For much of the afternoon, Bas - the Oakland native who’s worked with Digital Underground and released his own solo records - has schooled me on the origins of the Bay Area hip-hop sound.īas lists numerous rappers from the ’80s, and not just Todd “Too Short” Shaw, the East Oakland rapper who famously hustled homemade cassette tapes. It’s a wintry January evening when Bas-1 brings me to Del the Funky Homosapien’s house in the East Bay. (Clockwise from top left: Too Short, MC Hammer, Dominique DiPrima, Club Nouveau, and Motorcycle Mike.) (Steve Ringman/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images SFSU Television Archives Raymond Boyd/Getty Images Hodisk Records)Įditor’s note: This story is part of That’s My Word, KQED’s year-long exploration of Bay Area hip-hop history, with new content dropping all throughout 2023. The Bay Area’s bass-heavy sound would arrive at the end of the decade. Fresh, Just-Ice, Heavy D and Public Enemy (Chuck D & Flavor Flav).In the mid-1980s, after years of street dance, DJing and graffiti sharing equal space, rapping took center stage. Melodie), Stetsasonic (Delite, Daddy-O, Wise, and Frukwan), Kool Moe Dee, MC Lyte, Doug E. “ Self-Destruction” was produced by KRS-One and D-Nice of Boogie Down Productions (Hank Shocklee of the Bomb Squad is credited as an associate producer), and featured Boogie Down Productions (KRS-One, D-Nice & Ms. Composed of some of the biggest stars in contemporary East Coast Hip Hop, the movement released this single. KRS-One responded to these deaths by forming the Stop the Violence Movement to advance a vision of Hip Hop that would restore what he called Hip Hop’s original principles to the music industry. The killing occurred shortly after Scott La Rock, a founding member of Boogie Down Productions, was killed in a shooting. Remember the days Hip Hop was all about consciousness and improvement? In 1988, during a concert by Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy, a young fan was killed in a fight. Stop The Violence Movement - Self Destruction (1989) There are many disco influences in the music – the groove was taken from “Good Times” by Chic – but the raps are classic and served as a template for how emceeing could actually be done on a record.įun fact: the whole song was recorded in one take. And despite the controversy surrounding it (also about who actually wrote the lyrics don’t forget Grandmaster Caz’s uncredited contributions) – the song became a huge hit around the world. Because the song was performed by three ‘studio rappers’ who hadn’t been among the ones who pioneered Hip Hop on the Bronx streets, this song was initially dismissed by some.īe that as it may – “Rappers Delight” was the first (or actually the second … ) Hip Hop song that was released as a single. As early as 1979 the discussion about the difference between commercial ‘sell-out’ / pop-rap and real Hip Hop was prevalent. Released in 1979, so technically not an eighties track – but included here anyway because of its undeniable significance and influence, even if it could be (and has been) argued that this song was not a natural continuation of the Hip Hop movement that had been building underground.
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