Old school hip hop (occasionally referred to as Old Skool) describes the earliest commercially recorded
hip hop musicHip hop music is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, and is commonly based on concepts of loop, rapping, freestyle, DJing, scratching, sampling and beatboxing. The music is used to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues...
(1979–1984), and by extension the music in the period preceding it (
see Roots balls hip hop). The image, styles and sounds of the old school were exemplified by figures like Kool Herc,
Afrika BambaataaAfrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, 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 "Godfather" and The Amen Ra of...
,
The Sugarhill GangThe Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop group, known mostly for their biggest hit, "Rapper's Delight", the first hip hop single recorded to become a Top 40 hit. The song uses the instrumental track from "Good Times" by Chic as its foundation....
, Spoonie G, The Treacherous Three,
Funky Four Plus OneFunky Four Plus One was the first Hip-Hop/Rap group from The Bronx, New York, United States to receive a recording deal. They were notable for having a female MC, and were the first rap group to perform live on a national television broadcast...
, Curtis Blow, Fab 5 Freddy and
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious FiveGrandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was a highly influential American hip-hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. Composed of one DJ and five rappers Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was a highly influential American hip-hop group formed in the South Bronx of New...
. This was later sent into decline with the advent of
new schoolThe new school of hip hop was a second wave of recorded hip hop music starting 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D.M.C. and LL Cool J. Like the hip hop preceding it, it came predominately from New York City. The new school was initially characterized in form by drum machine led minimalism,...
acts like
Run-D.M.C.Run-D.M.C. was a hip hop group from Hollis, in the Queens borough of New York City. Founded by Joseph "DJ Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell, the group is arguably one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop. They were the biggest act in...
,
the Fat BoysThe Fat Boys, originally known as The Disco 3, were an American hip-hop music trio from Brooklyn, New York City, that emerged in the early 1980s.-Former Members:*Mark Morales a.k.a. "Prince Markie Dee"...
and
LL Cool JJames Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J, is an American rapper and actor. LL Cool J stands for "Ladies Love Cool James." He is known for romantic ballads such as "I Need Love", "Around the Way Girl" and "Hey Lover" as well as pioneering hip-hop such as "I Can't Live Without My Radio", "I'm...
, with these latter acts now themselves often considered old school as we move further away in time from their initial impact.
History
Hip hop music began in the early 1970s in New York City with the advent of
breakbeatBreakbeat is a term used to describe a collection of sub-genres of electronic music, usually characterized by the use of a non-straightened 4/4 drum pattern...
DJing. Kool DJ Herc,
Grandmaster FlashJoseph Saddler better known as Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing. He is also a nephew to the great Former Feather Weight Champion of the World, the late Sandy Saddler...
,
Afrika BambaataaAfrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, 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 "Godfather" and The Amen Ra of...
and other DJs extended the
breakIn popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section or interlude during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece....
s (short percussion interludes) of
funkFunk is an American music genre that originated in the late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
records. This use of extended percussion breaks led to the development of mixing and scratching techniques. As hip hop's popularity grew, performers began speaking while the music played, and became known as
MCs or
emcees. Melle Mel, a rapper in the group Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five was the first to call himself "MC". Performers often emceed for hours at a time, with some improvisation and a simple four-count beat and basic chorus. MCs grew more varied in their vocal and rhythmic approach, incorporating brief rhymes, often with a theme. These early raps had precursors and parallels in other aspects of African American culture, such as
the dozensThe dozens is an element of the African American oral tradition in which two competitors, usually males, go head-to-head in a improvised competition of often good-natured, ribald trash talk. They take turns insulting—cracking, West Coast dissin'", or ranking on—one another, their adversary's mother...
and
signifyingSignifyin is a practice in African American culture, involving a verbal strategy of indirection that exploits the gap between the denotative and figurative meanings of words.-Origin and features:...
. During this early stage were prominent rap groups such as
Funky Four Plus OneFunky Four Plus One was the first Hip-Hop/Rap group from The Bronx, New York, United States to receive a recording deal. They were notable for having a female MC, and were the first rap group to perform live on a national television broadcast...
, who performed "That's the Joint" on Saturday Night Live in 1981.
(see Roots of hip hop music).
First steps towards commercialization
The first steps towards the commercialization of hip hop came with the release of what are usually called the first two commercially issued hip hop recordings: "
King Tim III (Personality Jock)"King Tim III " is a 1979 song by the Fatback Band from the disco album XII. Released on July 25, 1979, several weeks before "Rapper's Delight" , this song is often cited as the beginning of recorded hip hop...
" by the
Fatback BandThe Fatback Band is an American funk and disco band. Most popular in the 1970s and 1980s, The Fatback Band is most known for their Top Ten R&B hits, " Spanish Hustle", "I Like Girls", "Gotta Get My Hands on Some ", and "Backstrokin'"...
, and "
Rapper's Delight"Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 single by American hip hop trio The Sugarhill Gang. While it was not the first song to feature rapping, it is the first song made by a hip hop or rap group, and is generally considered to be the first true hip hop release, followed closely by Grandmaster Flash & the...
" by
The Sugarhill GangThe Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop group, known mostly for their biggest hit, "Rapper's Delight", the first hip hop single recorded to become a Top 40 hit. The song uses the instrumental track from "Good Times" by Chic as its foundation....
. "King Tim III" is considered technically the earliest recorded hip hop song: this is however a contentious statement as there were numerous tracks released in 1978 and 1979 by various artists. It was the Sugarhill Gang that won hip hop its first mainstream popularity. Though neither the Fatback Band nor the Sugarhill Gang had significant roots in the DJ culture, "Rapper's Delight" became a Top 40 hit on the U.S.
Billboard pop singles chartThe Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. After the releases of follow ups by acts such as
Kurtis BlowCurtis Walker , is better known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is one of the first commercially successful rappers and the first to sign with a major label...
("
The BreaksThe Breaks is a 1999 comedy film written by and starring Mitch Mullany and directed by Eric Meza. The plot involves a day in the life of Derrick King, an Irish kid raised by a black family in Los Angeles, as he is kicked out of his house and suffers various other mishaps before eventually helping a...
"),
The SequenceThe Sequence is a former female old school hip hop trio signed to the Sugar Hill label in the early-1980s. The group consisted of Cheryl Cook , Gwendolyn Chisolm , and lead singer/rapper Angie Brown Stone...
("Funk You Up"), and
Grandmaster FlashJoseph Saddler better known as Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing. He is also a nephew to the great Former Feather Weight Champion of the World, the late Sandy Saddler...
& the Furious Five ("Freedom"), hip hop was pegged as a successful, yet temporary, trend in music. Later in 1981,
BlondieBlondie is an American rock band founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American new wave and punk rock scenes of the mid 1970s...
released their hit single "
Rapture"Rapture" is a single by the American new wave band Blondie. It was released in January 1981 and became one of the first substantial hit singles to involve rap music, and the first rap-influenced single to reach number one on the US Billboard Chart...
" which helped to bring hip hop to a wider audience. At that time, the hip hop culture also received attention from the media, as exemplified in such films as
Wild Style (1982)Wild Style was the first hip hop motion picture. Released independently in 1982 by First Run Features and later re-released for home video by Rhino Home Video, the movie featured actors like Fab Five Freddy, Lee Quinones, the Rock Steady Crew, The Cold Crush Brothers, Patti Astor, Sandra Fabara and...
,
Style Wars (1983)Style Wars is an early documentary on hip hop culture, made by Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant, made in New York City in 1983. The film has an emphasis on graffiti, although breakdancing and rapping are covered to a lesser extent...
and
Beat Street (1984)Beat Street is a 1984 mainstream hip hop dramatic feature film, following Wild Style in featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s; break dancing, DJing, and graffiti.-Synopsis:...
.
Musical characteristics and themes
Old school hip hop would often sample
discoDisco is a genre of dance music that that had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, psychedelic and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
and
funkFunk is an American music genre that originated in the late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
tracks such as "Good Times" by
ChicChic may refer to:* Chic , chic meaning stylish or smart* Chic , a thoroughbred racehorse* Chic , an American music group popular in the disco era* Chic , the 1977 debut album of the band Chic...
. However the use of funk samples went into a decline from 1983 onwards. A live band was often used, as in the case of The Sugarhill Gang. The use of extended percussion breaks led to the development of mixing and scratching techniques. Scratching was pioneered by
Grand Wizard TheodoreGrand Wizzard Theodore is an American hip hop DJ. He is widely credited as the inventor of scratching....
in 1977, and the technique was further developed by other prominent DJs such as
Grandmaster FlashJoseph Saddler better known as Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing. He is also a nephew to the great Former Feather Weight Champion of the World, the late Sandy Saddler...
. One example includes
Grandmaster FlashJoseph Saddler better known as Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing. He is also a nephew to the great Former Feather Weight Champion of the World, the late Sandy Saddler...
's "Adventures on the Wheels of Steel", which was composed entirely from sampled tracks. However very few tracks contained significant scratching techniques prior to 1981. In contrast with the later rhymes of
new school hip hopThe new school of hip hop was a second wave of recorded hip hop music starting 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D.M.C. and LL Cool J. Like the hip hop preceding it, it came predominately from New York City. The new school was initially characterized in form by drum machine led minimalism,...
, old school rap was relatively simple in its rhythms and cadences.
"The Message"
Old school rap was often focused on good times, parties and friendship. An exception was the socially orientated song "
The Message"The Message" is an old school hip hop song by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Sugar Hill Records released it as a single in 1982 and it was later featured on an album named The Message....
", which was written by
Melle MelMelvin Glover , also known by his stage name Grandmaster Mele Mel, and formerly Grandmaster Melle Mel, is an American hip-hop musician — one of the pioneers of old school hip hop as lead rapper and main songwriter for Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five.-Biography:Melvin Glover was the first...
for his hip hop group,
Grandmaster Flash and The Furious FiveGrandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was a highly influential American hip-hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. Composed of one DJ and five rappers Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was a highly influential American hip-hop group formed in the South Bronx of New...
. The popularity of "The Message" led conscious rap to gain a place in the hip hop canon.
Diversification
During the 1980s, hip hop began to diversify and develop. From the mid 1980s,
gangsta rapGangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop that reflects the violent lifestyles of some inner-city youths. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word gangster. The genre was pioneered in the mid 1980s by rappers such as Schooly D and Ice T, and was popularized in the later part of the 1980s by...
became prominent in the West Coast and East Coast, with groups such as N.W.A and
Ice TTracy Marrow , better known by his stage name Ice-T, is a Grammy Award- and NAACP Image Award-winning American rapper, actor and author. He is credited with helping to pioneer gangsta rap, a sub-genre of hip hop music, in the late 1980s...
. Hip hop also fused with elements of electro, pioneered by the work of
Afrika BambaataaAfrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, 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 "Godfather" and The Amen Ra of...
. Some rappers even became mainstream pop performers, including
Kurtis BlowCurtis Walker , is better known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is one of the first commercially successful rappers and the first to sign with a major label...
, whose appearance in a
SpriteSprite is a transparent, lemon-lime flavored, caffeine free soft drink, produced by the Coca-Cola Company. It was introduced in the United States in 1961. This was Coke's response to the popularity of 7 Up, which had begun as "Lithiated Lemon" in 1929. It comes in a primarily silver, green, and...
commercial in 1986 made him the first hip hop musician to be considered mainstream enough to represent a major product.
The Fat BoysThe Fat Boys, originally known as The Disco 3, were an American hip-hop music trio from Brooklyn, New York City, that emerged in the early 1980s.-Former Members:*Mark Morales a.k.a. "Prince Markie Dee"...
also starred in two movies, and were sponsored by Pepsi, Swatch, Louis Vuitton, and Sbarro.. RUN-DMC also starred in two movies, lending a role to the fat boys in the film 'Krush Groove'