hop recording artist and a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. He is widely credited as having invented the term "hip hop".

Born on September 20, 1960, in Manhattan, New York City, Wiggins was first recruited to MC for his friend Grandmaster Flash (then DJ Flash) by 1977. He was a dancer and hype man for the band and was a pioneer in the use of the call-and-response style to communicate with the audience. In 1983, he left the group and joined Melle Mel, with whom he recorded the single "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)," followed by the album Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five in 1985.

Cowboy is credited with coining the term "hip hop" in 1978 while teasing a friend who had just joined the United States Army. He did so by scat singing the made-up words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers. Cowboy later worked the "hip hop" cadence into his stage performance.

Unfortunately, Cowboy was addicted to cocaine in the last two years of his life, and he died of a drug overdose on September 8, 1989.

Cowboy's discography includes several albums with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, including The Message (1982) and Greatest Messages (1983), as well as Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five (1985) and On the Strength (1988) with Melle Mel.

Cowboy's contributions to hip hop, particularly his invention of the term "hip hop," have been widely recognized. He is mentioned in the 1998 song “In Memory Of…” by Gang Starr, which references multiple hip hop figures who have died. Despite his untimely death, Cowboy's influence on hip hop culture continues to be felt today.