The Welcome Pt. 2 - A Little History Before We Get Started 1979-1982

    For my second entry, I figured a little early Hip-Hop history might put us all on some common ground. I would love to say that I researched and comprised all this information myself but alas, I cannot. Luckily in the lovely age of the internet practically anything no matter how obscure seems to be easily found, with just a little digging. I personally learned much more than I thought I would and found some ultra-classic Hip-Hop that really deserves to be heard again. Most of these artist have long been forgotten by even the most die-hard Hip-Hop heads, while others are forever imbedded in music history forever. But make no mistake all these artist did their part to nourish the fledgling art that became our culture. And just so we are clear I love most of the new Hip-Hop, artist and songs (more than I should). But if we can't hold on to a music history that's barely 40 years old then we are fucked. And just for fun keep score of how much of this you remember. Don't forget to click the links for some reminders of what Hip-Hop used to be like. Comments are encouraged. SPREAD THE WORD.

1979-
Hip Hop music on record is born by Fatback Band's "King Tim III", Younger Generation's "We Rap More
Mellow", and The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" (Hip Hop legend Grandmaster Caz wrote the lyrics but never got credit). Important artists such as Kurtis Blow and Grandmaster Flash also begin their careers, and some of the first socio-political-conscious records arise on the Paul Winley label through chiefly Tanya Winley. Philadelphia's legendary radio personality Lady B becomes the first female rapper to have a record, and Steve Gordon's "Take My Rap" is considered to be the first white rap record. Afro-Filipino Joe Bataan creates a hit with his "Rap-O, Clap-O", the first signs of Hip Hop's diversity. Enjoy Records and Sugar Hill Records become the defining Hip Hop labels of the old school era.

Notable Songs:
1. Rapper's Delight - The Sugar Hill Gang
2. King Tim III (Personality Jock) - Fatback Band
3. Rappin' and Rocking the House - Funky Four Plus One
4. Christmas Rappin' - Kurtis Blow
5. Superrappin' - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
6. To the Beat Y'All - Lady B
7. We Rap More Mellow - Younger Generation (a.k.a. Grandmaster Flash, et al)
8. Rhythm Talk - Jocko
9. Rhymin' and Rappin' - Paulette and Tanya Winley
10. Rap-O, Clap-O - Joe Bataan
11. Lady D - Lady D
12. Jazzy 4 MCs - MC Rock
13. Rhapazooty in Blue - Sickle Cell and Rhapazooty
14. Spiderap - Ron Hunt
15. Looking Good (Shake Your Body) - Eddie Cheba

And we would've gotten away with it, if it wasn't for those meddling kids

1980-
This is Kurtis Blow's year. He becomes the first rapper signed to a major record label, Mercury Records, where his song "The Breaks" becomes a certified gold record. He is the first to release a Hip Hop album, to embark on a Hip Hop tour, to be featured on television ("Soul Train" in October), and the first to give rap mainstream marketability (he also opened up for The Commodores and Bob Marley on tour). Rap is still seen as a fad although several disco-Hip Hop hybrids prove successful such as "Funk You Up", "Zulu Nation Throwdown Part I", "The New Rap Language", and "Monster Jam". Casper has the first rap record in Chicago, and The Sequence become the first all-female rap crew on record. Treacherous Three's "Body Rock" is the first Hip Hop song to use rock guitars, and Blondie member Deborah Harry's "Rapture" is the first massive Hip Hop record done by a white artist.

Notable Songs:
1. The Breaks - Kurtis Blow
2. The New Rap Language - Spoonie Gee and The Treacherous Three
3. Zulu Nation Throwdown Part I - Afrika Bambaataa & Cosmic Force
4. Funk You Up - The Sequence
5. Monster Jam - Spoonie Gee and The Sequence
6. Rapture - Blondie
7. 8th Wonder - The Sugarhill Gang
8. Freedom - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
9. Love Rap - Spoonie Gee and The Treacherous Three
10. Adventures of Super Rhyme (Rap) - Jimmy Spicer
11. Death Mix - Afrika Bambaataa
12. Spoonin' Rap - Spoonie Gee
13. Body Rock - The Treacherous Three
14. Vicious Rap - Tanya Winley
15. How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise? - Brother D with Collective Effort

I'll give you three guesses why they call me Blow, and the first two don't count.

1981-
Another great year for Hip Hop. Funky Four Plus One's "That's the Joint" becomes a seminal all-time classic record and the first Hip Hop group to perform on national television (Saturday Night Live). Grandmaster Flash's "The Adventures..." and Afrika Bambaataa's "Jazzy Sensation" are landmark recordings as well. Disco Daddy & Captain Rapp birth the first West Coast record, and the go-go group Trouble Funk has a success with its hybrid song "Drop the Bomb". Mean Machine's "Disco Dream" is the first Latin rap record, and The Evasions "Wikka Rap" is a British Hip Hop pioneering classic. Cybotron, the future creators of the electronic variant techno, usher in the Kraftwerk-inspired "Alleys of our Mind".

Notable Songs:
1. That's the Joint - Funky Four Plus One
2. The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
3. Jazzy Sensation - Afrika Bambaataa
4. Gigolo Rapp - Disco Daddy & Captain Rapp
5. Feel the Heartbeat - The Treacherous Three
6. Apache - The Sugarhill Gang
7. Do It, Do It - Disco 4
8. Let's Dance (Make Your Body Move) - West Mob
9. Rappin' Ain't No Thang - The Boogie Boys
10. A Heartbeat Rap - Sweet G
11. Drop the Bomb - Trouble Funk
12. Wikka Rap - The Evasions
13. Disco Dream - Mean Machine
14. Alleys of Your Mind - Cybotron
15. It's Rockin' Time - Kool Kyle the Starchild

Reaganomics did more for young black entrepreneurs than we give it credit for. By mistake of course.

 1982-
This is the year of seminal rap and the birth of a new genre in Hip Hop: electro-funk, initiated by Afrika Bambaataa's & The Soul Sonic Force's "Planet Rock", the most sampled Hip Hop record of all time (James Brown's "Funky Drummer" is the most sampled record in Hip Hop). There is a great revival of interest in the Hip Hop elements, and this sub-genre steers the music away from pure disco beats. The other most important Hip Hop record of all time is Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's "The Message" which jump-starts political/social rap. The Cold Crush Brother's "Punk Rock Rap" is another record that fuses Hip Hop with rock, and Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force's "Looking for the Perfect Beat" is another seminal all-time Hip Hop classic. The first strands of Hip Hop soul also arise out of artists such as Planet Patrol and C-Bank ("One More Shot"), and the "Smurf" craze becomes one of Hip Hop's most important trends.

Notable Songs:
1. The Message - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
2. Planet Rock - Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force
3. Looking for the Perfect Beat - Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force
4. Play At Your Own Risk - Planet Patrol
5. Punk Rock Rap - Cold Crush Brothers
6. Rockin' It - The Fearless Four
7. Country, Rock, and Rap - Disco 4
8. Pac Jam (Look Out for the OVC) - The Jonzun Crew
9. Walking on Sunshine - Rocker's Revenge feat. Donnie Calvin
10. The Smurf - Tyrone Brunson
11. Magic's Wand - Whodini
12. Change the Beat - Fab 5 Freddy
13. Scorpio - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
14. Body Mechanic - Quadrant Six
15. It's Magic - The Fearless 4

Can we really be mad at skinny jeans, seriously?

 Check back tomorrow for 1982-1985, it starts to get gangsta. And don't forget to tell your friends. Comments, Comments, Comments