That stance really hadn't been tested through the mid 80s, but in the late 80s that began to change. The conversation of lyrical content and whether the music is crude and just noise has been a conversation ever since Hip Hop became popular. By the late 1980s the genre had fully found its voice and crossed over with acts like Run-D.M.C and the Beastie Boys. Production also took a step forward as sampling became prevalent and with producers like Marly Marl the sound became much smoother. Lyrical content and rapping ability also gained a huge edge with acts like Big Daddy Kane and Rakim testing the boundaries of flow and wordplay making the act of rapping really into an art and making it something that not anybody can do. The music had graduated from electronic sounding music to rougher acts like LL Cool J, Boogie Down Productions, Eric B. Of course they weren’t the only influential artists to be of that era. Run-D.M.C made it possible for future artists to strive for the most and actually made their goals seem possible. Not to mention they also probably have the most famous crossover in music with “ Walk This Way” with Aerosmith. They were also the first artists to get an official deal with an apparel company which famously was with Adidas thanks to their popular song “ My Adidas”. They were also the first Hip Hop artists to appear on MTV and on the cover of Rolling Stone. Run-D.M.C was the first Hip Hop artists to accomplish many things including having a gold, platinum, and multi platinum albums. The emergence of Run-D.M.C really made waves for Hip Hop and they helped pushed the genre into the mainstream and opened the doors for countless artists to follow in their footsteps. Perhaps none more bigger than a group from Hollis Queens, New York. The mid 1980s is considered by many to be the “Golden Age” of Hip Hop and it was filled with artists that would become legends of the genre. The importance and impact of this song is immense not only in Hip Hop, but in all of music.īy the mid 80s the music was really starting to form its sound and had the right kind of new artists ready take that on. This song made it possible for future artists like N.W.A, Public Enemy, and KRS-One to freely talk about whatever they wanted on a song, controversial or not. The Message talked about many issues of the day and many in which we still face today and wasn’t even a song that provided any sense of hope for people, but just the reality of the climate. Before making “ The Message” Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five were the typical early 80s act so for them to make this kind of song was out of the norm for that particular time. One of the earliest Hip Hop successes would soon come up with one of the most important and influential songs of any genre. It was almost inevitable that the music would change from the party route to music with a message. It’s very important to realize the time in which Hip Hop came about, it was gaining popularity during the Reagan era and a time of mass unemployment and drug problems in many lower income areas. In the early 80s the genre was still in its infancy and hadn’t fully developed its true sound just yet.Įver since music has been popularized and there’s been artists on the radio there’s been music with political and social subject matter. Interestingly enough this song was the first to use the DJM-800 mixer which not only would play a pivotal role in the production of other Hip Hop songs, but be used in other genres as well. Songs like “ Planet Rock” by Afrika Bambaataa is a perfect example of this early sound. In the beginning Hip Hop’s sound was very electronic based and closely resembled EDM(electronic dance music)as far as the production was concerned. Although the song now known “ Rapper’s Delight” is now a controversial subject to the early pioneers of Hip Hop concerning the real artists behind its lyrics, it is still what officially lit the fire and started a future empire.įor the time Rapper’s Delight was the highest selling record of its time! Even though the Sugarhill Gang is very pop sounding when compared today and their credibility has since been questioned, they are still a very important piece to a big story. The music had been a part of the underground scene of 70s New York for years following that first party, but it wouldn’t be until 1979 that the first official Hip Hop song would be put on wax. At the end of the day it was just a party back then, but it had all the elements that would be needed to help form the popular music of today. Little did he or the ones that attended that night knew of the historical significance that party would later have. On the night of August 11th, 1973 a DJ by the name Kool Herc held a party. August the 11th is known as the day that the seeds of what would become Hip Hop would be planted.
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