Early Stages
The earlist routes that can be traced in hip hop can go back as early as the 50's because of the style of dancing and normality of making poems and reading them over a beat. But it wasn't till In the 1970s, an underground urban movement known as "Hip Hop" began to develop in the South Bronx in New York City. It focused on emceeing (or MCing), breakbeats, and house parties. ... Jamaican-born DJ Clive "Kool Herc" Campbell was highly influential in the pioneering stage of hip hop music. Clive Campbell, laid the first building block of hip-hop down in 1973. That was when he reportedly hosted a party in his building at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue with a sound system, or sound equipment used to DJ a party. In 1974, Influenced by Kool Herc, hip-hop pioneers Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash and Grandmaster Caz start DJing at house and street parties across the Bronx.Bambaataa forms the Universal Zulu Nation, a socially conscious collective of DJs, graffiti artists and breakdancers that included the b-boy crew the Shaka Zulu Kings. He defines the “four elements” of the nascent hip-hop scene as DJing, breakdancing, graffiti art and MCing. In 1977 hip hop spreads beyond the bronx into all five burroughs of New York City. Meanwhile, disco continues to dominate the radio airwaves and the club scene. More rappers begin performing as Mc'ing starts to eclipse dj'ing. Graffiti became a popoularity amongst New Yorkers. 1979 Record label owner Sylvia Robinson assembles the Sugar Hill Gang, who record the first commercial rap recording, “Rapper’s Delight.” Written by Grandmaster Caz and featuring a sample from the disco act Chic, it exposes many Americans to hip-hop for the first time. Kurtis Blow, managed by Russell Simmons, becomes the first rapper to sign with a major label. He releases “Christmas Rappin” on Mercury Records.Hip-hop further enters the mainstream with Mr. Magic’s Rap Attack, a new Saturday night radio show on New Jersey radio station WHBI.Wendy Clark, a.k.a. Lady B, one of hip-hop’s first well-known female artists, releases “To the Beat Y’All.”
1980's- The Rise To Radio
1980, Kurtis Blow releases his best-selling album The Breaks and is the first rapper to appear on national TV, performing on Soul Train.Hip-hop meets art pop as the New York scene extends downtown and rappers and b-boys mingle with the white club scene. After meeting hip-hop scenester Fab 5 Freddy, the new wave act Blondie records “Rapture,” featuring singer Debbie Harry rapping and continuing hip-hop’s journey into the mainstream. 1981, Captain Rapp and Disco Daddy release “Gigolo Rap,” the first West Coast rap record.The Rock Steady Crew and Dynamic Rockers battle—at Lincoln Center.20/20 airs the first TV news feature story on “the rap phenomenon.” 1982 The first international hip-hop concert tour, featuring Afrika Bambaataa, Fab 5 Freddy and the Double Dutch Girls, goes to Europe, marking the start of hip-hop’s worldwide reach. 1983, Style Wars, the first PBS documentary on subway graffiti and hip-hop culture, airs. 1984, KDAY Los Angeles becomes the nation’s first rap-only radio station. Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin establish Def Jam records, operating the label out of Rubin’s NYU dorm room. 1986, un-D.M.C.’s hip-hop rendition of the Aerosmith classic “Walk This Way” cements hip-hop’s reach into mainstream media and MTV. Nominated for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Run-D.M.C. becomes the first rap group to be tapped for a Grammy.Eric B. and Rakim release Eric B. is President. Rakim’s skillful wordplay and articulate rhymes usher in a new era for hip-hop.
1990's from concious rap to gangsta rap
1990, Yo! MTV Raps goes on the air, further ushering hip-hop to a national television audience.L.A. group N.W.A. releases its first album, Straight Outta Compton. Telling stories about life on the mean streets of South Central, it popularizes West Coast gangsta rap. The controversial track “Fuck tha Police” earns the group an F.B.I. warning.MC Lyte releases her debut, Lyte as a Rock. She is one of the first female rappers to sign with a major record label.DJ Scott La Rock of Boogie Down Productions is shot and killed. His partner KRS-One vows to continue creating more socially conscious music.Power, Ice-T’s second album, is the first rap record to be slapped with a Parental Advisory warning label.
Afrika Bambaataa forms the Native Tongues Posse, part of a new movement towards positive, Afrocentric lyrics and “alternative” rap. Artists include Queen Latifah, a young New Jersey MC and the Jungle Brothers.
Public Enemy’s second album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, is released to critical acclaim and consumer success.1993, Staten Island’s the Wu Tang Clan release their popular debut, Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, reinvigorating the East Coast rap scene with their single “C.R.E.A.M.”Salt-N-Pepa’s Very Necessary is the best-selling album of all time by a female artist.Snoop Doggy Dogg’s long-anticipated DoggyStylebecomes the first debut album to enter the Billboard charts at number one, as Snoop is charged with second-degree murder.Sean “Puffy” Combs starts Bad Boy Entertainment, a record label run out of his apartment.1994,Atlanta’s Outkast releases its first album, marking a move away from coast-centric hip-hop.Notorious B.I.G.’s album Ready to Die features the single “Big Poppa” and garners publicity for Bad Boy Entertainment.Suge Knight insults Puffy on stage at the Source Awards, publicly sparking East versus West Coast tension between Bad Boy and Death Row Records.1995, After going public with his HIV status, N.W.A.’s Eazy-E dies of AIDS at the age of 31. Rapper Tupac signs on with Death Row after Suge Knight pays Tupac’s bail.Queen Latifah receives a Grammy for her hit single “U.N.I.T.Y.” 1996, “The Score,” the Fugees’ second release, combines hip-hop with R&B and reggae influences and becomes a bestseller.
Foxy Brown and Lil Kim release debut albums with lyrics promoting female sexuality.
After leaving a Mike Tyson fight in Las Vegas, a car containing Suge Knight and Tupac Shakur is shot at. Tupac dies from his wounds days later, on September 13.1997, The so-called East-versus-West Coast feud is stepped up on March 9, when Notorious B.I.G. is shot and killed in a drive-by shooting after leaving a party for the Soul Train Music Awards in L.A.Days after his death, the Notorious B.I.G.’s album Life After Death is released and becomes the best-selling hip-hop album of all time Rapper Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott releases her acclaimed debut, Supa Dupa Fly No Limit label owner Master P releases Ghetto D, sparking opportunities for New Orleans gangsta rappers.Jay-Z’s popularity skyrockets with the release of his third album, Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life. Puerto Rican rapper Big Punisher releases his debut, Capital Punishment, and is the first Hispanic MC with a platinum album. Eminem’s The Slim Shady is released on Dr. Dre’s Aftermath label and fast becomes a Billboard chart-topper Forbes magazine’s “Top Moneymakers in Entertainment” list includes Russell Simmons, Master P and Puff Daddy. Puffy’s new clothing label and restaurant chain further cement his status as a hip-hop celeb.
White rock outfits such as Korn and Limp Bizkit combine rap with aggro rock to mainstream radio success.
Afrika Bambaataa forms the Native Tongues Posse, part of a new movement towards positive, Afrocentric lyrics and “alternative” rap. Artists include Queen Latifah, a young New Jersey MC and the Jungle Brothers.
Public Enemy’s second album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, is released to critical acclaim and consumer success.1993, Staten Island’s the Wu Tang Clan release their popular debut, Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, reinvigorating the East Coast rap scene with their single “C.R.E.A.M.”Salt-N-Pepa’s Very Necessary is the best-selling album of all time by a female artist.Snoop Doggy Dogg’s long-anticipated DoggyStylebecomes the first debut album to enter the Billboard charts at number one, as Snoop is charged with second-degree murder.Sean “Puffy” Combs starts Bad Boy Entertainment, a record label run out of his apartment.1994,Atlanta’s Outkast releases its first album, marking a move away from coast-centric hip-hop.Notorious B.I.G.’s album Ready to Die features the single “Big Poppa” and garners publicity for Bad Boy Entertainment.Suge Knight insults Puffy on stage at the Source Awards, publicly sparking East versus West Coast tension between Bad Boy and Death Row Records.1995, After going public with his HIV status, N.W.A.’s Eazy-E dies of AIDS at the age of 31. Rapper Tupac signs on with Death Row after Suge Knight pays Tupac’s bail.Queen Latifah receives a Grammy for her hit single “U.N.I.T.Y.” 1996, “The Score,” the Fugees’ second release, combines hip-hop with R&B and reggae influences and becomes a bestseller.
Foxy Brown and Lil Kim release debut albums with lyrics promoting female sexuality.
After leaving a Mike Tyson fight in Las Vegas, a car containing Suge Knight and Tupac Shakur is shot at. Tupac dies from his wounds days later, on September 13.1997, The so-called East-versus-West Coast feud is stepped up on March 9, when Notorious B.I.G. is shot and killed in a drive-by shooting after leaving a party for the Soul Train Music Awards in L.A.Days after his death, the Notorious B.I.G.’s album Life After Death is released and becomes the best-selling hip-hop album of all time Rapper Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott releases her acclaimed debut, Supa Dupa Fly No Limit label owner Master P releases Ghetto D, sparking opportunities for New Orleans gangsta rappers.Jay-Z’s popularity skyrockets with the release of his third album, Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life. Puerto Rican rapper Big Punisher releases his debut, Capital Punishment, and is the first Hispanic MC with a platinum album. Eminem’s The Slim Shady is released on Dr. Dre’s Aftermath label and fast becomes a Billboard chart-topper Forbes magazine’s “Top Moneymakers in Entertainment” list includes Russell Simmons, Master P and Puff Daddy. Puffy’s new clothing label and restaurant chain further cement his status as a hip-hop celeb.
White rock outfits such as Korn and Limp Bizkit combine rap with aggro rock to mainstream radio success.
2000's Bestsellers and Bling
2000, Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP becomes an international hit and sparks controversy for its misogynistic and homophobic lyrics.Dr. Dre files a lawsuit against music download tool Napster for copyright infringement.The West Coast hip-hop scene welcomes the debut album from alternative rappers Jurassic 5 while the South heralds St. Louis rapper Nelly’s Country Grammar. 2002, Run-D.M.C.’s Jam Master Jay is shot and killed at the age of 37, murdered outside a New York recording studio.Eminem reaches epic stardom in his quasi-autobiographical film 8 Mile, which garners an Oscar nomination for its theme song, “Lose Yourself.”Albums from Blackalicious, Common and Talib Kwelirenew interest in more conscious hip-hop.2003, New York City hardcore rapper 50 Cent releases his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’ on Eminem’s Shady/Aftermath record label.The hip-hop generation’s consumer reach is fully realized as stars such as Nelly, 50 Cent, Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg market for companies such as Nike, Reebok and AOL.Jay-Z releases his swan song, The Black Album, and officially retires from making music to manage his other business ventures.The Dirty South continues to dominate hip-hop as crunk—a distinctly Southern hip-hop style featuring heavy bass and aggressive chanting—takes off.Jamaican dancehall star Sean Paul’s Dutty Rock is a bestseller, mixing hip-hop and reggae to breakthrough success.Outkast’s fifth release, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, is a two-album set that features separate recordings by the Andre 3000 and Big Boi and the year’s ubiquitous and crow. 2006, Three 6 Mafia’s “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from the movie Hustle & Flow wins an Oscar for Best Original Song and is the first rap song to be performed on the Academy Awards show.Releases from alternative rap favorites The Roots and Jurassic 5 exemplify hip-hop’s shift away from mainstream gangsta rap, as diverse hip-hop styles continue to flourish throughout the world.