Hip Hop 103... Next CLASS!

Now we are about to start learning about hip hop... Some of this information should be common knowledge... but to you lames that don't know.. PAY ATTENTION!

1982:

• Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force release the techno-heavy “Planet Rock” on Tommy Boy Records. The record samples portions of Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express."
• Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5 release “The Message” on Sugarhill Records.
• Kool Moe Dee humiliates Busy Bee in a spontaneous rap battle. Since then, emcee battling has become an inseparable part of hip-hop.
• Fab 5 Freddy and Charlie Ahearn co-produce Wild Style, a hip-hop film featuring Cold Crush Brothers, Grandmaster Flash, Grandwizard Theodore, DJ AJ, Grandmixer D.S.T, graf writers Lee, Zephyr, Fab 5 Freddy, Lady Pink, Crash, Daze, Dondi, and members of the Rock Steady Crew. Wild Style has since inspired several other hip-hop-themed movies.

1983:

• Ice T helps pioneer gangsta rap in the west coast with his rapcore singles “Body Rock" and "Killers."
• Grand Master Flash and Melle Mel (Furious 5) record the anti-cocaine single “White Lines (Don't Do It)," which becomes a rap hit.
• Grandmaster Flash later sues Sugarhill Records for $5 million in royalties. The dispute causes the group to break up, signaling the looming danger of corporate control in hip-hop.
• Run DMC releases “It's Like That" b/w "Sucker MC's."

1984

• Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin team up to launch one of the most important record labels ever, Def Jam Records. Def Jam releases its first record, “It’s Yours” by T La Rock, followed by LL Cool J’s “I Need A Beat."
• Hip-hop discovers that touring is a great way to generate income, as the Fresh Fest concert featuring Whodini, Kurtis Blow, Fat Boys, and Run DMC, reels in $3.5 million for 27 dates.
• Battle rap assumes the spotlight in hip-hop, as UTFO’s “Roxanne Roxanne” diss song attracts over 100 responses.
• The most popular response came from a 14-year old female named Roxanne Shante. Shante’s “Roxanne’s Revenge” allegedly recorded in Marley Marl’s living room sold more than 250,000 copies.
• Dougie Fresh (aka The Entertainer) releases The Original Human Beat Box (Vindertainment Records).
• Michael Jackson does 'the moonwalk' at the Grammys, borrowing b-boy dance elements from LA breakers.

1985

• Sugarhill Records goes into bankruptcy and is forced out of business.
• Salt ‘n’ Pepa make their first appearance on Super Nature’s “The Show Stopper."

1986

• The Beastie Boys release Licensed To Ill on Def Jam (executive-produced by Rick Rubin).
• James Smith, a native of Houston, Texas, assembles The Geto Boys. The original lineup consisted of MCs Raheim, Jukebox, DJ Ready Red, and Sir Rap-A-Lot.
• The group also featured Little Billy, a dancing dwarf who later picked up the microphone as Bushwick Bill.
• Following a short break-up in 1988, Smith invited local emcee Willie D and multi-instrumentalist Akshun (later known as Scarface) to complete the lineup.
• The Geto Boys (now made up of Scarface, Willie D, and Bushwick Bill) was a driving force in the evolution of southern rap.

MORE TO COME