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DJ Kool Herc starts scratching
References: History of Hip Hop
Billboard DJ Herc begins to scratch two records on a turn table at the same time. Kevin Donovan changes his name to Afrika Bambatta and forms the Zulu Nation -
"Rap Music" labelled by the music industry
There becomes a shift from merely scratching two records and how important the DJ was, to home important the emcee can be for reaching the crowd -
Rap first hits the main stream
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5 are formed, and they become one of the most influential groups of the time. Also, the Sugar Hill Gang releases Rapper's Delight, which becomes #36 on the Billboard charts - making it the first rap song to reach such wide spread popularity. -
Rap's influence in Pop with Blondie
Rapture Music Video
Debbie Harry, the lead singer of the Pop / New Wave / Punk band, Blondie, meets with rapper Fab 5 Freddy and shortly after has her own little "rap" within the song "Rapture." -
Birth of the Beasties
Even though they first started off as a punk band, the Beastie Boys were formed in 1981 and would eventually continiousilly change the face and look of Hip Hop with their own unique style and music videos
The group consists of Adam Horovitz (King Ad-Rock), Adam Yauch (MCA), Michael Diamon (Mike D). -
"The Message" is released
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five releases "The Message" which becomes one of the most influential rap songs of all time and it rocks the Billboard charts. -
The Moonwalk shows inspiration from break dancing
Jackson's first Moonwalk
Michael Jackson premieres the Moonwalk at the Motown 25th anniversary special. -
Run DMC on the scene
Run DMC releases “It's Like That" b/w "Sucker MC's." The album hits number 54 on Billboard's top 200 albums -
Hip Hop goes big business
DEF JAM records is formed by Russell Simmons, who is the brother of Run (of fun RUN DMC) Simmons. -
Fresh Fest 1984
In order for the rap industry to gain more money, groups like Run DMC, the Fat Boys, Whodini and Kurtis Blow. Fresh Fest continues to this day as a clothing line company and performances. -
Salt N Pepa Premiere
Salt ‘n’ Pepa make their first appearance on Super Nature’s “The Show Stopper." -
"Walk this Way" worlds unite
Run DMC collaborates with legendary rock n'roll band Aerosmith when they remix Aerosmith's early hit. The song would reach #16 on Billboard's hot 100 -
Public Enemy erupts
Public Enemy debuts their album, Yo! Bum Rush The Show, which creates the politically charged hip hop style.
The original members of the group include Chuck D (Carlton Ridenhour), Flavor Flav (William Drayton), Professor Griff (Richard Griffin), and DJ Terminator X (Norman Rogers).
The album hit number 125 on the Billboard's top 200 albums of the year. -
Licensed to Ill released by Beastie Boys
Fight for your Right (sample)One of the hits on the album was "You Got To Fight For Your Right (To Party)" which was #18 on the top 100 Billboard hit for the 1987. -
Yo! MTV Raps premieres
Ed Lover and Dr. Dre host a show on MTV that primarily showed, premiered and focused on just rap music videos. With the use of music videos, hip hop reaches the homes of millions of teenagers through the emerging cable network system.
