Rap old school - Do you remember those guys?
Rap old school... Whenever most people hear this term, they think of the mid 80s-90s. A hip-hop fan who is in their teens or twenties might think of LL Cool J, Run-D.M.C and their likes who were big in the mid-80s as old school rappers.
Well, they certainly had a very different rhyming style from Eminem, Jay-Z and other rap stars of the 2000s.
However, old school rap isn't Run-D.M.C. or LL Cool J - those artists were part of hip-hop's second wave, and they didn't become popular until 1984.
Well, actually old skool rap dates all the way to 1979. It all started by the real Daddies of rap such as Sugarhill Gang (Rapper's Delight ), U.T.F.O. (Roxanne Roxanne), Whodini (Freaks Come Out At Night), Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, the Treacherous Three, Afrika Bambaataa, The Sequence, Blondie and Kool DJ Herc.
Do these names ring any bells? :)
Old school rap playlist
Few old school rap tracks to refresh your memory
| Track | Artist | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fight for Your Right | Beastie Boys | Licensed to Ill | |
| Rapper's Delight | The Sugarhill Gang | The Essentials: The Sugarhill Gang | |
| The Message | Grandmaster Flash | Rhino Hi-Five: Grandmaster Flash - EP | |
| F**k tha Police | N.W.A. | 'Straight Outta Compton' | |
| White Lines (Long Version) | Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel & The Furious Five | The Best of Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel & The Furious Five | |
| Don't Believe the Hype | Public Enemy | Power to the People & the Beats - Public Enemy's Greatest Hits | |
| Straight Outta Compton | N.W.A. | 'Straight Outta Compton' | |
| He Got Game | Public Enemy | He Got Game | |
| If I Ruled the World | Kurtis Blow | Funk Essentials: The Best of Kurtis Blow | |
| It's Like That | Run-DMC | Run-DMC | |
| It's Tricky | Run-DMC | Discover Run DMC - EP | |
| Basketball | Kurtis Blow | Funk Essentials: The Best of Kurtis Blow | |
| Old School Mega Mix | Old School Players | The Best of Old School Players | |
| You Be Illin' | Run-DMC | Run-DMC: Greatest Hits | |
| 8 Million Stories | Kurtis Blow | Funk Essentials: The Best of Kurtis Blow | |
| Tootsie Roll | Old School Players | Party Rap Hits | |
| I Get The Job Done | Big Daddy Kane | Old School Rap |
So when and where was old school rap born?
The birthplace of old skool rap was New York City - Harlem and the South Bronx.1976 - Kurtis Blow starts his first club gigs
1977 - Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five begin working together .
1979 - Sugarhill Gang ( who are actually from New Jersey) release their first single "Rappers Delight" which became a huge hit
- Grandmaster Flash release "Superappin'"
- Kurtis Blow releases "Christmas Rapping". He becomes the first rapper to sign with a major label ( Mercury/ PolyGram)
1980 - Blow has a second huge hit "The Breaks" which reaches number 4 on
Billboard's R&B singles chart. First certified gold record for rap.
Gotta have this CLASSIC T-shirt!
HOTEL MOTEL....
Old school beats - What was first hip hop like?
Old school lyrics were fun and silly and similar to disco. Rappers spent a lot of time boasting on the mic about their rhyming skills and attacking their rival rappers ("sucker MCs" ) but it was all quite innocent. The main focus was good times, parties and friendship.And then "The Message" came along....
GrandMaster Flash - The Message
Old school rap evolves...
It's lyrics were of the socio-political nature, talking about all the problems and the reality of the city.
Rats in the front room, roaches in the back
Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat
I tried to get away, but I couldn't get far
Cause the man with the tow-truck repossessed my car..
Suddenly, rap was not so silly any longer. The Message paved the way for the second wave rappers such as Ice-T, Run-D.M.C and Public Enemy.
Best Old School Rapper
1982 was a year of transition for hip-hop...
Buy at AllPosters.com
So, 1982 was a year of transition for hip-hop - the old school era was reaching the end, and rap's second wave was getting ready to take over. Whodini (one of the most popular second wave rap groups) recorded their first album in 1982, and the success of Run-D.M.C., L.L. Cool J and the Fat Boys was just around the corner.
In 1985 and 1986, those artists were considered cutting edge, and pioneers like Flash and Kurtis Blow were going out of fashion.
One of the few old school rappers who was still considered cutting edge in the mid- to late '80s was Kool Moe Dee, who went solo after the breakup of the Treacherous Three.
![XMas Rap [Un-Censored] [Explicit]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IXxR8DM2L._SL75_.jpg)
Movies featuring Old Skool rappers
There are so many but these are the absolute CLASSICS!
2 Pac - What a legend, hey!
RIP
I could not write about hip hop and not mention Pac. This talented rapper has sold over 75 million albums to date and is one of the best-selling music artists in the world. His lyrics were about racism, violence and hardship in ghettos, corruption, social injustice, poverty and other problems in society.You listen to his albums and you can't help but feel his pain and passion. At the same time, he gives you such upbeat and feel-good tracks like "California Love" and makes you want to go out and party.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Here are some of 2Pac's achievements:
MTV ranked him at #2 on their list of The Greatest MCs of All Time
He was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame in 2002.
In 2004, at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors Shakur was honored along with Kool DJ Herc, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C., Rock Steady Crew, and Sugarhill Gang.
A Vibe magazine poll in 2004 rated Shakur "the greatest rapper of all time" as voted by fans.
At the First Annual Turks & Caicos International Film Festival held on October 17, 2006, Shakur was honored for his undeniable voice and talent and as a performer who crossed racial, ethnic, cultural and medium lines;
In 2008, the The National Association Of Recording Merchandisers in conjunction with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recognized him as a very influential artist and has added him in their Definitive 200 list
2Pac's greatest album : All Eyez on Me
In June 1998 it was certified 9x platinum by the RIAA.
Hip Hop is dead according to NAS
Is Hip Hop dead?
It's 2 am and I am about to finish this lens... It's been such a trip down memory lane...
Remembering and writing about all these great rappers reminded me how meaningful and deep the hip hop music used to be...
These days you turn on MTV and most of the hip hop songs you hear are so empty and meaningless. They don't inspire, they don't get under your skin, they don't make you think or question or dream...
Old skool rappers rapped for the people, but today hip hopers rap for their record companies, because the money rules the world...
Maybe I am wrong... Perhaps, the era has changed and we, consumers, have changed and our music had to evolve too?
Simple as that?
Is Hip Hop dead?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byYes
No
UpJumps says:
Hell no HipHop ain't dead! If all you do is listen to commercial radio and watch MTV you might think that. It's out there, it ain't never went no where. I was just at a B-boy jam last night! So don't try to tell me HipHop's dead...
Posted dicembre 16, 2010
Hip Hop Table of Elements on your Tee!
Pretty cool, ha!
Do your miss good old skool rap? Was this lens a trip down memory lane?
Have your say!
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UpJumps
Dec 16, 2010 @ 7:28 pm | delete
- Nice lens! Old School is where it's at! But don't get it twisted...Sugarhill Gang was a disco group that did a rap song that stole the lyrics from another rapper. Original HipHop is dope but we can't front on the new school...these kids today have taken emceeing to a whole 'nother level. Turn off the radio and check the underground. PEACE!
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ajsphotographic Sep 24, 2010 @ 9:36 am | delete
- Nice lens, some good info and songs on here.
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bigtomisin
May 30, 2010 @ 12:05 pm | delete
- check out the post here of kool Herc. its sweet. http://detourproduction.com/the-true-school-park-jam-series/
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Jayjamm
Oct 24, 2009 @ 8:15 pm | delete
- Good info keep up the good work
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a_willow
Oct 13, 2009 @ 4:56 pm | delete
- Oh, have to show this to my husband! He'll have a blast!
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puzzlemaker
Oct 13, 2009 @ 2:25 pm | delete
- OMGosh I haven't heard Rapper's Delight in many many years. I still know it though. I much prefer the old school even the 2nd generation. The new rappers are just riding the coat tails of the original sound. Excellent look back in time about the birth of rap to the present.
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Oct 13, 2009 @ 7:35 am | delete
- Cool lens! :) 5*
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Lyrics Libs!
by irbit
Rap old school will be in our hearts and souls forever...
I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane...
HOTEL MOTEL....
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