Old School

Rap goes on record

In 1979 rap stopped being something you had to be at the party to hear. The Fatback Band's "King Tim III" came first, but the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" was the record that broke. Sylvia Robinson's Sugar Hill Records assembled the trio in New Jersey, set their rhymes over a replayed version of Chic's "Good Times," and landed rap's first Top 40 hit. Kurtis Blow became the first rapper signed to a major label, and "The Breaks" went gold.

From live bands to drum machines

Early rap records used studio bands replaying disco and funk grooves. That changed fast. In 1982 Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force released "Planet Rock," produced by Arthur Baker and John Robie, built on a Roland TR-808 and Kraftwerk's melodies. It launched electro. The same year, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message" proved rap could be social commentary. By 1984, Run-DMC's stripped-down drum machine beats, leather and Adidas made the disco-era look old overnight.

Movies, Def Jam and a national scene

Wild Style (1983), Style Wars, Breakin' and Beat Street carried graffiti, breaking and DJing around the world. Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons founded Def Jam, and LL Cool J's Radio (1985) was its first album, credited as "reduced by Rick Rubin." Brooklyn's Whodini and the Fat Boys went platinum and gold, UTFO started the Roxanne Wars, and Mantronix pushed drum programming into the future.

Beyond New York

The West Coast built its own sound on the 808. In Los Angeles, the Egyptian Lover's electro and the World Class Wreckin' Cru, featuring a young Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, packed dance floors. In Philadelphia, Schoolly D's "P.S.K." laid down an early blueprint for gangsta rap. By 1985, rap was a national music with its own labels, stars and machines.