HIP HOP HURRAY

I've noticed that I haven't put too much rap or hip-hop on this blog to date. It's not like I don't care for it but to be perfectly honest, it's just not what gets me going. Perhaps it's the superficial, homophobic or misogynistic messages in a lot of the music or maybe it's just my age. But what I have always responded to is beautiful voices singing and get less excited over hearing someone rhyming quickly over a beat. When it first hit the airwaves, many thought it was nothing more than a passing fad (myself included) but that became very far from the case. The influence of rap/hip-hop over music today is quite unexpected and very impressive.

Now, having saying all that, there have been plenty of rap/hip-hop tunes that I have thoroughly enjoyed over the years, so this post is in honor of some of the early pioneers of the art form known as rap. Here is just a small selection of my favorite tunes. (sure, some of these might be considered sexist and just plain ridiculous but that doesn't mean they aren't fun or clever):

SUGARHILL GANG

"Rapper's Delight" - Sugarhill Gang (1979)

KURTIS BLOW

"The Breaks" - Kurtis Blow (1980)

ROCK MASTER SCOTT & THE DYNAMIC THREE

"The Roof is On Fire" - Rock Master Scott & The Dynamic Three (1984)

RUN DMC

"You Talk Too Much" - Run DMC (1985)

JJ FAD

"Supersonic" - JJ Fad (1988)

2 LIVE CREW

"Me So Horny" - 2 Live Crew (1989)

YOUNG MC

"Bust A Move" - Young MC (1989)

PUBLIC ENEMY

"Fight The Power" - Public Enemy (1990)