We’ve collected ten of the groundbreaking and influential albums that got here out of that first decade of old-school rap as a celebration of fifty years of hip-hop.
XII – The Fatback Band, 1979
Fatback maintained the identical excessive customary of high quality to provide one other spectacular slab of funk-tinged disco. XII is notable to hip-hop historians for the observe “King Tim III (Personality Jock),” a music typically tagged as the primary rap music (it was launched as a single shortly earlier than the extra well-liked “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang). “King Tim” stays a killer blast of hip-hop, seamlessly mixing a slick old-school rap into the band’s intensely funky mix of organ, energetic horn blasts, and a relentless strolling bassline. – Read the complete evaluate.
The Sugarhill Gang – The Sugarhill Gang, 1980
Although the Sugarhill Gang did not invent hip-hop, they have been the primary rap act to have an enormous worldwide hit. Released in 1979, “Rapper’s Delight” was hundreds of thousands of listeners’ first publicity to hip-hop — earlier than that, only a few individuals outdoors of New York even knew what hip-hop was. The Sugarhill Gang have been additionally among the many first rap acts to file a full-length LP; when this self-titled debut album got here out in 1980, the overwhelming majority of old-school MCs have been solely offering 12″ singles. – Read the complete evaluate.
Kurtis Blow – Kurtis Blow, 1980
Back in hip-hop’s old skool period — roughly 1978-1982 — albums have been the exception and never the rule. Hip-hop grew to become much more album-minded with the rise of its second technology (Run-D.M.C., Whodini, the Fat Boys, amongst others) round 1983-1984, however to start with, many MCs recorded nothing however singles. Two exceptions have been the Sugarhill Gang and Kurtis Blow, whose self-titled debut album of 1980 was amongst hip-hop’s first LPs and was the primary rap album to return out on a significant label. – Read the complete evaluate.
“Planet Rock” – Afrika Bambaataa, 1982
When “Planet Rock” got here out in June of 1982, it revolutionized the hip-hop scene and put the Tommy Boy label on the map. Soon, city producers have been turning to synthesizers and keyboards, churning out dozens of electro hits like “Clear” by Cybotron, “Rockit” by Herbie Hancock, “Jam on It” by Newcleus, “Egypt, Egypt” by the Egyptian Lover, and “Jam the Box” by Pretty Tony. The electro fascination proved the launching pad for techno, home, and bass music. – Read the complete evaluate.
The Message – Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, 1982
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five merged the Afrocentric consciousness expressed by such early rappers as Gil Scott-Heron and the Last Poets with b-boy manufacturing to create “The Message,” an all-time rap anthem. It was the point of interest of this LP, which additionally included “It’s Nasty” and “Scorpio,” two different robust cuts which may have been winners on their very own. – Read the complete evaluate.
Wild Style – Various Artists, 1983
Wild Style largely went unseen upon its 1983 launch, however its soundtrack grew to become one of many key information of early-’80s hip-hop, offering rappers with a treasure trove of beats and rhymes. None of the cuts on Wild Style grew to become crossover hits, however the songs grew to become underground staples, inspiring new rappers and providing rhythms that have been sampled over time. – Read the complete evaluate.
Escape – Whodini, 1984
Unlike many rappers, Whodini obtained their beats and musical backing from synthesizers. While this is not a conceptual masterpiece and actually is nothing greater than sure-shot singles and sound-alike single, “Five Minutes of Funk” was an on the spot basic. The just-as-good “Freaks Come Out at Night” has the blokes speaking about nocturnal freaks with vivid lyrics and just a little an excessive amount of inside info. – Read the complete evaluate.
Fat Boys – Fat Boys, 1984
After making some noise because the Disco Three, the Brooklynites modified their identify to the Fat Boys in 1984 and hit huge with this glorious debut album, which is humorous, wildly entertaining, and unapologetically funky. Everything from “Fat Boys” to the amusing “Jailhouse Rap” proves that their rapping expertise have been first-rate. One of the group’s strongest property was Darren Robinson, aka the Human Beat Box, who was identified for making percussive sounds together with his voice. – Read the complete evaluate.
On the Nile – The Egyptian Lover, 1984
The Egyptian Lover by no means claimed to be a hardcore rapper; On the Nile, his debut album of 1984, would not fake to be a Run-D.M.C., L.L. Cool J, or Fat Boys launch any greater than Grover Washington, Jr. claimed to be a jazz purist. The closest this LP involves an East Coast hip-hop vibe is the only “What Is a DJ If He Can’t Scratch”; all the different tracks supply a synthesizer-driven mix of rap, dance music, and electro-funk. Though “Planet Rock” is a powerful affect on this launch, it’s hardly the Egyptian Lover’s solely affect — his sound additionally owes a debt to Germany’s seminal Kraftwerk (whose improvements enormously influenced “Planet Rock”), Prince, Man Parrish, and Giorgio Moroder, in addition to Middle Eastern and North African music. – Read the complete evaluate.
Run-D.M.C. – Run-D.M.C., 1984
The manufacturing is hard and minimal, constructed on relentless drum machines and Jam Master Jay’s livid scratching, mixing in a guitar riff or a keyboard hit now and again. It is brutal city music, and Run and D.M.C.’s forceful, muscular rhymes match the music. Where different MCs sounded cheerful, Run and D.M.C. prowl and taunt the listener, sounding as in the event that they have been a road gang. And whereas a lot of the file is dedicated to braggadocio, boasting, and block events, Run-D.M.C. additionally addressed grittier realities of city life, giving this file each context and thematic weight. All of this — the music, the perspective, the phrases, the themes — marked a turning level for rap, and it is unattainable to calculate Run-D.M.C.’s affect on all that got here afterward. – Read the complete evaluate.