Thursday, January 19, 2012

Old School Hip Hop - Playlist

As per Wikipedia, "Old school hip hop (also spelled "old skool") describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music (approximately from 1979–1984), 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.  However, some old school rap stations cover 1980s hip hop in general, occasionally extending even into the mid 1990s.  The image, styles and sounds of the old school were exemplified by figures like Afrika Bambaataa, The Sugarhill Gang, Spoonie Gee, Treacherous Three, Funky Four Plus One, Kurtis Blow, Fab Five Freddy, Busy Bee Starski, Lovebug Starski, Doug E. Fresh, LL Cool J, The Fat Boys, The Cold Crush Brothers, Kool Kyle, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,and it is characterized by the simpler rapping techniques of the time and the general focus on party related subject matter."

Below we list some of our favorite "old skool" party jams (defined as 80s hip hop), but paying particular homage to the early 80s.  Please leave comments with our own favorite selections!


Rapper's Delight - The Sugarhill Gang

Fat Boys - Fat Boys

Beat Street - Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five

Rockin' It - Fearless Four

Rockit - Herbie Hancock

The Message - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five

That's the Joint - The Funky 4 + 1 (the first hip hop group to appear on Saturday Night Live!)

Rappin' & Rocking the House" - The Funky 4 + 1

Sucker M.C.'s - Run-D.M.C.

Roxanne - U.T.F.O.

Planet Rock - Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force

Hard Times - Run-D.M.C.

The Breaks - Kurtis Blow

At the Dixie - Cold Crush Brothers



Paul Revere - The Beastie Boys

Warm it Up, Kane - Big Daddy Kane

The Bridge - MC Shan

The Show - Doug E. Fresh

Mona Lisa - Slick Rick

The Whodini Mega-Mix (5 Minutes of Funk/Friends/Freaks Come Out at Night) - Whodini

Larry's Dance Theme - Grandmaster Flash

One For the Treble - Davy DMX

Breakers Revenge - Arthur Baker (featured in breakdance battle from Beat Street in video below!)



Al Naafijsh - Kashim

Freedom - Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five

Adventures of Rhyme - Jimmy Spicer

Wild, Wild West - Kool Moe Dee

The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel - Grandmaster Flash

Rapture - Blondie (her rap verse payed deference to Grandmaster Flash and Francois K.!) (sure, the record doesn't fall exactly into the genre, but does capture the feeling of the time!)

I Can't Live Without My Radio - LL Cool J

White Lines (Don't Do It) - Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel

Don't Believe the Hype - Public Enemy

Basketball - Kurtis Blow

8th Wonder - The Sugarhill Gang

Brass Monkey - The Beastie Boys

It's Like That - Run-D.M.C.

Jam Master Jay - Run-D.M.C.


Iron Mike and I catch up with the Cold Crush Crew!
Catching up with the legendary Grandmaster Flash!


6 comments:

  1. wow what a great list! this is definitely a must have for any serious music aficionado let alone an 80s lover. Wow, where do I start..GrandMaster Flash, The Fat Boys, Kurtis Blow, LL Cool J, Run DMC, The Sugar Hill Gang..amazing stuff! thanks so much for the heads up and the great blog!

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  2. Thanks for the feedback 80sMusicGirl! It definitely was a memorable musical era, and the ultimate testament is that we as DJs and music lovers are still playing these jams 30 years later!

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  3. No need to explain Blondie... "Rapture" is a rap record through and through. In fact, while Rapper's Delight was exploding, it still wasn't touching all of the country, so in some parts of the US, this was the first song with a "rap" that people were being exposed to.

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  4. Impressive. Thanks for sharing this amazing playlist. I must say that the 80s and 90s were the most memorable time for the music industry. I still remember music from that era. I will surely check this entire playlist, but before this, I need to look for a custom thesis writing website that can offer me the best thesis writing services for my academic need.
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