Coke La Rock
Encyclopedia
Coke La Rock is an old school
New York City rapper who is often credited as being the first MC
in the history of hip-hop.
In November, 2010, Coke La Rock was inducted into the High Times Counterculture Hall of Fame
at the annual ceremonies at the Cannabis Cup
in Amsterdam. He was born on April 24, 1955.
La Rock joined Kool Herc for his first party, in 1973, to celebrate Herc's sister Cindy's birthday. It wasn't until about the fifth or sixth party that he took the name Coke La Rock. The name came to him in a dream. Before that time, he had no name and did his rapping out of sight from the audience, so no one knew who was doing the rapping. His original raps were usually shout-outs to friends, but gradually the poetry emerged. He originated such phrases as "You rock and you don't stop" and "Hotel, motel, you don't tell, we won't tell" (which was immortalized on the first Sugarhill Gang single Rapper's Delight
although La Rock received no credit.
La Rock's raps were always purely improvisational, unlike those of later 70s-era rap groups—such as the Furious Five L Brothers Funky Four and Cold Crush Brothers ; who wrote down and also rehearsed their rhymes and created elaborate routines. According to La Rock, while rapping "at first I would just call out [my friends'] names. Then I pretended dudes had double-parked cars; that was to impress the girls. Truthfully, I wasn’t there to rap, I was just playing around."
Nonetheless, La Rock's raps (which were very much in the Jamaican tradition of "toasting") would, as with much else at Kool Herc's parties in the mid-1970s, serve as a basic model for other hip-hop artists that would come onto the Bronx music scene by the end of the decade. La Rock himself has argued, in a reference to two pioneering New York City narcotics dealers, that "me and Herc were to hip-hop what Nicky Barnes and Frank Lucas
were to drugs."
Gary Harris, an employee of the first hip-hop record label, Sugar Hill
, noted that "people respected Herc and Coke, but by the early eighties those guys were like specters—they just weren’t visible on the scene anymore." In contrast to other early Bronx hip-hop artists like Afrika Bambaataa
and Grandmaster Flash
, Coke La Rock—like his partner Kool Herc—never achieved any recording success (indeed he did not record at all). However late 2008 saw the release of what was deemed the first ever recording featuring La Rock—a song titled "Hello - Merry Christmas Baby!" which was released by Sedgwick & Cedar as part of a special holiday compilation to pay homage to the birthplace of hip-hop.
La Rock's place in hip-hop history was arguably immortalized in the legendary 1986 Boogie Down Productions
song "South Bronx" (the opening salvo of the so-called "Bridge Wars
") wherein KRS-One
raps:
Coke La Rock had no association with, nor relation to, KRS-One's DJ at the time, Scott La Rock
. Nor did Coke La Rock and another influential old-school MC, T La Rock
, know one another in the early days of hip-hop, and thus the name similarity is coincidental.
In 2010, at the 23rd High Times Cannabis Cup, Coke La Rock was inducted into the Counterculture Hall of Fame.
Old school hip hop
Old school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music , and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended . Old school hip hop is said to end around 1983 or 1984 with the emergence of Run–D.M.C., the first new school hip hop group...
New York City rapper who is often credited as being the first MC
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
in the history of hip-hop.
In November, 2010, Coke La Rock was inducted into the High Times Counterculture Hall of Fame
Counterculture Hall of Fame
The Counterculture Hall of Fame was created in 1997 by High Times Editor Steven Hager. The purpose of the Hall of Fame was to help focus ceremonies at the annual Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, and to celebrate the history of the counterculture by recognizing its saints. The inductions are done in...
at the annual ceremonies at the Cannabis Cup
Cannabis Cup
The High Times Cannabis Cup is the world’s preeminent Cannabis festival. Founded in 1987 by Steven Hager, the High Times Cannabis Cup takes place each November in Amsterdam. The event allows judges from around the world to sample and vote for their favorite marijuana strains...
in Amsterdam. He was born on April 24, 1955.
Kool Herc and La Rock
La Rock was a friend and musical partner of DJ Kool Herc, who himself is generally considered to have laid down the foundation for hip-hop music starting in 1973. Although it has been written that La Rock comes from Jamaica, in reality his parents were from North Carolina.La Rock joined Kool Herc for his first party, in 1973, to celebrate Herc's sister Cindy's birthday. It wasn't until about the fifth or sixth party that he took the name Coke La Rock. The name came to him in a dream. Before that time, he had no name and did his rapping out of sight from the audience, so no one knew who was doing the rapping. His original raps were usually shout-outs to friends, but gradually the poetry emerged. He originated such phrases as "You rock and you don't stop" and "Hotel, motel, you don't tell, we won't tell" (which was immortalized on the first Sugarhill Gang single Rapper's Delight
Rapper's Delight
"Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 single by American hip hop trio The Sugarhill Gang. While it was not the first single to feature rapping, it is generally considered to be the song that first popularized hip hop in the United States and around the world. The song's opening lyric "I said a hip hop, a...
although La Rock received no credit.
La Rock's raps were always purely improvisational, unlike those of later 70s-era rap groups—such as the Furious Five L Brothers Funky Four and Cold Crush Brothers ; who wrote down and also rehearsed their rhymes and created elaborate routines. According to La Rock, while rapping "at first I would just call out [my friends'] names. Then I pretended dudes had double-parked cars; that was to impress the girls. Truthfully, I wasn’t there to rap, I was just playing around."
Nonetheless, La Rock's raps (which were very much in the Jamaican tradition of "toasting") would, as with much else at Kool Herc's parties in the mid-1970s, serve as a basic model for other hip-hop artists that would come onto the Bronx music scene by the end of the decade. La Rock himself has argued, in a reference to two pioneering New York City narcotics dealers, that "me and Herc were to hip-hop what Nicky Barnes and Frank Lucas
Frank Lucas (drug lord)
Frank Lucas is a former U.S. heroin dealer and organized crime boss who operated in Harlem during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was particularly known for cutting out middlemen in the drug trade and buying heroin directly from his source in the Golden Triangle...
were to drugs."
Decline in popularity and later years
After Kool Herc was stabbed at a party, La Rock went looking to kill the perpetrator, who was part of the Executive Playhouse crew. He found the man's friends in a Bronx pool hall, but they had already moved their friend down south to avoid a confrontation. After this incident, La Rock decided to step away from hip hop and let the younger generation move in. Since he'd had a long run lasting several years of being on top of the Bronx hip hop scene, La Rock didn't want to continue if murder was going to continue to be part of the game. Also his son, Dante La Rock, had just been born, and he needed to spend more time at home.Gary Harris, an employee of the first hip-hop record label, Sugar Hill
Sugar Hill Records (rap)
Sugar Hill Records was the name of a rap music record label that was founded in 1979 by husband and wife Joe and Sylvia Robinson with Milton Malden and financial funding of Morris Levy, the owner of Roulette Records.-History:...
, noted that "people respected Herc and Coke, but by the early eighties those guys were like specters—they just weren’t visible on the scene anymore." In contrast to other early Bronx hip-hop artists like Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
and Grandmaster Flash
Grandmaster Flash
Joseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....
, Coke La Rock—like his partner Kool Herc—never achieved any recording success (indeed he did not record at all). However late 2008 saw the release of what was deemed the first ever recording featuring La Rock—a song titled "Hello - Merry Christmas Baby!" which was released by Sedgwick & Cedar as part of a special holiday compilation to pay homage to the birthplace of hip-hop.
La Rock's place in hip-hop history was arguably immortalized in the legendary 1986 Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions was a hip hop group that was originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the...
song "South Bronx" (the opening salvo of the so-called "Bridge Wars
The Bridge Wars
The Bridge Wars was a hip hop rivalry during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, that arose from a dispute over the true birthplace of hip hop music and retaliation over the rejecting of a record for airplay. The Bridge Wars originally involved The South Bronx's Boogie Down Productions, led by...
") wherein KRS-One
KRS-One
Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
raps:
Now way back in the days when hip-hop began
With Coco La Rock, Kool Herc, and then BamAfrika BambaataaAfrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
Coke La Rock had no association with, nor relation to, KRS-One's DJ at the time, Scott La Rock
Scott La Rock
Scott "La Rock" Sterling was the original DJ of the hip hop group Boogie Down Productions.-BDP:Sterling, a social worker, met rapper KRS-One in 1986 at the Franklin Men's Shelter in the Bronx where KRS lived. The pair, together with DJ D-Nice, formed Boogie Down Productions...
. Nor did Coke La Rock and another influential old-school MC, T La Rock
T La Rock
Clarence "Terry" Ronnie Keaton , known by the stage name T La Rock, is an American old-school emcee best known for his collaboration with Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin and the 1984 single "It's Yours." He disappeared from the hip hop scene after a traumatic brain injury in 1994, but as...
, know one another in the early days of hip-hop, and thus the name similarity is coincidental.
In 2010, at the 23rd High Times Cannabis Cup, Coke La Rock was inducted into the Counterculture Hall of Fame.