THE THHM TIMELINE 1980s

The Complete History of Hip Hop

Although widely synonymous with rap music today, hip-hop actually got its start as a full-on cultural movement in the 1970s. For the first few decades that the term was around, hip-hop wasn’t just about music: it also referred to art, style, dance, and philosophy.
1980
DJing

Afrika Bambataataa’s Zulu Nation Throwdown Pt. 1

Afrika Bambaata and the Zulu Nation release their first LP called Zulu Nation Throwdown Pt. 1 on Paul Winley Records, a Harlem-based do-wop label that expanded into hip-hop music in 1979.

1980
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Time Square Show is staged

“A graffiti-centered fine art exhibition organized by the Collaborative Projects called the Time Square Show is staged in a former massage parlor, drawing a much more mainstream art audience to the gallery to view and buy works by artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kenny Scharf, Fab 5 Freddy and Keith Haring (alongside other art world favorites such as Nan Goldin, Jenny Holzer and Kiki Smith.”

1980
World Events
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Black Entertainment Network (BET) 

After working in PR/marketing jobs with the Corporation For Public Broadcasting (CPB), the National Cable and Television Association (NCTA) and the Washington, DC office of the National Urban League, executive Robert Johnson borrows $15,000 and signs a deal with investor John Malone for another half-million dollars to launch his own cable TV network, Black Entertainment Network (BET). Initially a programming entity that ran a two hour block (on the MSG Sports/USA Network) of music videos and comedy show re-runs targeted at an African-American audience, the enterprise would become a stand-alone entity in 1983.

1980
Fashion
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Kurtis Blow wears gold chains as fashion statement

For the photo featured on the cover of his debut (gold-selling) record, rapper Kurtis Blow appears wearing a number of gold chains in a fashion statement that would begin to establish gold and diamond jewelry as rap status symbols. Blow and Big Daddy Kane usher in the era of “bling” when they added additional large, chunky gold chains to their regular performance costuming. For better or worse, gold chains and other pieces of huge gold jewelry (e.g. name plate necklaces) remain some of the most enduring visual symbols of hip hop culture.

1980
DJing

The first million-selling single

Kurtis Blow releases “The Breaks” on Mercury Records and the record goes on to sell more than a million copies.

1980
DJing

Blondie’s Rapture hits #1

After meeting Fab 5 Freddy and others, NYC-based pop group Blondie releases “Rapture”, a song from their album Autoamerican that included rap vocals by lead singer Debbie Harry and became the first #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that featured rap vocals.

March 1980
Emceeing
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Kurtis Blow releases a second hit rap single – “The Breaks”

Kurtis Blow releases a second hit rap single – “The Breaks” – and then follows up with his first full-length record (simply titled Kurtis Blow), which goes on to sell nearly 700,000 copies in its first year. The record also included a rap version of the BTO hit “Takin’ Care Of Business”, the first example of a rap/rock cross-over recording (see RUN-D.M.C.’s 1986 entry on the success of their re-make of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way”).

May, 1980
World Events
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Mt. St. Helens volcano erupts

The eruption of the Mt. St. Helens volcano, in Washington State, kills fifty-seven people and devastates the local area economy, with losses estimated at nearly $3 billion. The blast was estimated to have the power five hundred times greater than the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

October, 1980
World Events
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The Boston African American National Historic Site

President Jimmy Carter signs legislation establishing the Boston African American National Historic Site in Boston, MA, comprised of the largest area of pre-Civil War black owned structures in the United States. It has roughly two dozen sites on the north face of Beacon Hill. These historic buildings were homes, businesses, schools, and churches (including the oldest black church in America – the 1806 African Meeting House) of a thriving black community that, in the face of great opposition, fought the forces of slavery and inequality. The sites are linked by the 1.6 mile (2.5 km) Black Heritage Trail.

November 1980
Emceeing

Erik Nuri mixed music and politics

Erik Nuri, a Harlem, NYC native and 1979 graduate of Harvard, had a feeling that, by mixing music and politics, he’d be able to promote turn-out in that year’s elections. In addition to his current post as the executive director of the Massachusetts Black Caucus, Nuri was a talented musician himself (as lead singer and sax player for the popular local band “Erik Nuri and The Cost of Living”) and so, as a natural extension of his multiple talents, he decided to appeal to young voters via rap music, the popularity of which was growing greatly at the time. The lyrics of his single “Let’s Vote” got straight to the point – “Now this land is ruled by a democracy/That’s supposed to include you and me/It provides a way to get your problems solved/But first you’ve got to get involved/Wanna talk to you about politics/And what it means to me and you/ So we can realize that to better our lives/There’s a simple thing each one of us can do – Let’s vote, let’s vote”. The record received the endorsements of the NAACP, the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as those of the Democratic National Convention and the Joint Center for Political Studies and received extensive airplay on Boston’s Black radio station, WILD 1090. “Ray Green, who was just elected to the Assembly from New York City, told me he featured the song in his campaign by playing it in the streets on a truck with a bullhorn…A lot of people have told me that upon hearing the song they actually went out and registered,” Nuri said in an interview with The Harvard Crimson.

Winter 1980
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The Soul Artists and fine artists connect

The connections made at the Soul Artists studio between the artist and those in the fine art world (gallerists, curators and, most-notably, the press) began to pay off for a core group of those artists. Some of them, including Daze (Chris Ellis), QUIK (Lin Felton), Quiñones, McGurr, Lady Pink, Zephyr and Brathwaite (Fab Five Freddy) were featured both in a formal gallery show at PS1 and in a cover article in The Village Voice about graffiti.

1980
Other
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Kurtis Blow performs “The Breaks”

Kurtis Blow becomes the first solo rapper to appear on national television, performing his hit “The Breaks” on Soul Train.

1981
DJing

“The Adventures of Grand Master Flash on the Wheels of Steel”

Grandmaster Flash releases “The Adventures of Grand Master Flash on the Wheels of Steel,” a record showcasing Flash live-mixing records on three turntables and capturing the sound of DJ scratching on vinyl. Mixing samples from records including Chic’s Good Times, Blondie’s Rapture, Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight and Queen’s Another One Bites The Dust (among others) as well as spoken lines from a Flash Gordon soundtrack, this highly-influential single helped define the term “turntablism”.

1981
Other

Newly affordable “boomboxes” appear

An article on portable music systems – also known as “boomboxes” in The New York Times reported that the latest models now much more-affordable for the masses, ranging in price from $100 to over $600, that being a noticeable drop in price from the $800-$1,000 needed for a mid-range stereo system in 1975. This newfound affordability led to an estimated 7.8 million boomboxes sold globally in 1980 and those systems, along with tape decks for your home stereo system, made the cassette tape a fixture in many American homes. These systems also allowed music-and-party-makers to be able to both record and play soundtracks of their own making, with some more-enterprising DJs using dual-cassette units (along with a dexterous “pause” and “rewind button” fingers) to record and play music loops (“pause tapes”) and party-length mega-mixtapes. DJs and rappers would later rely on cassettes to distribute and sell their own mixtape masterpieces. “When cassette decks first came out black people took them cassette decks and made pause tapes,” Chuck D said in Russell Myrie’s 2010 book Don’t Rhyme for the Sake of Riddlin’: The Authorized Story of Public Enemy. “And pause tapes was definitely the first remix tapes.”

April 1981
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Beyond Words at the Mudd Club

In April 1981, Fab 5 Freddy, along with his cohort Futura 2000, co-curated a graffiti-related art show they dubbed Beyond Words at the Mudd Club venue in the TriBeCa area of New York City. This soon-to-be-famous exhibition contained their own works along with those by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Rammellzee, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf and others, as well as famed writers QUIK (Lin Felton) and Daze (Chris Ellis). This was the first time the many members of the hip hop scene had appeared in the downtown New York City art world, and the show drew international attention to all the participants.

April 1981
Fashion
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Run DMC burst into the street wear scene

Run DMC were iconic hip hop pioneers, both musically and aesthetically. When they burst onto the scene in 1981, their street wear set the standard for B-boy fashion. Rather than embrace the Disco-inspired styles of dress and sugar-coated pop music, the three principal in the rap group Run-DMC looked to the street (that being Jamaica Avenue in Queens) for inspiration and style cues. First donned by Jam Master Jay, the group’s leather jackets and pants, Adidas 2-pc. track suits, Kangol hats, “dookie rope” chains, unlaced (ala jail-wear) Adidas sneakers and Gazelle glasses made Run-DMC stand apart from the pack. Soon, every young person in the U.S. was gathering these items for their own wardrobes.

1981
Emceeing
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Larry Smith recruits drummer Trevor Gale and DJ David Reeves (“Davy DMX”) to form a trio – with Smith playing bass – called Orange Krush

Musician/producer Larry Smith recruits drummer Trevor Gale and DJ David Reeves (“Davy DMX”) to form a trio – with Smith playing bass – called Orange Krush. In the studio, they record four basic beats (for a song called “Action”) that would come to be known as “Krush Grooves 1-4”, and while the song they recorded these beats found only modest success, the beats would soon become the bases for early songs by Run-D.M.C., who Smith would meet later after meeting with Kurtis Blow’s manager, Russell Simmons, who also managed Run-D.M.C.

1981
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Hip Hop appears on Saturday Night Live

On February 14th, The Funky 4 plus One More perform their hit, “That’s The Joint” on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, becoming the first hip hop group to appear on a nationally-televised TV broadcast

May 1981
Other
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Profile Records is launched by Cory Robins

Profile Records is launched by Cory Robbins (who had worked for MCA Records’ publishing arm) and song-writer/former wholesale record salesman Steve Plotnicki in the hopes of building a roster of talent including some from the emerging hip-hop scene. After meeting Russell Simmons, they struck a deal with Run-D.M.C.’s manager to release the group’s first singles (“It’s Like That”, b/w “Sucker M.C.s”) and their self-titled debut album in November 1983.

1981
DJing
The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel

4/4 beats for party mixes

While Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” became the year’s best-selling single, three songs featuring 4/4 beats created by micro-processor-controlled sequencers and electronic drum machines – Kraftwerk’s “Computer World,” Human League’s “Dare” and Depeche Mode’s “Speak & Spell“ are released and, as they allowed DJs to create and mix perfect 4/4 beats for party mixes. To this day, they’re still among the most-sampled songs.

1981
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EDM and Latin hip-hop are introduced

Credited with launching the careers of many of the best-known artists in the hip-hop genre (including acts such as Afrika Bambaataa, Queen Latifah, Digital Underground, De La Soul, House of Pain, and Naughty By Nature), Tom Silverman’s Tommy Boy Records is the label also credited with introducing other genres such as EDM and Latin hip-hop to mainstream audiences. Launched from the apartment in NYC where he also published a respected weekly dance music newsletter/magazine (DMR) and working with woman-wearing-many-hats Monica Lynch, the label would later partner with Warner Brothers Records for many years before becoming independent again in 2002.

1981
Emceeing

Birth of the Beastie Boys

Two members from a NYC-based thrash punk band – bassist Adam Yauch (MCA) and vocalist Michael Diamon (Mike D) – join with guitarist Adam Horovitz (King Ad-Rock) to form The Beastie Boys. The group releases a hip-hop single (“Cooky Puss”) that does well locally and the band soon transitions to performing hip-hop full-time.

June 1981
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Hip-Hop as an opening act

Not quite ready to embrace the notion of a hip-hop ensemble as an appropriate opening act, fans of the rock band The Clash pelted Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five with plastic drinking cups when they took the stage during a concert – one of a run of 17 shows that year at Bond’s International Casino in Times Square in NYC as part of their Sandinista! promo tour. The band’s Joe Strummer, who was eager to support burgeoning hip-hop talent and had had other groups including Lee “Scratch” Perry and the Sugarhill Gang open during this engagement, stopped the show to express his displeasure with the audience’s behavior.

1981
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The FUN Gllery opened in NY City’s East Village

The FUN Gallery opened in NY City’s East Village in 1981 by Bill Stelling and Patti Astor, who met at the downtown rock venue known as the Mudd Club. Astor, a film actress, was well known on the NYC underground circuit as “The Queen of The Downtown Screen” and it was her ‘celebutante’ status that brought the crowds to this gritty tenement storefront . FUN shot to fame as “the first art gallery in the East Village” and also the first art gallery to give graffiti artists solo shows, one of which appeared in PEOPLE Magazine in 1983. Although its tenure was brief – the gallery closed in 1985 after competitors and higher rents cost them dearly – the changes it brought to the art world endure.“FUN Gallery was a place where neighborhood kids, downtown artists, b-boys, rock, film, and rap stars mixed with museum directors art historians and uptown collectors at wild openings featuring artists like Futura, Fab 5 Freddy, Lee Quinones, Kenny Scharf, Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat.”

July 1981
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“Rappin’ To The Beat’

A 2-part story on ABC’s popular news/entertainment series 20/20 titled “Rappin’ To The Beat” finds host Steve Fox presenting viewers with a basic overview of rap music and parts of hip-hop culture. Fax provides some history about the “origins” of rapping/rap music (storytelling in rhymes, call & response singing in African-American churches, scat singing, James Brown, Jamaican reggae, radio DJs like Jocko Henderson, as well as Muhammad Ali and activist H. “Rap” Brown) and how street parties in Harlem and the South Bronx have helped the culture – as well as the talent propelling it – achieve great popularity. Featured in the story are interviews with a 22-year-old rapper named Kurtis Blow; footage from street parties and, b-boy competitions and the rap music festival just held at the Armory in NYC, along with a liberal dose of Blondie’s Debbie Harry, crediting some of rap music’s growing popularity to the band’s hit record “Rapture”. Part 2 added an interview with popular WLIB DJ Pablo Guzman, footage from the Rap Music Fest at the NYC Armory featuring the bi-lingual Puerto Rican rap group Mean Machine and segments on the Funky 4+1, the Record King record store and more rap/b-boy battles.

August 1981
Break Dancing
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The “Lincoln Center Battle”

After having filmed a show staged at the Lower East Side projects’ community center featuring graffiti artist/MC Fab 5 Freddy, both the Rock Steady Crew and the Incredible Break Dancers (IBM) b-boy teams and artist/musician Rammellzee, film-maker/promoter Michael Holman works with producer/photographer Henry Chalfont to film what would turn out to be a seminal event in break-dancing history – the “Lincoln Center Battle” pitting the Rock Steady Crew (from the Bronx) vs. the Queens-based Dynamic Rockers. Sensing that RSC’s “uprocking” talents were not what they needed to be, several “ringers” from the IBM crew were brought in to tip the scales in the RSC’s favor, with Holman catching the entire event on film and local/national news outlets providing audiences with news of an event unlike anything most anyone (outside of the NYC area) had ever seen.

August 1981
World Events
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The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” was the first music video to air on MTV

Just after midnight , MTV launches to a limited audience – “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.” The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” was the first music video to air on the new cable television channel, which initially was available only to households in parts of New Jersey. Its programming consisted of promo music videos – provided for free by the record companies – that were introduced by VJs (“video jockeys”), who’d also share music/artist-related news in between plays – a format not too different than that of hit radio. While the network’s intro raised a lot of eyebrows, cable’s limited number of households didn’t move the sales needle much in the early years, but as the record industry began to realize MTV’s value as a promo video, they’d invest more in their video products and causing young viewers to tell their parents “I want my MTV”, thus helping drive the adoption of cable TV in new homes. The network would then expand its programming to include a wider-range of videos from different genres, with the new playlists driving viewership and, ultimately, the success of the network and the music industry along with it (although it’s adoption/support of hip-hop music languished for several years, with Run DMC’s 1984 hit “Rock Box” being the first hip-hop video played on the network). MTV and its spin-off/sister networks would become an important part of pop culture and entertainment in the United States and other parts of the world, including Europe, Asia and Latin America, which all supported MTV-branded channels.

September 1981
DJing
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NYC-area hip-hop talents open for Bow Wow Wow

Working with Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, local producer Michael Holman assembles an impressive roster of NYC-area hip-hop music/dance/art talent – including Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Jazzy Jay, MC Ikey Cee, the Rock Steady Crew and several graffiti artists/writers (with a film Holman had produced called Catch A Beat, which presented all of the elements of hip-hop in one place – the first full-on multi-media hip-hop film! – playing in the background) – to open a show for another McLaren-managed act – Bow Wow Wow – staged at The Ritz club located in the Webster Hall venue in the East Village, bringing the full effect of a hip-hop club event to a largely white audience.

September 1981
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Full-bore hip-hop experience in the NYC

At the Bow Wow Wow event, Michael Holman is introduced to British ex-pat Ruza “Kool Lady” Blue (who also manages Malcolm McLaren’s SOHO boutique). A friend of hers has enlisted her and Kosmo Vinyl – manager of the punk band The Clash – to produce a regular show at a club called Negril, but as their schedules haven’t allowed them to pay full attention to the task, they ask Holman to put on a full-bore hip-hop experience every Thursday night, making it the first club in the city to put all of the various aspects of hip-hop on display for a club audience on a regular basis.

1981
Emceeing

The Cold Crush Brothers vs. The Fantastic Five

A battle between two leading area rap groups – The Cold Crush Brothers and The Fantastic Five (now, the Fantastic Romantic Five) – takes place that summer, offering the winners a $1,000 grand prize. The crowd at the time chose The Fantastic Five as the winners (with the Cold Crush Brothers complaining that the crowd was stuffed with Fantastic Five shills), but tapes that circulated afterwards of the battle convinced many listeners that The Cold Crush Brothers were the superior talents.

1981
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Kool Moe Dee’s battle skills

During a set at the Harlem World in which party MC Busy Bee Starski dissed rapper Kool Moe Dee, the offended rapper (and member of the Treacherous Three) took to the stage and proceeded to use his razor-sharp wit and rhyming skills to humiliate Busy Bee in a spontaneous rap battle. Since then, emcee battling has become an inseparable part of hip-hop.

1982
DJing
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The advanced sound of “Planet Rock”

Showing influences from synth-pop purveyors including Kraftwerk (“Trans-Europe Express”) and Yellow Magic Orchestra, along with funk artists George Clinton and James Brown, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force release the techno-heavy “Planet Rock” on Tommy Boy Records. The recording featured ground-breaking and influential uses of electronic music machines including Roland’s TR-808 drum machine, Moog synthesizers and Fairlight/Lexicon samplers.

1982
Other
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Michael Holman produces hip-hop-centric shows for the public access

As part of their franchise agreements with the cities they serve, cable companies were required to provide both broadcast time and studio services to local producers. In New York, operator Manhattan Cable resourced the Manhattan Neighborhood Network and so, availing himself to these services, hip-hop impresario/film-maker Michael Holman begins to produce several different hip-hop-centric shows for the public access channel. These shows – the first of their kind on television – included series such as On Beat TV (featuring DJ Jazzy Jay of the Zulu Nation and graf writer Phase II), The Channel J Show (also with Jazzy Jay and featuring Holman’s friend/band-mate Jean-Michel Basquiat) and TV-NY. Guest stars seen on these shows included Grandmaster DST, Doug E. Fresh, the New York City Breakers and Rock Steady Crew dance teams, graffiti art all-stars such as Basquiat, Futura and A-1 and, in her first TV appearance, local dancer Debi Mazar (who’d go on to star in many films and TV shows). Holman interviews

1982
Emceeing

Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force release the techno-heavy “Planet Rock”

Showing influences from synth-pop purveyors including Kraftwerk (“Trans-Europe Express”) and Yellow Magic Orchestra, along with funk artists George Clinton and James Brown, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force release the techno-heavy “Planet Rock” on Tom Silverman’s Tommy Boy Records label. The recording featured ground-breaking and influential uses of electronic music machines including Roland’s TR-808 drum machine, Moog synthesizers and Fairlight/Lexicon samplers and serves as the first example of music in the “electro-funk” category (later examples include music by Fatboy Slim and the Chemical Brothers).

1982
Fashion
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British Walkers are added to ensembles

“Introduced to U.S. consumers in the early 1980s, British Walkers shoes were created by J. Paladio during 1950’s in England, who added rubber to the outer sole of his shoes in order to make long walks with his dog more comfortable. With a natural crepe sole, high quality construction and lots of fashionable color combinations, those in the Uptown neighborhoods in NYC – rappers, b-boys and others (Brooklyn hip-hoppers seemed to prefer another British import – Clark’s Wallabee) strove to add British Walkers to their ensembles (Lee jeans with a permanent crease, Kangol hats, Cazal eyewear, sheepskin and/or leather coats and lots of gold jewelry).

Big Daddy Kane – “when I was wearing my blue British Walkers, I knew that I was the sharpest thing in the room – I was sharp as a porcupine.” What made them impressive back in the day was the impact that they had with the boys in the hood – we’re not talking a sneaker – we’re talking a shoe.””

1982
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Zephyr created logo for Fab 5 Freddy

Zephyr is commissioned to create the logo for Fab 5 Freddy and director Charlie Ahearn’s new hip-hop-based movie Wild Style, while noted writer Lee Quinones takes a star turn in the film as it’s protagonist “Zorro”.

1982
Break Dancing
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Rivals Rock Steady Crew and the Floor Masters

Having put together a successful regular Thursday night dance party at the popular reggae club Negril (located on 2nd Ave. between 11th/12th Streets in NYC) that featured weekly performances by the Rock Steady Crew, Michael Holman looks to stage a dance battle at the club between the RSC – known for their rhythm, finesse and great dance moves – and rivals the Floor Masters, who wowed crowds with their strength, speed and athleticism. Afterwards, he works to put together an “all-star team” of the best dancers, with the new group taking on the name the New York City Breakers (with the name suggested by Bronx graffiti legend Phase II).

1982
Fashion
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Gang members adopt the Oakland Raiders colors

After owner Al Davis moved his Oakland Raiders football team to Los Angeles prior to the 1982 season, members of local gangs (Bloods and Crips, in particular) began to adopt the team’s colors (silver and black) and their logo (a pirate’s head with crossed swords) as their alternative uniforms. Soon after, the local L.A. Kings hockey team also adopted the silver and black color scheme – and a new logo – and in no time local hip-hop fans had found their own West Coast rap uniform.

1982
DJing

Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5 introduce social commentary with “The Message”

Featuring alternating rap vocals by Melle Mel and Duke Bootie Fletcher, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5’s release of the single and LP “The Message” on Sugarhill Records was the first major release to speak to the issues of inner-city poverty. This song helped shift some of rap music’s focus from party chants and one-upsmanship to songs of strong social commentary.

1982
Emceeing
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Haiti Rap’ N Ragga – releases a track titled “Vakans”

Haitian rapper Master Dji (George Lys Herard) – member of the group Haiti Rap’ N Ragga – releases a track titled “Vakans” in which he raps in his country’s native language, Creole, and while hip-hop music wasn’t popular in Haiti at the time of the record’s release, the track and the album it was later featured on (Master Dji) spawned the Creole Hip-Hop genre and established the multi-lingual Master Dji as one of the most-poetic lyricists in the business.

1982
Other

The film “Wild Style” is released

The film Wild Style – produced and directed by NYC-area film-maker and artist Charlie Ahearn along with Fab 5 Freddy – is released. Considered by many to be the definitive movie about hip-hop and all of the elements it is comprised of, the movie – part documentary and part musical – includes in-depth looks into the key graffiti writers, DJs, MCs/rappers and break dancers who had worked to establish and grow the local hip-hop scene. Wild Style has since inspired several other hip-hop-themed movies.

1982
Break Dancing
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Young Jermaine Dupri Mauldin

The 10-year-old son of an Atlanta-based record executive and concert producer – Michael Mauldin – is brought up on stage to strut his stuff during a performance by singer Diana Ross. Young Jermaine Dupri Mauldin’s talents greatly pleased the crowd and gave him the confidence to join Whodini’s tour as a dancer two years later. He’d soon go on to open shows for Run-D.M.C., Cameo and Grandmaster Flash before stepping in to a career as a producer several years later.

1982
DJing

Whodini combines rap and R&B

A group forms – calling themselves Whodini – who work to combine aspects of both rap and R&B in their music. Creating a genre called “New Jack Swing””, the act consisted of vocalist/lyricist Jalil Hutchins; Zorro hat-sporting vocalist John Fletcher (AKA Ecstasy); and turntablist DJ Drew Carter, AKA Grandmaster Dee. Managed by Russell Simmons, the band releases the first rap music video for their song “Magic’s Wand”, with their live shows featuring the talents of the UTFO break-dance troupe.

1982
Fashion
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Dapper Dan creates his own clothing line

After an earlier career selling shoplifted clothing from his car in NYC, Daniel Day – better known to his customers as “Dapper Dan” became determined to sell his own clothing creations, first building his reputation by taking designs and logos from several established luxury fashion brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Hermès and “remixing” them and, after coming up with a process that let him create his own fabric designs by printing them on fabrics and leather, designing custom hats, sneakers, and bold outerwear and opening his own boutique in Harlem, NY in which to sell them. The Harlem store – Dan’s Boutique – attracted crowds of celebrities to his storefront, including Eric B. & Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Marke, Salt-N-Pepa, LL Cool J and other music/sports celebrities, all looking to be seen sporting his unique and ultra-luxe designs. Legal troubles brought about by his unbridled copyright infringement ultimately closed the business in 1992, but his legacy lives on via recent deals with Louis Vuitton and Gucci, with a new store in Harlem opening in 2018. Complex.com

April 1982
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Dance Party promoter Ruza “Kool Lady” Blue finds a new opportunity

Dance party promoter Ruza “Kool Lady” Blue, having suffered one-too-many event closings by the NY Fire Department after her parties at the reggae club Negril proved to be too popular (and beyond the venue’s capacity), ceases production of her regular Thursday night dance party. She soon finds a new opportunity to run her parties at a long-neglected roller skating rink located on West 18th St. between 10th and 11th Avenues in Manhattan, turning it into a new club called The Roxy, which opens for business the following year. The huge party room is a hit with kids from all over the city, as its location is safe to travel to for an evening’s entertainment.

May, 1982
Other

The first exclusive rap radio show – Rap Attack

“Chief Rocker” Frankie Crocker, program manager for Inner City Broadcasting, took popular radio personality John Rivas – AKA “Sir Juice” before adopting the name “Mr. Magic”, who’d hosted an all-rap show on WBHI the year before – to commercial powerhouse WBLS in NYC to host the first exclusive rap radio show – Rap Attack – to be aired on a major station. Magic’s show featured Marley Marl as the DJ and Tyrone “Fly Ty” Williams as the show’s co-producer. Magic moved full-time to WBLS-FM in July 1982. His reign on the New York City airwaves lasted six years and was instrumental in broadening the scope and validity of hip-hop music. Recorded tapes of these early radio shows became the way that hip-hop fans both inside and outside the NYC radio markets would share their favorite music. Before there were music video shows and the Internet, this is how hip-hop music/news spread “virally”.

June 1982
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S.O.B’s AKA “Sounds of Brazil” opens

Opened by owner and director Larry Gold in June 1982, S.O.B.’s – also known as “Sounds of Brazil” – is a legendary live music venue located at 200 Varick Street in the SoHo neighborhood in Manhattan. Gold opened the venue with the purpose of exposing the musical wealth and heritage of the Afro-Latino Diaspora to as many people as possible. Over the years, it became well-known as a premiere venue for acts from all genres of music, drawing both local and international crowds and specializing in Latin music, R&B, Hip-Hop, Haitian, Brazilian, Caribbean, Alternative and World music.

Latin legends like Tito Puente, Marc Anthony, Celia Cruz and Eddie Palmieri were some of the first to hit the stage, but contemporary superstars like Afrika Bambaataa, Cypress Hill, De La Soul, DMX, Drake, Grandmaster Flash, Kendrick Lamar, Mos Def, Nas, OutKast, The Roots, Jill Scott, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Kanye West and more have all performed at the venue.

November 1982
Other
1982 NYC RAP TOUR PHASE2 MRCNNLIVE blog

New York City Rap Tour

Fab 5 Freddy and promoter Kool Lady Blue – in conjunction with radio station Europe 1, the French retail chain Fnac and French record labels Disc AZ and Bernard Zekri’s Celluloid Records – organized the New York City Rap Tour (with stops in Paris, London and several other cities) as a way to introduce the principal elements of hip-hop culture and art (DJing, rapping, break dancing and graffiti art) to audiences in France and the UK.

1982
Other
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The first exclusive rap radio show – Rap Attack

“Fab 5 Freddy and promoter Kool Lady Blue – in conjunction with radio station Europe 1, the French retail chain Fnac and French record labels Disc AZ and Bernard Zekri’s Celluloid Records – organized the New York City Rap Tour (with stops in Paris, London and several other cities) as a way to introduce the principal elements of hip-hop culture and art (DJing, rapping, break dancing and graffiti art) to audiences in France and the UK.
On the bill were some of the best DJs, rappers, b-boys, and graffiti writers/artists of the time: Afrika Bambaataa, Grand Mixer D.ST & The Infinity Rappers, Rock Steady Crew, FUTURA 2000, DONDI, PHASE 2 and Rammellzee who, along with performances by the Fantastic Four (an award-winning double-dutch jump rope team) helped make NYC hip-hop’s first exposure outside the U.S. a real success. Additionally, to help promote the tour, several of the artists recorded rap songs (e.g., “The Escapades of Futura 2000” by graffiti artist Futura/Futura 2000 and produced by rockers The Clash) even if rapping wasn’t their specialty.”

January 1983
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Malcolm McLauren recruits artists to create artwork for his album

Punk rock impresario Malcolm McLaren and his art director Nick Egan enlist the help of two top graffiti artists – Keith Haring and Dondi White – to produce the artwork for McLaren’s album Duck Rock. McLaren loved how artists in African countries often created beautiful works of art out of found items and wanted to bring that aesthetic – as envisioned by two great street artists – to the cover of his rather-eclectic record. In doing so, it helped bring hip-hop imagery to an entirely new audience.

1983
DJing
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Ice-T’s gangsta rap

Following careers first in the military and then in crime (along with an extended hospital stay), LA-area rapper Tracy Marrow (AKA Ice T) helps pioneer “gangsta rap” on the West Coast with his electro hip-hop single “Body Rock” and rap track “6 In The Mornin’”.

Latin legends like Tito Puente, Marc Anthony, Celia Cruz and Eddie Palmieri were some of the first to hit the stage, but contemporary superstars like Afrika Bambaataa, Cypress Hill, De La Soul, DMX, Drake, Grandmaster Flash, Kendrick Lamar, Mos Def, Nas, OutKast, The Roots, Jill Scott, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Kanye West and more have all performed at the venue.

1983
Fashion
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Zulu Nation members wear double denim

Members of the Zulu Nation begin wearing “double denim” – a denim jean jacket over denim jeans (AKA the “Canadian Tuxedo”) – a look that was originally popular in the 1950s.

1983
Other

Flashdance

The dance-focused hit film Flashdance includes the first examples of break-dancing in a major studio film, showcasing the talents of dancers including several members of the famed Rock Steady Crew – Crazy Legs (Richard Colon); Wayne Frost, aka Frosty Freeze; Norman Scott, aka Normski; Kenneth Gabbert, aka Prince Ken Swift; and Marc Lemberger, aka Mr. Freeze. In the film’s final scene (with Jennifer Beals dancing to “What A Feeling”), even her character tries out some impressive b-boy-influenced moves (with the actual dancing done by stand-ins including Mr. Colon, in drag!.

1983
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The film Style Wars was produced

“The film Style Wars, from film-maker Tony Silver and producer Henry Chalfant, features over three dozen graffiti artists active in the NY City area, including CAP MPC, Dondi, Skeme, Case, Futura 2000 and many others. Shown both in theaters and on public TV, the 70-minute documentary attempted to show both the artists and their motivations along with the beauty and mixed receptions their handiwork received at the time and was awarded the Grand Prize for Documentaries at the 1983 Sundance Film Festival.”

1983
DJing
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The Disco 3 wins for “Stick ‘Em”

At a national rap and dance competition sponsored by radio station WBLS and Coca-Cola held at NYC’s Radio City Music Hall, The Disco 3 – Prince Markie Dee (Mark Morales), Kook Rock-Ski (Damon Wimbley) and Darren “The Human Beat Box” Robinson – wins first prize after a performance of their song “Stick ‘Em”, taking home a prize package including electronic equipment and a record deal with the Tin Pan Apple label (who released a single called “Reality”). Soon after, their manager renamed the group The Fat Boys.

1983
Other
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Grandmaster Flash sues Sugarhill Records

Grandmaster Flash sues Sugarhill Records for $5 million in unpaid royalties. The dispute causes the Furious 5 to break up (with Melle Mel and the others reforming as Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five) and puts on display the looming danger of corporate control in the hip-hop industry.

1983
DJing

Melle Mel’s “White Lines (Don’t Do It)”

Rapper Melle Mel (of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5) records the anti-cocaine/addiction single “White Lines (Don’t Do It)”, co-penned by Sugarhill Records owner Sylvia Robinson. Then-student film-maker Spike Lee directed a music video which starred a young Laurence Fishburne.

1983
Other
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Sir Mix-a-Lot partners with Nasty Nes

Seattle-based rapper/producer Anthony Ray – AKA Sir Mix-a-Lot – partners with local radio DJ “Nasty Nes” Rodriguez (who’d launched the West Coast’s first all-rap radio show – “Freshtracks”, on KFOX in 1980) and businessman Ed Locke to launch the NastyMix Records label in 1983, with the company’s first nation-wide success coming with the release of Mix-a-Lot’s debut album Swass.

May 1983
Break Dancing

Michael Jackson unleashes “the moonwalk”

Entertainer Michael Jackson unleashes “the moonwalk” – which borrows from a number of b-boy dance elements – during his televised solo performance at the “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever” event which celebrated the 25th anniversary of the launch of the seminal record label. While this particular “popping” move had been seen previously (including dance scenes from films, TV shows and music videos), it was this TV event that burned it into Pop Culture history.

September 1983
Break Dancing

Beat Street film dance battles

While in pre-production on the film Beat Street, 2nd unit director/choreographer Michael Holman is asked to “wrangle” talent for the film, including participants for a “dance battle”. Bringing in members of both the New York City Breakers and the Rock Steady Crew (along with the Treacherous 3, Afrika Bambaataa and others) for this task, he was then charged with putting the teams back together after the film’s 1984 release in order to do a promotional tour, which included a performance during the film’s screening outside the Cannes Film Festival.

November, 1983
World Events
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Jesse Jackson announces his intention to make a run for the Democratic nomination for President

Operation PUSH and Rainbow/PUSH Coalition founder Jesse Jackson announces his intention to make a run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, becoming the second African-American (after Rep. Shirley Chisholm, in 1972) to launch a campaign for the nation’s top office. While he came in a respectable third place in the primaries (behind Sen. Gary Hart and former V.P. Walter Mondale), receiving nearly 3.3 million votes in the primaries, Rev. Jackson tried again in 1988, when he won the primaries in seven states (with approx. 24% of the total vote) and came in second in the primaries to eventual nominee Michael Dukakis.

December 1983
Break Dancing

Katherine Dunham honored at the Kennedy Centers Kennedy Center Honors

One of the five honorees in the 1983 Kennedy Center Honors event was African-American choreographer/dancer/social activist Katherine Dunham, who early on in her career had founded one of the first all-black dance companies, the Negro Dance Group in Chicago. To demonstrate her long-term influence on modern dance of all types, the event’s producers asked the manager of the New York City Breakers dance group, Michael Holman, to direct and choreograph a demonstration of break dancing as part of the show’s salute to Dunham. Holman’s all-star troup also included guest dancers such as the amazing Mr. Wave (who’d go on to join the NYC Breakers), Mr. Wiggles and Popmaster Fabel from the Rock Steady Crew, the all-female crew known as the Dynamic Dolls (Kim-A-Kazi, Suzy Q and Brenda K. Starr) and “locker” Kool Keith, who’d go on to greater fame as a rapper. The audience, which included President and Mrs. Reagan, businessman W. Clement Stone, ballet great Mikhail Baryshnikov, actor Warren Beatty, other honorees including singer Frank Sinatra, actor Jimmy Stewart, director Elia Kazan and composer Virgil Thompson, were duly impressed with the display of talent, with dancer Gene Kelly “high-fiving” one of the dancers as they spread out into the audience.

1983-1984
DJing
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Def Jam Recordings is established

NYU student producer/musician Rick Rubin launches Def Jam Recordings and soon teams with well-established producer Russell Simmons to help grow the business. Def Jam releases its first record, “It’s Yours” by T La Rock and Jazzy Jay, followed by LL Cool J’s “I Need A Beat” and “Rock Hard” by the Beastie Boys.

January 1984
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The Philadelphia Ant-Graffiti Newtwork was launched

“In order to combat the city’s growing concerns about gang-related graffiti, then-Philadelphia Mayor Dr. W. Wilson Goode Sr. launched the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network (PAGN) to eradicate graffiti via several methods, including increased policing and fines, prohibiting the sale of spray paints to minors and forcing taggers to clean up their own (and others’) work. Taggers who agreed to sign pledges not to deface properties with their tags/art were offered amnesty.”

1984
Break Dancing
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Mandalit del Barco pens an article titled “Break Dancers: Who are They, and Why Are They Spinning on Their Heads?”

For her master’s thesis for the Columbia University School of Journalism. writer Mandalit del Barco pens an article titled “Break Dancers: Who are They, and Why Are They Spinning on Their Heads?” that would be adapted for an article that appeared that Spring in !Mira! magazine of the South Bronx. In the article, del Barco (later a reporter for NPR) provides a comprehensive overview of how break dancing had grown in a few short years from a local pastime to an internationally-recognized art form and it practitioners well-paid performers in movies, on TV and in advertising of all types.

1984
Other
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KDAY swtiches too hip-hop full time

After a brief transition period that began the previous Summer, Los Angeles-based AM radio station KDAY (1580) switches it format from disco/R&B music to hip-hop full time. A young Dr. Dre hosts a popular Saturday night slot and becomes a must-visit studio for early West Coast rappers including Above The Law and gangstas N.W.A.

1984
Fashion
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Beastie Boys introduce cuffed jeans

The Beastie Boys add cuffed jeans to the basic track suit/sneaker/hat/jewelry aesthetic. Run-DMC adds Cazal 607 chunky black eyeglasses frames – lenses not required – to the basic uniform (still worn today by the likes of Kid Cudi and Lupe Fiasco.

1984
Emceeing
1984 UTFO Starts the Roxanne Craze

UTFO starts the “Roxanne” craze

Old school Brooklyn based hip-hop trio UTFO releases a single that includes the track titled “Roxanne Roxanne” and which disses a young girl who rejected their advances. Dozens of other rappers then created “answer records” expressing their own take on the subject material, with the most-popular (“Roxanne’s Revenge”) being released by 14-year old girl rapper Lolita Shante Gooden – who adopted the moniker Roxanne Shante and whose profanity-filled rebuttal sold over 250,000 copies in the NY area alone – and launched a long-running series of “battle raps”.

April 1984
Other

A rap music video appears on MTV for the first time

With a Run-DMC video that featured an introduction by comedian Professor Irwin Corey (on the “history of hip-hop music”), a rap music video appears on MTV for the first time. “Rock Box” also featured the talents of popular session guitarist Eddie Martinez – playing on top of beats provided by Jam Master Jay – in a rock/hip-hop fusion that appealed to both fans of hip-hop and hard rock.

1984
Aerosol Art
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David Gunn launched the “Clean Trains” program

“After leading the successful graffiti-eradication efforts for the cities of Boston, Washington D.C., and Toronto, David Gunn is hired to lead the NYC Transit Authority and soon launches his “Clean Trains” program, applying upgrades to hardware and maintenance processes which Gunn believed would ultimately show New Yorkers that their transit system was both clean and safe. ”When you’re sitting in a graffiti-covered car, you don’t feel safe,” Gunn said. He said that when the trains were covered with names, codes and epithets, ”there was a sense that the system was out of control.”” Working very systematically, train by train, line by line, Gunn successfully made it both harder for graffiti writers to access the trains and less-desirable for them to do the work as well, as trains that had been “bombed” were immediately removed from service (even during rush hours!).”

1984
DJing
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Doug E. Fresh’s beatboxing

Douglas Davis (AKA Doug E. Fresh) releases two hit singles – titled “Just Havin’ Fun (Do The Beatbox)” and “The Original Human Beat Box” – which showcased Doug E.’s “beatboxing” abilities. Beatboxing (or b-boxing) is also known as “vocal percussion” and showcases a performer’s ability to use his/her mouth and microphone to realistically mimic the sounds of a drum machine, turntable scratching and other sound effects.

1984
Other

“Breakin'”

A breakdancing-based comedy/drama by the name of Breakin’ (directed by Joel Silberg, produced by Allen DeBevoise and David Zito, with a screenplay by DeBevoise and Charles Parker) tells the story of a traditionally-trained dancer (played by Lucinda Dickey) discovering the talents of two local (Venice, CA) break-dancers (Ozone, played by Adolfo ‘Shabba Doo’ Quiñones and Turbo, played by Michael ‘Boogaloo Shrimp’ Chambers) and ultimately teaming with them to win a local dance competition. Although supported by less distribution, Breakin’ went on to out-gross the popular John Hughes comedy Sixteen Candles.

1984
Break Dancing
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Mattel adding a “How To Hip-Hop Dance” package to their “ViewMaster” photo viewer

The year, in addition to the release of three successful hip-hop films over the past 12 months (Wild Style, Beat Street and Breakin’), was also a banner year for b-boy-related merchandise, with toymaker Mattel adding a “How To Hip-Hop Dance” package to their “ViewMaster” photo viewer line; mass-market product-maker K-Tel International bringing out a package titled Breakdance that including an LP of break-dancing music that featured a “how-to” poster picturing members of the New York City Breakers as well as Break Dancin’ For Fun and Fitness (on Atlantic Records) plus a book about hip-hop culture/rap music titled Breakin’ & The New York City Breakers which included an essay – actually, a declaration – by Michael Holman making the argument that break dancing should be included as an Olympic Sport (which, in fact, it becomes in 2024).

June 1984
Emceeing
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Doug E. Fresh’s beatboxing

Douglas Davis (AKA Doug E. Fresh) releases two hit singles – titled “Just Havin’ Fun (Do The Beatbox)” and “The Original Human Beat Box” – which showcased Doug E.’s “beatboxing” abilities. Beatboxing (or b-boxing) is also known as “vocal percussion” and showcases a performer’s ability to use his/her mouth and microphone to realistically mimic the sounds of a drum machine, turntable scratching and other sound effects.

June 1984
Other

Beat Street film dance battles

A dance drama based in the South Bronx, the Harry Belafonte-produced and Stan Lathan-directed film Beat Street tracks the lives of a group of friends, each of whom are passionate about the basic elements of hip-hop. The film starred Rae Dawn Chong, Guy Davis, members of the NY City Breakers and Rock Steady Crew b-boy teams and featured guest appearances by DJ Kook Herc, Afrika Baambaata, GM Melle Mel & The Furious Five, Jazzy Jay, Doug E. Fresh and The Treacherous Three (in reality, five performers including DJ Easy Lee, Kool Moe Dee, L.A. Sunshine, Special K and Spoonie Gee). It’s success internationally helped bring hip-hop culture to many countries and spurred on their own local scenes.

1984
Aerosol Art
1984 The Book Subway Art Introduces Graffiti to the World

The book “Subway Art” brought grafffiti to the world

In 1984, the groundbreaking book by photographer Martha Cooper and sculptor-turned-film-maker Henry Chalfant (of Style Wars fame) titled Subway Art brought graffiti to the world, presenting in-depth and eye-opening photographic documentation of the burgeoning expressionist art movement in New York. Starting out as a sculptor in New York in the 1970s, Henry Chalfant turned to photography and film to do in-depth studies of hip-hop culture and graffiti art and became one of the foremost authorities on New York street and subway art and other aspects of urban youth culture.

July, 1984
World Events
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The Los Angeles Olympic Games commence

The Los Angeles Olympic Games commence in venues throughout Southern California, despite a retaliatory boycott by the Soviet Union and its allies (except for Romania) coming after the U.S. had boycotted the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow. The games are run by Peter Ueberroth and are financial ($250 million in profits), musical (featuring performances by Lionel Ritchie and Etta James and original music by composer John Williams) and U.S. athletic team successes, with runners Carl Lewis and Edwin Moses winning gold and the American team winning 174 medals in total, including 83 gold.

September 1984
Other
1984 Swatch Watch Fresh Fest Pinterest

“Swatch Watch New York City Fresh Fest”

Looking to introduce hip-hop performers to a wider, national audience, Russell Simmons works with promoter Ricky Waters to produce a tour/exhibition called the “Swatch Watch New York City Fresh Fest”, headlined by Run-DMC and featuring Whodini, Kurtis Blow and the Fat Boys along with The New York City Breakers (seen in the movie Beat Street), Turbo and Ozone (from Breakin’) and the New York City Double Dutch Jump Rope Squad. Kicking off Labor Day weekend in Greensboro, NC, and sponsored by Swatch Watches, the tour grosses over $3.5 million during its 27 show, multi-city run and puts many of the basic elements of hip-hop culture on display to smaller market audiences.

1984
DJing
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“Us Girls” become the first all-female rap group

Three pioneering female MCs – Sha Rock (formerly of the Funky Four +1), Zulu Queen Lisa Lee (a founding member of Afrika Bambaataa’s Soul Sonic Force/Cosmic Force groups) and MC Debbie D – join forces to become the first all-female rap group – named “Us Girls” – to be featured in a movie, with their single “Us Girls” featured in the soundtrack for the film Beat Street. The trio, along with New York City Breakers manager Michael Holman, also recorded a single titled “The New York City Breakers” that was included on a compilation album released in 1985 titled Breakdance.

1984
Other
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The “Grand Jury Prize: Documentary” at the Sundance Film Festival is awarded

The “Grand Jury Prize: Documentary” at the Sundance Film Festival is awarded to Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant’s film about the NYC graffiti art scene titled Style Wars. Promoting graffiti as a form of self-expression, the film interviews several working artists (including Dondi, Skeem, Case/Kase 2) along with those on both sides of the argument “is graffiti art or vandalism?”, including art critics, police representatives, subway maintenance workers and then-NYC-mayor Ed Koch.

1984
Other
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Graffiti Rock

A pilot episode of the first hip-hop focused TV show – Graffiti Rock (produced by musician/producer/film-maker Michael Holman, who also served as the host) – premieres on WPIX in NYC (and in 88 other markets via syndication). The half-hour show included appearances by Run-D.M.C., Kool Moe Dee and Special K of the Treacherous Three, DJ Jimmie Jazz, The New York City Breakers dance team, graffiti artist Brim and his TATS CRU and several others (actors Debi Mazar and Vincent Gallo also appeared as dancers on the show).

1985
DJing
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British radio DJ Tony Prince started a DJ competition

In 1985, the British radio DJ TONY PRINCE started a DJ competition for the organization he had founded called the Disco Mix Club, better-known as DMC. The first competition threw a spotlight on the talents of a variety of British and European DJs (with the UK’s Roger Johnson winning top honors) and the following year (1986), “scratching” was added to the competition, with Edison, New Jersey’s DJ Cheese winning the international battle with a stunning routine. After its inception, the competition — which runs to this day — went on to became the premier world showcase for hip-hop DJs and their techniques, with other winners since coming from the UK, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Australia, Sweden, Denmark , Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

1985
Other
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Run-D.M.C. join rock starts to raise funds at the Live Aid event

Rap stars Run-D.M.C. join the Rolling Stones, U2, Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Tina Turner, Sade and many others on stage at London’s Wembley Stadium at the Live Aid event to raise funds (est. at $120 million at the time) to aid the victims of the famine in Ethiopia. They performed two songs – King of Rock and Jam-Master Jammin – in front of a live, broadcast and satellite audience of close to two billion people world-wide.

1985
Emceeing

Jesse Bonds Weaver, Jr. – AKA “Schoolly D” also known as “the first gangsta rapper”

Philadelphia-based rapper Jesse Bonds Weaver, Jr. – AKA “Schoolly D” – releases an indie album co-produced by DJ Code Money titled Schoolly that features a single – “P.S.K. – What Does It Mean?”- that contains lyrics describing the gritty reality of the world he inhabited, with all of the violence, street toughness and bravado and in-your-face sexuality he could include, which lead many rappers that followed (including Ice-T, Beastie Boys and others) to crown him “the first gangsta rapper”. Schoolly would later go on to provide music for films and TV, along with narration and music for the Cartoon Network’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force animated series.

1985
Fashion
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Vibrant colors in hip-hop style

The vibrant colors found in hip-hop styles were created under the influence of street/graffiti artists. Creative people started taking the type of art they saw on the streets and extended the look by putting their own names and/or portraits of themselves on shirts and jeans. Two established taggers – Mighty Nike and King Phade – apply their talents to new canvases – air-brushing t-shirts, jeans and other clothing – and combining to form a commercial duo known as the Shirt Kings. The trend really took off when LL Cool J rocked a sweater made by the Shirt Kings, which prominently featured an airbrushed version of the rapper as a b-boy. The shirt was painted by King Phade and he says LL’s sweater was directly responsible for making Shirt Kings, and consequently bold colors, blow up. “What Shirt Kings was about was drawing things that we saw in our community.” King Phade says. “We basically remixed them.”

1985
Other
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James Prince launches Rap-A-Lot Records

James Prince launches the southern hip-hop record label Rap-A-Lot Records in Houston, TX. The label’s first significant release came in 1987 with The Geto Boys’ debut album Car Freak.

January 1985
Break Dancing

New York City Breakers at the second inaugural ball for President Ronald Reagan

Joining a cast of entertainers including crooner Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, comedians Don Rickles and Rich Little, singers Mac Davis, Pearl Bailey and Ray Charles before a huge crowd (over 12,000 invitees!) at the second inaugural ball for President Ronald Reagan at Washington, DC’s convention center were the New York City Breakers who, according to a Washington Post article describing the event, “were among the freshest acts on the program.”

1985
Emceeing
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Salt ‘n’ Pepa goes platinum

NYC-area all-girl rap group Salt ‘n’ Pepa is formed. Their 1986 debut album (Hot, Cool & Vicious) sells more than a million copies worldwide, making them the first female rap act to achieve “gold” and “platinum” record sales status.

1985
Fashion
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Tommy Hilfiger Launches his brand

NY-based clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger launches his eponymous brand. Wu-Tang’s Raekwon, until then a long-time Polo fan, speaks openly about his displeasure with what he views as Polo’s lack of creativity and is seen wearing more-colorful items from Hilfiger’s line. The line’s colorful, loose-fitting sportswear was somewhat less-expensive than Polo’s, making it easier for many to add to their wardrobes.

1985
Other
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“Krush Groove” opens in theatres

Director/producer Michael Schultz’s film Krush Groove, based on the life of rap impresario/Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons and starring actor Blair Underwood (his film debut, before his leap to fame on L.A. Law) as Russell Walker, opens in theaters. An impressive list of talent, including Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, Sheila E., Kurtis Blow, Beastie Boys, New Edition, Chaka Khan and others (including Mr. Simmons, in a cameo role), add to the film’s authenticity.

February 1985
Aerosol Art
1985 Turk 182 is Released in Theaters IMBD

The film Turk 182 is produced

The plot of the film Turk 182! highlights the actions of the brother of a NYC firefighter (who was ripped off by the system after being injured during a heroic off-duty rescue) who, looking to publicize the actions of a corrupt local politician, starts a city-wide graffiti campaign. Actual graffiti writer TAKI 183 was not compensated in any way by the producers of this film.

November 1985
Other
1985 Doug Henderson releases Rhythm Talk discog

Doug Henderson releases “Rythm Talk”

Doug “Jocko” Henderson was a pioneering “rapping” deejay who began his career at WBAL in Baltimore, MD in 1950 before moving to Philadelphia radio station WDAS in the 1970s, with his show being simulcast in the New York City market over a variety of stations. Via his smooth use of talk and rhyme, Henderson built a unique on-air persona for himself and, in 1959, he released a record of his rhymes called “Rhythm Talk” on the Philly International label. He also came to realize that kids enjoyed learning about things when they were explained via song and so he began to develop a set of instructional materials – in conjunction with the Philadelphia Board of Education – that would be used to teach history, math, English, spelling and other topics using rap lyrics. After running unsuccessfully for the United States Congress in the Second District in 1978, he then spent much of his time and energy promoting his “Get Ready” program for school districts around the country. Speaking about it in a 1985 interview in the Orlando Sentinel, Henderson stated that “rap goes back as far as ‘twinkle twinkle little star’ and ‘Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall’… Rap is so big now that it’s going to get even bigger. I told them many years ago that rap would be around forever and ever.”

1986
DJing
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Disco Fever closes

During the production of the 1985 film Krush Groove – a film that celebrated hip-hop and club life and which featured acts such as LL Cool J, Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys and others – the movie’s producers found that the location they’d chosen to stage club scenes within – the popular South Bronx club Disco Fever, owned by Sal Abbatiello (and who played himself in the movie) was in fact operating without a cabaret license. The local community board had been looking for a reason to shut down the club and so, armed with this information, they denied Sal’s permit request in spite of the fact that the club’s owners had built a good reputation as a supporter within the community. Once he’d been turned down, Abbatiello simply closed the club, ten years after it had been opened.

January, 1986
World Events
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Dr. Martin Luther King Day was observed as first official holiday

Although legislation was first proposed just four days after Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination in 1968 (with several states enacting their own observances beginning in the 1970s), it wasn’t until 1983 that the bill establishing the national holiday was voted on and signed, with the first official holiday observed on January 20, 1986. It took a concerted effort by many parties – including musician Stevie Wonder, whose song “Happy Birthday” included lyrics questioning why it was taking so long to pass this legislation – to finally give Rev. King the recognition he deserved.

1986
Fashion
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My Adidas

Determined to establish the value of hip-hop’s style in the eyes of manufacturers whose products might appeal to the genre’s fans, Run-D.M.C.’s manager – Russell Simmons, via both his Rush Management company and his Def Jam record label – used the opportunity of a 1986 concert at NYC’s Madison Square Garden – a show where several reps from the German clothing company (including then-representative Angelo Anastasio) were in attendance – as the right venue to prove a point. The group was set to perform a song called “My Adidas” (essentially an endorsement for the brand, without any compensation) and, just prior to starting the song, Run told the crowd to hold up their Adidas sneakers. The reps were so moved by the sight of fans holding up their sneakers in unison that, after the show, they told Run that he’d soon get his own clothing line. Shortly after that, Run-DMC became the first hip-hop group to score a big ($1.5 million +) endorsement deal.

1986
Other
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First rap music video played on MTV music network

Run-D.M.C.’s music video for the cross-over remake of the Aerosmith hit single “Walk This Way” becomes the first rap music video to be played on the MTV music video cable network.

1986
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The Geto Boys and Rap-A-Lot Records form in Houston

Rap talent from around the city of Houston, TX – at first, MCs Raheem, Sire Juke Box and Sir Rap-A-Lot – and later interchanging others including Grand Wizard DJ Ready Red, Scarface, Willie D and small person Little Billy (AKA Bushwick Bill) – is gathered together by local bank teller James Smith and promoted as “The Ghetto Boys” (later rechristened Geto Boys). Smith and computer scientist Cliff Blodgett pool their resources to launch Rap-A-Lot Records and established Southern rap as a force to be reckoned with.

1986
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Creation of the Mural Arts Program

As part of the city’s ongoing effort to halt the spread of graffiti and clean up areas hit by this nuisance (via the PAGN), the office of the Mayor in Philadelphia sought to re-route the creative/production passions of some young artists via the creation of the Mural Arts Program, which replaced often-hit spots with elaborate, commissioned murals that were protected by a city ordinance that levied fines and penalties for anyone caught defacing them. The MAP remains an active program in the city even today.

1986
Other
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Sugarhill Records files bankruptcy

Protracted litigation resulting from a deal with MCA Records forces Sugarhill Records into bankruptcy and is forced out of business.

1986
Fashion
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Promoting Black Nationalism

Committed to using their public platform to criticize the prevailing political climate and simultaneously promote black nationalism, Public Enemy’s image was extremely indicative of the cultural climate of the mid-late 80’s. While some of the group sported the typical starter jackets, sports sneakers and baseball caps that were in vogue at the time, other members of the group dressed in traditional African clothing (as a reminder of their cultural roots) and paramilitary uniforms – complete with toy guns – as a political statement.

Spring, 1986
DJing
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Rane MP 24 Club Mixer hits the market

Built at the behest of famed disco sound system designer Richard Long (of Richard Long & Associates, or RLA, who had built the systems for clubs including NYC’s Studio 54, Annabel’s in London and the many world-wide outposts of Regine’s), the Rane MP 24 Club Mixer – the first to use studio-grade faders – hit the market and quickly became the industry standard, used in installations for the next 20 years.

July 1986
Emceeing
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“Walk This Way” climbed to #4 on the Billboard charts

While not exactly the first-ever mashing of mainstream rock & roll with rap – Grandmaster Flash had used samples from Aerosmith’s hit tune “Walk This Way” in his raps as early as 1978 and Run-D.M.C. mixed in guitarist Eddie Martinez’s heavy-metal riffs on a song called “Rock Box” released on their first solo album for Profile Records in 1981 (and, in fact, Def Jam owner/producer Rick Rubin had a hit in 1984 when the Beastie Boys took a well-known guitar sample from AC/DC’s “Back In Black” and used that as the basis of their song “Rock Hard”) – when the now-hot Run-D.M.C. was brought into the studio with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith to collaborate on a new version of “Walk This Way”, the result was a watershed moment in the history of the pop music business in that the tune became the first rap song to be played on “mainstream” rock radio, rising ultimately to #4 on the Billboard charts. Also, notably, the music video for the cross-over remake of “Walk This Way” became the first rap music video to be played on the MTV music video cable network.

1986
Fashion
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Nylon Starter Jackets

Rappers from different cities would honor their hometowns via the nylon Starter jackets and hats they’d wear.

1986
DJing
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Latin Quarter nightclub featured hip-hop acts

Originally opened in the heart of New York City’s Times Square (Broadway at 47th/48th Sts.) by Lou Walters (father of famed journalist Barbara Walters), over the years the Latin Quarter nightclub’s stage featured performers including the Andrews Sisters, Ella Fitzgerald, Patti Page, Frank Sinatra and Mae West (to name just a few), but after brief stints as an X-rated theater and a small Broadway theater, the place re-opened as a nightclub in 1985-86 that featured hip-hop acts booked by Paradise Gray, who’d mastered his craft working alongside mentors including Pete DJ Jones and Disco King Mario. Until the club’s closing and demolition in 1989, acts from the genre’s Golden Age such as Afrika Bambaataa, Big Daddy Kane, En Vogue, Eric B. & Rakim, Lil Kim, LL Cool J, Roxanne Shante, Gray’s own X-Clan and many others played for party-goers from all over the city looking for a taste of “the good life” offered in the storied surroundings.

1986
Aerosol Art
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The first design studio “devoted exclusively to the visual expression of hip-hop music” is established.

Along with partner Steve Carr, Def Jam Records’ creative director Cey Adams establishes the first design studio “devoted exclusively to the visual expression of hip-hop music”. Known as The Drawing Board and housed in the Def Jam Records workspace, the studio was free to work on projects for any client and, over the next 15 years, would produce ground-breaking visuals for clients including the Beastie Boys, DMX, EPMD, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Public Enemy and many others. The success of their work and its ability to help promote and sell music products also contributed to the increase in resources that musical acts were willing to put into their art/packaging budgets, improving the quality of all overall.

1986
Emceeing
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Houston represents

Rap talent from around the city of Houston, TX – at first, MCs Raheem, Sire Juke Box and Sir Rap-A-Lot – and later interchanging others including Grand Wizard DJ Ready Red, Scarface, Willie D and small person Little Billy (AKA Bushwick Bill) – is gathered together by local bank teller James Smith and promoted as “The Ghetto Boys” (later rechristened Geto Boys). Smith and computer scientist Cliff Blodgett pool their resources to launch Rap-A-Lot Records and established Southern rap as a force to be reckoned with.

1986
Fashion
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Grills begin trending

” Riffing on the early Etruscan and Mayan traditions of inserting gems into holes drilled into a subject’s teeth, customized gold teeth sets, or “grills/grillz”, have been around and worn as fashion statements since the mid-1980’s, as seen on with Atlanta, GA-based rappers like Kilo Ali and Raheem The Dream. Grills are made of several types of metal – usually silver, gold or platinum – and are often inlaid with precious stones. They are generally removable, though some may be permanently attached to the teeth underneath.
The trend spread quickly up north when a New York jeweler named Eddie Plein (owner of the shop “Eddie’s Gold Teeth”) started making grills for NYC-area rappers. Out of his shop came the “Flavor” gold caps he created for Flava Flav and, subsequently, Eddie outfitted Big Daddy Kane, Afrika Bambaataa and Kool G Rap from the Juice Crew. After moving his shop to Atlanta (renaming it Eddie’s Famous Gold Teeth), Plein continued to innovate and, during the 90’s & 00’s, made eye-catching and ever-more-elaborate grillsz for OutKast, Goodie Mob, Lil Jon, Ying Yang Twins, Lloyd, Ludacris, Nas and many more (even female artists have caught on, with Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, Madonna, Katy Perry and Rihanna sporting grills). Other notable grill artists include Atlanta’s Paul Wall and Houston, TX-based Johnny Dang.”

1986
Emceeing
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Salt ‘n’ Pepa and MC Lyte

The first all-female rap crew – Salt ‘n’ Pepa – release their landmark debut – Hot Cool & Vicious – which included the hit single/party fave “Push It”. Soon joined by DJ Spinderella, the group would open the doors to a more-mainstream audience and was soon followed by MC Lyte, who’d later become the first solo female rapper to score a gold-selling single (1993’s “Ruffneck”).

August, 1986
World Events
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Spike Lee’s feature-length film debut – the comedy She’s Gotta Have It

Spike Lee’s feature-length film debut – the comedy She’s Gotta Have It – introduces Lee’s character, the Brooklyn b-boy Mars Blackmon (played by Lee himself), who’d go on to even greater fame as the spokesperson for Nike’s sneaker line (the tag line “Is it the shoes”? became synonymous with the character). In spots co-starring Chicago Bulls basketball great Michael Jordan, the ads contributed greatly to the popularity of these shoes with hip-hop-loving youth everywhere.

1986
Emceeing
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Beastie Boys’ Licensed To Ill reached #1 on the Billboard chart

The first rap album to reach the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart – spawned on by the popularity of seven hit singles, including “(You Gotta) Fight For The Right (To Party” and “Brass Monkey” – the Beastie Boys’ Licensed To Ill provided the fuel to power a successful world tour the next year. The record would go on to sell over 10 million copies (“Diamond Certified”) and was key in establishing a link between rap and rock music.

September, 1986
World Events
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The Oprah Winfrey Show premiered

Chicago talk show host Oprah Winfrey brings her prodigious talents to a syndicated national office with the premiere of The Oprah Winfrey Show, one that would go on to become the highest-rated of its type in TV history and made Winfrey the first black female billionaire. She’d use her wealth and stature to later open up schools for black South Africans and support Morehouse College, among many other philanthropic activities.

1986
Fashion
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Black Nationalist Colors

As hip-hop grew more socially conscious, another trend that took off during the mid-to-late 1980’s was the influence of Black Nationalism. Paramilitary fatigues mixed with the black nationalist colors – yellow, red, green, and black – had long been facets of African/reggae culture, but were ushered into mainstream hip-hop by the likes of Salt N Pepa, Queen Latifah, Public Enemy and others, and even the jewelry they wore took on extra meaning, with Salt-N-Pepa’s gold “door-knocker” earrings a connection back to Africa.

August 1987
DJing
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E-mu Systems releases the SP-1200

E-mu Systems releases the SP-1200, an upgraded version of the popular SP-12 electronic drum machine which, by adding a basic digital sampler, local disc storage and removing the old model’s pre-sets (which allowed users to create and store their own samples), quickly becomes a favorite of hip-hop DJs and producers. Its limited sampling specs (26.040 kHz sampling rate, with 12-bit resolution) produced a “dirty” sound – akin to that of old vinyl records – greatly loved by producers of hip hop and house music.

1987
Emceeing
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PA-based duo of DJ Jazzy Jeff (Will Smith) & The Fresh Prince (Jeff Townes) release their debut record – Rock The House

Taking rap music on a comedic detour, the Philadelphia, PA-based duo of DJ Jazzy Jeff (Will Smith) & The Fresh Prince (Jeff Townes) release their debut record – Rock The House, on Word-Up/Jive Records – which included the 1986 hit single “Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble”, a song in which the music is built around a sample from the theme song of the 1960s TV comedy series I Dream of Jeannie.

1987
Fashion
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Musical Acts bring trends

The musical acts participating in the Native Tongue hip-hop movement – Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, Queen Latifah, KRS-One, Monie Love and others – bring the wide variety of hair, colors and clothing patterns to this group’s Black Nationalist aesthetic.

1987
DJing
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Public Enemy bum rushes the show

Politically-focused rap enters a new era with the release of Public Enemy”s debut album Yo! Bum Rush The Show. The cover expressed the group’s militant politics, showing original members Chuck D (Carlton Ridenhour), Flavor Flav (William Drayton), Professor Griff (Richard Griffin), and DJ Terminator X (Norman Rogers) standing around a turntable in a dark basement. It also featured the first appearance of Public Enemy’s logo, a silhouette of a black man caught in a gun sight’s crosshairs.

1987
Emceeing
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West Coast “gangsta rapper” Ice-T’s debut record Rhyme Pays

With its release on the Sire/Warner Bros. Records label, West Coast “gangsta rapper” Ice-T’s debut record Rhyme Pays brought the rapper’s tales of life on the mean streets of Los Angeles to a broad audience, eventually selling over a half-million copies.

1987
Other
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“Paid in Full” album cover made of money is released

Rap duo Eric B. and Rakim release Paid In Full with an album cover literally made of money – the background image was an exploded view of U.S. currency and each of the rappers both wore copious amounts of gold jewelry (chains, necklaces, wrist watches, etc.) and held stacks of cash.

1987
Emceeing
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Mc Shy D brings his East Coast rap talents down the coast to Atlanta

Rapper and music producer Mc Shy D – born in the Bronx, NY and a cousin of Afrika Bambaataa – brings his East Coast rap talents down the coast to Atlanta, GA, where he’d release his debut record Got To Be Tough on the indie label Luke Skyywalker Records. The record cracked the Billboard 200 charts and helped put the Atlanta hip-hop scene on the map.

November 1987
Emceeing
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Run-DMC releases the single “Christmas In Hollis”

Run-DMC releases the single “Christmas In Hollis” which was included on two Christmas compilation albums that year – Christmas Rap on Profile Records and A Very Special Christmas, a record that raised millions of dollars for the Special Olympics organization and went on to sell over 4 million copies in the U.S.. The single featured artwork by graffiti art legend Keith Haring, and the music video (directed by Michael Holman, then a NYU film student) – with scenes taking place in Hollis, Queens and on the North Pole – would go on to win the “Best Video of the Year” award from Rolling Stone Magazine. Holman would work again with Run-DMC, directing their “My Adidas” TV commercial in 1986.

1988
DJing
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Flourishing from coast to coast

Several significant records are released during the year, including N.W.A’s gold-selling West-coast “gangsta rap” record Straight Outta Compton, East Coast MC/rapper Big Daddy Kane’s Long Live The Kane and Ultramagnetic MC’s (featuring Kool Keith) Critical Breakdown., a record which featured producer Ced Gee’s novel “chopped” samples.

1988
Fashion
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Long Live the Kane

Conspicuous displays of wealth and kingly social status are taken to the “Nth degree” on rapper Big Daddy Kane’s album titled Long Live The Kane which featured Kane on a golden throne, wearing while silken robes and an impressive array of gold jewelry and surrounded by three beautiful women on hand to attend to his every need.

July 1988
Other
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Hip Hop Connection is released

The first issue of Hip Hop Connection magazine is released in the U.K.. The magazine would go on to become the longest running monthly publication devoted entirely to hip-hop music and culture, with the final issue – its 232nd – delivered to readers in 2009. It was best-known for its annual, “Reader’s Best” awards in several categories.

1988
World Events
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NYC-area hip-hop acts form a collective they called the Native Tongues

Seeking to help bring lyrics that would speak to mainstream audiences on a wide range of topics – from race to sex to religion and Pop Culture – several NYC-area hip-hop acts including the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest form a collective they called the Native Tongues. Working alongside the Universal Zulu Nation, they brought their positive, Afrocentric messaging to an African-American audience, building an awareness of their heritage via lyrics, beats and unique sampling.

1988
Emceeing
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Slick Rick and the Art of Storytelling

Rap’s grounding in poetry and innovative story-telling is put on full display in London-based rapper Slick Rick’s impressive (and, ultimately, highly influential) debut album The Great Adventures of Slick Rick. A “concept album” in the truest sense, with each song a self-contained story based on Rick’s witty lyricism and a cast of characters, each voiced uniquely – some say weirdly, others say comically, but all say in an unforgettable fashion.

August 1988
Other
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“Yo! MTV” Raps show

Having premiered the year before in Europe on MTV’s sister network there, hip-hop music and culture is delivered daily in a two hour package to a widely-distributed cable TV audience in the U.S. with the launch of Yo! MTV Raps show on MTV. The show, created by producers Ted Demme and Pete Dougherty, starred hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy and mixed music videos, interviews, comedy and a weekly in-studio performance series. The pilot of the series was one of MTV’s highest-rated programs ever.

1988
Emceeing
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Big Daddy Kane establishes himself as one of the best MCs of rap’s

Releasing a record that would spend 38 weeks on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop charts (topping out at #5, and selling over 500,000 copies), Juice Crew collective rapper Big Daddy Kane establishes himself as one of the best MCs of rap’s “Golden Age” with his debut record Long Live The Kane. Produced by famed beat-maker Marley Marl, this record proved to be quite influential over time, with his lyrics and samples re-used by later acts such as Nas, Beastie Boys, Gang Starr, R.Z.A. and The Notorious B.I.G.

1988
Fashion
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N.W.A.

Along with the drop of N.W.A.’s debut record, this soon-to-be legendary group embodied the attitude of West Coast hip hop at the end of the 80’s, and it was apparent in their image. They wore casual staples like tees, crewnecks, stiff Dickies-brand jeans and jackets, sported Snapback hats, black-framed “Locs” glasses, Kings and Raiders paraphernalia (and more black everything) and even more gold, but that, coupled with their swagger, took them from basic to bold.

September 1988
Other
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“Tougher Than Leather”

Similar in a way to the second film by The Beatles (1965’s Help!, which finds the boys escaping from fans and critics via a road trip), Run-DMC’s Tougher Than Leather – a cross between a Western and a “blacksploitation” film, during which the group seeks revenge against the drug-dealing record execs at Strut Productions who’ve killed their friend. Fending off bikers, sexy women and other inner-city challenges, the film attempted to let audiences see inside the real lives of their favorite hip-hop music makers and style icons. Directed by Rick Rubin, produced by Russell Simmons and based on a screenplay by Ric Menello, who had written/directed the music video for “Fight For Your Right (To Party)” by The Beastie Boys, who also had roles in the film.

1988
Emceeing
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Public Enemy’s second release on Def Jam, It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Featuring five singles – “Bring The Noise”, “Rebel Without A Pause”, “Night Of The Living Baseheads”, “Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos” and “Don’t Believe The Hype” (which protested the group’s treatment in the mainstream press) – Public Enemy’s second release on Def Jam, It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, would go on to become (according to Chuck D., one of the record’s producers) one of the – if not THE – “greatest hip-hop records of all time”. Topping the R&B charts and hitting #42 on Billboard’s 200 chart (where it remained for an impressive 51 weeks), the record sampled a huge array of music and spoken word recording from many different artists/genres, including snippets from James Brown, Malcolm X, David Bowie – even Slayer’s “Angel of Death”!

1988
Emceeing
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N.W.A.’s premiere album – Straight Outta Compton released

Built around the talents of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Easy-E, MC Ren, Dj Yella and Arabian Prince, N.W.A.’s premiere album – Straight Outta Compton – used samples from Funkadelic, James Brown, the Ohio Players, Marvin Gaye and fellow rappers Public Enemy and lyrics long on violence, profanity and outspoken protests about the “gangster lifestyle” to drive its impressive sales (over three million records) and landing it on most every “greatest rap album” survey taken thereafter.

1988
Other
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Def Jam founders part ways

Post their 1985 distribution deal with CBS/Columbia records, Def Jam founders Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin part ways in 1988, with Simmons teaming up with Rush Associated Label partner Lyor Cohen (who becomes president of Def Jam/RAL), while Rubin launches the Def American Recordings label.

1988
Fashion
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Ralph Lauren’s Polo clothing brand become objects of desire

Popular items from Ralph Lauren’s Polo clothing brand become objects of desire for enterprising young “boosting” gangs (AKA shoplifters) – most notably, Brooklyn’s Lo-Life crew – frequenting upscale stores in Manhattan and in nearby shopping malls. The clothing’s target audience – wealthy white teens and their families – lived very different lives than those city kids, who then took it upon themselves to sport the same fashions, regardless of how they got them. When, in 1991, Polo launched an even-more-exclusive line featuring several variations on a cuddly bear logo, several rappers – most notably, Grand Puba of Brand Nubian, Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan and Kanye West – decided to wear clothes from the line exclusively.

1988
Other
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“Ladies of hip-hp”

To help celebrate the women who’d succeeded in the male-driven industry of hip-hop, photographer Janette Beckman shoots a portrait of the “Ladies of Hip-Hop” for Paper Magazine. This “old school school portrait” included movers-and-shakers such as Millie Jackson, MC Lyte, Peaches, Roxanne Shante, Spooky D and five others who came “ready to shoot in their finest Dapper Dan and roller sets, ready for their close-up”.

October, 1988
World Events
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Ralph Lauren’s Polo clothing brand become objects of desire

Popular items from Ralph Lauren’s Polo clothing brand become objects of desire for enterprising young “boosting” gangs (AKA shoplifters) – most notably, Brooklyn’s Lo-Life crew – frequenting upscale stores in Manhattan and in nearby shopping malls. The clothing’s target audience – wealthy white teens and their families – lived very different lives than those city kids, who then took it upon themselves to sport the same fashions, regardless of how they got them. When, in 1991, Polo launched an even-more-exclusive line featuring several variations on a cuddly bear logo, several rappers – most notably, Grand Puba of Brand Nubian, Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan and Kanye West – decided to wear clothes from the line exclusively.

December 1988
DJing
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MPC-60 released

After shutting down his eponymous electronic drum machine company, inventor Roger Linn teams up with Japanese electronics manufacturer Akai to develop and build the first Akai MIDI Production Center, or MPC. The first version – the MPC-60 – was a device that, via a simple user interface, truly simplified the sampling and production of music/sounds and it quickly became a favorite tool of DJs and music producers everywhere. Subsequent models of the full-featured sampling drum machine and MIDI sequencer became very affordable, allowing for musicians everywhere to create sophisticated tracks in the simplest of studio set-ups.

1988
Other
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“The Source” music publication debuts

The Source music publication debuts. Originally a simple newsletter published in August 1988 by two Harvard students (Dave Mays and Jon Schecter) that was designed for listeners to Mays’ Boston-area local radio show, the pair moved to NYC after graduation with the hopes of being able to attract support for a glossy publication targeted at die-hard hip-hop fans. Slowly but surely the number of ad pages and readers grew until, by the mid-1990s, the magazine became the best-selling music publication available at newsstands.

1989
Emceeing
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“Stop The Violence Movement” to record and release the single “Self-Destruction”

Prompted by a series of shootings involving members of the NYC-area hip-hop community, and in a group effort to raise money for the anti-racial-discrimination programs run by the civil-rights organization the National Urban League, rappers Kool Moe Dee, MC Lyte, Heavy D, Just-Ice, Doug E. Fresh, Chuck D and Flavor Flav of Public Enemy and members of both Stetsasonic and Boogie Down Productions worked together with KRS-One’s “Stop The Violence Movement” to record and release the single “Self-Destruction”. Topping the Billboard Hot Rap singles chart for 10 weeks, the record raised over $600,000 for the program.

1989
Fashion
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Cross Colours

““The first time we started seeing that urban really had some dollars behind it was through Cross Colours,”” says Elena Romero, a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. The brand took note of style trends that were going on in New York City and adapted its clothes to go with the streetwear movement. Most notably, the brand’s designer, Carl Jones, noticed that people needed belts to hold up their baggy jeans, so he created jeans that fit loose in the leg but had a waist that actually fit.
Major department stores were hesitant to stock the quickly-sprouting style trend at first but, after the line’s clothes were seen on Will Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (and, shortly after, on the stars of In Living Color), the brand’s popularity began to blow up. The new, loose silhouette disrupted the entire young men’s market and the rest of the industry started to play catch up, abandoning fitted clothing and producing larger sizes.”

1989
Other
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“Do The Right Thing” by Spike Lee

Director Spike Lee premieres his comedy-drama film about racial tensions in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn titled Do The Right Thing in the U.S.. With a cast including Danny Aiello, Ruby Dee, Martin Lawrence, Ossie Davis, Rose Perez (a veteran dancer-actress from the popular In Living Color TV series whose opening credits “Fight The Power” dance number received huge kudos from audiences and critics), John Turturro, Samuel L. Jackson and Lee himself and featuring a hip-hop soundtrack including a song by Public Enemy made for the movie (“Fight The Power”), the film was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor) and topped both Siskel & Ebert’s “Best of 1989” lists.

May 1989
Aerosol Art
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The last graffitied NYC subway train is removed from service.

The last graffitied NYC subway train is removed from service, with the city declaring “victory” over the graffiti artists. In reality, taggers/artists continue to apply their talents to trains while they’re in the trainyards to this day – it’s just that they don’t ever LEAVE the yards with the art still showing. Instead, artists share photos of their work via social media.

1989
Emceeing
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Queen Latifah’s debut album on Tommy Boy Records – All Hail The Queen – is a gold-certified success

One of the records that “helped usher in the golden age of hip-hop” (per Chuck D’s This Day in Rap and Hip-Hop History book), Queen Latifah’s debut album on Tommy Boy Records – All Hail The Queen – is a gold-certified success, landing on both the Billboard 200 and R&B charts and spawning three hit singles – “Wrath Of My Madness”, “Mama Gave Birth To The Soul Children” and “Ladies First”, a feminist-themed track featuring De La Soul.

August 1988
Other
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The BET Network hosts Rap City

The BET Network premieres a two-hour hosted programming block on its network called Rap City that features music videos from both popular and up-and-coming rap acts along with interviews, freestyle rap sessions and a number of guest hosts. The show was created by producer and on-air personality Alvin Jones, AKA “The Unseen VJ”, with the first regular host – known as “The Mayor of Rap City”, being Chris Thomas. One of the best-loved segments of the show was “The Freestyle Booth” during which guest rappers would create vocal segments for the show in real time (and, mostly, uncensored).

1989
Fashion
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Karl Kani Designs

“One of the streetwear companies that was birthed out of the movement Cross Colours created was the eponymous brand from Karl Kani. Kani’s designs were seen on the likes of Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., Diddy, and Dr. Dre, but his brand received a lot of help along the way.
When Kani first flew out from New York to Los Angeles in the late 1980s, he paid a worker at one of the factories that manufactured Guess to show him the local denim suppliers so that he could get started making his own – modifying the unfitted, baggy jeans so popular with the youth of the day to be better-fitting at the waist and, overall, more appropriate for African-American physiques. Cross Colors’ Carl Jones, impressed with what he saw at a fashion show, took Kani under his wing – establishing Kani’s brand as its own division and helping expand its distribution into boutiques, chains and, in 1992, into many of Macy’s stores.”

1989
Other
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First Best Rap Video Award

The MTV Video Music Awards show adds an award for Best Rap Video this year, with DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince winning the inaugural award for the video for their hit song “Parents Just Don’t Understand”.

Related
Timelines

’60s & ’70s

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