Black Music Month: Hip Hop's 50 years of Good Times!!!

Top of the weekend my friends! Now before I conclude this last episode of our June Black Music month's legacy. Our focus will be on the 50th anniversary of Hop Hop. The "Museum of Hip Hop aka Rap" is now open in the Bronx Terminal Market. How did we get here? Please follow along....

I open with quote from one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time Dr Dre who said:

"How much do you want it. He continues "in the early days in studio " one of the first people that believed in me, the first person to invest in my talent was also the guy would argue with me all of the time in studio. But at the end of the day. We both realized that we were after the same goal and that was to make great music. I'm talking about Easy E". Did you see that coming? Remember everything that's bad that happens to you isn't always so bad.

For now Hip hop is a real money printing enterprise. Did you notice Swiss beats and Timberland cashed in on their hip hop game show battle. Look for their "versus" battles to debut on the website formerly known as Twitter. Guess what "X" has given them a sizable sum cash to be the home this hip hop competition battle.

And one more amazing thing, the Wu Tang Clan will perform "again" in Las Vegas in September. Hip hop is the new Rock and Roll. Funny how history always seems to repeat itself.

Next here's another unbelievable twist of fate. Chic's Nile Rodgers and his late bandmate Bernard Edwards both in photo above) Thet hold the record for the most sampled song in Hip Hop history with "Good Times". It all began with "Big Bank Hank" Jackson. "Wonder Mike" Wright and "Master Gee" O'Brien who collectively are known as The Sugarhill Gang from Harlem and Englewood New Jersey.

It would be the first Hip Hop (Rap song) that became a Top 40 hit n the United States. Yet add Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, The United Kingdom and West Germany. our favorite music was doing a new thing!! Shout out to the "Holiday Inn" where you take her friend!! Remeber?

Anyway Hip Hop is a snapshot of life as it really is on the streets. A grave protest song that empathizes with the effects of injustice. Reportedly the first DJ to answer this clarion call. was Kool Herc (Clive Campbell). Never heard of him? Well he's a Jamaican immigrant who was reportedly the first major hip-hop DJ. Whose party on August 11, 1973, introduced the technique of playing the same album on two turntables and extending the drum section (which became known as the breakbeat). Many recognize this night as the night hip-hop born.

Other pioneering hip-hop deejays include Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash. The three men are often called the “melodious trinity” of the early hip-hop movement. The phenomenon of the street deejay caught on like wild fire nationally!

For instance, in Dallas/Ft Worth it was Dr Rock and his 4 turntable mega mix show. He married the mix with scratching to the beat it was the condiments of his hip hop presentation! Also adding to the Hip Hop battle royal with his arch rival Ushy. on various occasions. It was Big Fun!!! Hip Hop is a has always been us vs them. I would be remiss if I didn't include legendary and reigning Street maestro Dallas Scratch to that list of our party favorites.

Record and film producers began to capitalize on this fresh new hip-hop (rap) culture. Sylvia Robinson of Sugarhill Records was the first! She introduced rapping into the mainstream with the release of Rappers Delight also Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. That would be the pivotal moment when American audiences who adopted Rock and Roll's "grand baby" Hip Hop! Rap music's evolution would mirror the party lifestyle.

Just a few of the of artists on that melodious list. The overweight lover in the house Heavy D. The Fat Boys ( aka Human Beatbox music), WHODINI, (my favorite and some crazy brothers) D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, along with Vanilla Ice Ice baby and Run DMC. Who would introduce rock music rap with "Walk this way"! The first rap song to break into Billboard Magazine's Top 10 list in August of 1986.

The first rap millionaire was MC Hammer for a short time proved "You can't touch this". He owned his masters so he controlled his music. Sad note he was also one of the first to go broke too.

By the way, does anybody really know who was the Real Roxanne? Add Salt-n-Pepa, MC Lyte, and Queen Latifah who delivered the Black women’s point of view in the rap universe. Then all this happy rap got re-directed to the melodrama of protests. Add Erykah Badu's Tyrone which I understand was that song was freelance. What a talent!!

A different stereotypes brought regional ethnicity front and center, It became West Coast vs East Coast. This heated rivalry made giants like Biggie, Tupac rap icons would've included more money mo problems. A stark reminder if you wish to be remembered either write things worth reading or do things worth writing about. They covered both didn't they.

Public Enemy, N.W.A, Boogie Down Productions, and KRS-One dealt with life's more serious issues. The lyrics came "Straight" off of the street corner and barbershop. The language now reflected the seriousness of the times.

LA's Hip Hop radio pioneer and my brother good friend Greg Mack introduced rap music's new dialect "West Coast Hip Hop". It was brash and angry with more of a "I'm not gonna take it anymore" attitude. Mack gave Dr Dre, Snoop Dog, World Class Wreckin’ Cru. Ice T and Ice Cube a voice. Up until that time, profanity was an adjective modifying the noun.

Today, its evolution has become the noun both in music and in comedy. Personally I'm so old school, I still frown on calling our beautiful women deliberately with derogatory names. The subliminal allegory has got to have some serious unwanted repercussions! I pray that things will change soon.

Regardless of your viewpoint, the representational effect of this urban musical score is now corporate America's Superbowl of advertising. Snoop Dog has a college bowl game named after him and promoting his own brand of Gin and Juice! Unbelievable success stories from Jay Z, Kanye (ye), Eminem, 50 Cents, Ice Cube, Cardi B, Rhiannon & Missy just to name a few.. The tapestries of this musical art form is the new cornucopia of emotions.

To paraphrase the former ESPN Supertstar Dan Patrick "You can't stop it you can only hope to contain it". Donut ever forget it