Thursday, May 26, 2011

The Welcome Pt. 3 - Here's Where It Gets Really Good 1983-1985

      Welcome back to The Sixteenth Bar. First I would like to thank everyone for the support that I have been receiving and I look forward to bringing you more content. Today we are going to finish up our history lesson we started yesterday. I know in the first part, a lot of you were probably struggling for something you truly recognized. But now we get to a point were Hip-Hop has begun to spread out of just clubs and parties and becomes more mainstream than ever before. And all it took was three guys from Hollis, Queens better known as Run-D.M.C. From the moment Run-D.M.C. walked onto the seen you began to notice a change in the overall creative momentum of Hip-Hop. While many songs prior to Run D.M.C. tended to sound a lot alike, after the release of Sucker MCs you can notice a major difference in Hip-Hop's musical direction. Let me know what you think.


1983-
Another successful year for Hip Hop. Jazz legend Herbie Hancock and Grandmaster D.St. release the electro-funk Grammy winning "Rockit" while Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five release their second most important recording that ranks with Afrika Bambaataa's "Looking for the Perfect Beat": "White Lines (Don't Do It)". Man Parrish also releases the seminal "Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don't Stop)". More importantly, Run DMC debut with "It's Like That/Sucker MCs'" single and begin their conquest as Hip Hop's biggest and most influential group of all time ("Sucker MCs'" is regarded as the first hardcore rap track). T. La Rock & Jazzy Jay kick start Hip Hop's biggest record label, Def Jam, as Ice T. debuts with the first "hardcore" rap as do punk rockers Beastie Boys with their first rap record "Cooky Puss". Kraftwerk venture into Hip Hop with "Tour De France", and Cybotron birth techno with their electro-funk anthem "Clear". Electro-funk remains prosperous as the Hip Hop soul movement grows with C-Bank which foreshadows Shannon's "Let the Music Play" which truly begins another Hip Hop variant born out of electro-funk: freestyle music or Latin Hip Hop.



Excuse me, do you know the way to the Police Academy?

 
Notable Songs:
1. Rockit - Herbie Hancock and Grandmaster D.St.
2. White Lines (Don't Do It) - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
3. It's Like That/Sucker MCs - Run DMC
4. Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don't Stop) - Man Parrish
5. Al Naafiysh (The Soul) - Hashim
6. Clear - Cybotron
7. Buffalo Gals - Malcolm McLaren & The World's Famous Supreme Team
8. Lookout Weekend - Debbie Deb
9. It's Yours - T. La Rock & Jazzy Jay
10. No Sell Out - Malcolm X with Keith LeBlanc
11. The Payoff Mix - Mastermix of GLOBE and Whiz Kid's Play That Beat Mr. DJ
12. Jam on Revenge - Newcleus
13. Cooky Puss - Beastie Boys
14. Cold Winter Madness - Ice T
15. Play That Beat Mr. DJ - G.L.O.B.E. & Whiz Kid


1984-
Another healthy year. Run DMC continue to be a strong force in the post-seminal song era of Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa, having their "Rock Box" video being the first rap song played on MTV. Freestyle music flourishes with Alisha ("All Night Passion"), Debbie Deb, Shannon ("Give Me Tonight"), and Nayobe ("Please Don't Go"). Kurtis Blow releases the last batch of his greatest songs before fading, giving way to newcomer Doug E. Fresh and Whodini. U.T.F.O., originally backup singers for Whodini, record "Roxanne, Roxanne" which creates the biggest and most influential all-time trend in Hip Hop. Somewhere between 50-100 response records ensue, and two of them ("The Real Roxanne" and "Roxanne's Revenge") become massive classics, opening the door for female MCs to gain massive success in the future such as MC Lyte, Salt N Pepa, and Queen Latifah. 2 Live Crew's "It's Gotta Be Fresh EP", released in late 1984, is the first significant Hip Hop record from the south and births what is know as Miami Bass, another Hip Hop variant alongside electro-funk and freestyle and early techno. Also, Afrika Bambaataa, "The Godfather of Hip Hop", unites with "The Godfather of Soul", James Brown, to record "Unity" which later causes an explosion in the sampling of James Brown records, a vital Hip Hop feature. Divine Sounds score a hit with their Run-DMC-like "What People Do for Money" as The Fat Boys become the most comical characters in Hip Hop (later collaborating with The Beach Boys and Chubby "The Twist" Checker).



It just doesnt get better than this.
Notable Songs: 
 1. Rock Box - Run DMC
2. Roxanne's Revenge - Roxanne Shante
3. Roxanne, Roxanne - U.T.F.O.
4. Freaks Come Out At Night - Whodini
5. Jam On It - Newcleus
6. Unity - Afrika Bambaataa and James Brown
7. One for the Treble - Davy DMX
8. The Real Roxanne - The Real Roxanne
9. When I Hear Music (It Makes Me Dance) - Debbie Deb
10. Egypt, Egypt - Egyptian Lover
11. Just Having Fun (Do the Beat Box) - Doug E. Fresh
12. Request Line - Rock Master Scott & The Dynamic Three
13. Jail House Rap - The Fat Boys
14. 8 Million Stories - Kurtis Blow
15. It's Gotta Be Fresh (Revelation/2 Live) - 2 Live Crew


1985-
1985: The last great year of old school Hip Hop before the advent of overblown sampling and "Walk This Way" which took Hip Hop into a new direction both musically and culturally. Toddy Tee releases a seminal West Coast jam that foreshadows "gangsta" rap (along with rapper Schoolly D.'s "PSK-What Does it Mean?"). Freestyle hits it big with Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam, Nu Shooz ("I Can't Wait"), Connie ("Funky Little Beat") and Trinere ("All Night"). Miami Bass evolves and garners hits with records such as MC A.D.E.'s (Adrian Does Everything) "Bass Rock Express". Clearly, Doug E. Fresh, the king of beatboxing, owns the year 1985 as his records "La Di Da Di" and "The Show" took Hip Hop into a new direction and stand as massive influential classics.



I can't live without my radio... or my hat or my chap-stick or my weights
Notable Songs:
1. The Show - Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew
2. La Di Da Di - Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew
3. I Can't Live Without My Radio - LL Cool J
4. I Need a Beat - LL Cool J
5. I Wonder If I Take You Home - Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam
6. The Roof is on Fire - Rock Master Scott & The Dynamic Three
7. The Show Stoppa (Is Stupid Fresh) - Super Nature (Salt N Pepa)
8. P.S.K.-What Does It Mean? (Park Side Killers) - Schoolly D
9. Batterram - Toddy Tee a.k.a. Todd Howard
10. Alice, I Want You Just for Me - Full Force
11. Big Mouth - Whodini
12. Fresh is the Word - Mantronix
13. Don't Stop the Rock - Freestyle
14. Terminator - Kid Frost
15. A Fly Girl - The Boogie Boys



That's it for the history lesson. See you tomorrow Keep Classic Hip-Hop Alive and Spread The Word.
Comments Please

No comments:

Post a Comment