WingsOfAnAngel
Banned
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 3
Hip-Hop: Conquering American Culture
A look at hip-hop through the years
* 1973 -- Spinning old funk and R&B records, DJ Kool Herc becomes the first DJ to play "the break" -- the funky, crowd-pleasing instrumental portion of a song -- on repeat, essentially creating a full track out of one snippet of a song. The process becomes known as "sampling."
* 1974-1976 -- Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa begin DJing parties in and around the Bronx. It's also during this era that Grand Wizard Theodore is credited with inventing "scratching" by hand-manipulating a record to play a key word, phrase or sound over and over.
* 1977-1978 -- As DJs -- who strictly provide the music -- become prominent fixtures at New York parties, MCs -- who talk, or "rap," over the beats and lead the crowd in chants -- begin to steal their spotlight.
* 1979 -- The Sugarhill Gang releases "Rapper's Delight," the first rap record recognized by the mainstream. It sells 2 million copies.
* 1980 -- Kurtis Blow signs with Mercury Records, becoming the first rapper signed to a major label.
* 1980 -- Blondie's Deborah Harry raps on "Rapture." The song becomes the first No. 1 single to incorporate elements of rap.
* 1982 -- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message" moves away from the party-hearty lyrics of rap songs past, focusing on poverty and urban frustration. It becomes the first socially conscious rap song.
* 1982 -- "Wild Style" -- the first hip-hop movie -- hits screens.
* 1983 -- Run DMC's "Rock Box" becomes the first rap video played on MTV.
* 1984 -- LL Cool J's "I Need A Beat" becomes the first single released on Russell Simmons' and Rick Rubin's Def Jam Records. It sells 100,000 copies. LL's debut album is released a year later and sells 1 million copies.
* 1986 -- Run DMC and Aerosmith collaborate on "Walk This Way," which becomes a crossover hit.
* 1986 -- The Beastie Boys release "Licensed to Ill," fusing the worlds of rock and rap. The album enjoys enormous crossover success, eventually going nine-times platinum.
* 1987 -- Salt 'N' Pepa's "Hot, Cool, and Vicious" -- released in 1986 -- becomes the first female rap record to sell 1 million copies.
* 1987 -- Public Enemy release "Yo! Bum Rush The Show," which lays out the group's socio-political agenda that continues on 1988's "It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" and 1990's "Fear of a Black Planet." Chuck D emerges as a key figure in the politicization of hip-hop.
* 1988 -- Def Jam's Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin part ways.
* 1988 -- NWA's "Straight Outta Compton" is released, putting West Coast "gangsta" rap on the map.
* 1988 -- "Yo! MTV Raps" premieres on MTV.
* 1989 -- DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince win the first Grammy for Best Rap Performance for their hit, "Parents Just Don't Understand."
* 1990 -- Will Smith becomes the first rapper to star in his own sitcom with NBC's "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air."
* 1990 -- A Florida record store owner is jailed for selling 2 Live Crew's "As Nasty As They Wanna Be." His obscenity trial results in an acquittal.
* 1990 -- Rap goes pop as MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice enjoy wild success but suffer credibility issues. MC Hammer goes on to star in his own Saturday morning cartoon, entitled "Hammerman."
* 1991 -- Ex-NWA rapper Ice Cube snags a leading role in John Singleton's "Boyz N The Hood," signaling his crossover from rap to Hollywood.
* 1992 -- Dr. Dre leaves NWA and forms Death Row Records with Marion "Suge" Knight. He releases "The Chronic" LP, which makes a star out of Snoop Doggy Dogg (who later drops the "Doggy"), and amasses talent that goes on to include Tupac Shakur and Tha Dogg Pound.
* 1992 -- Russell Simmons launches the Phat Farm clothing line.
* 1992 -- Ice-T is thrown off the Warner Bros. record label thanks his controversial "Cop Killer," a heavy metal track recorded with his thrash-rock outfit Body Count.
* 1994 -- Brooklyn MC The Notorious B.I.G. releases his "Ready To Die" LP, produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs.
* 1995 -- While he's incarcerated, 2Pac's "Me Against the World" debuts at No. 1.
* 1995 -- Eazy-E of NWA dies of AIDS.
* 1995 -- East Coast/West Coast tensions escalate at The Source Awards, as Death Row's "Suge" Knight openly mocks Bad Boy label head Sean "Puffy" Combs.
* 1996 -- Jay-Z releases his debut album, "Reasonable Doubt." He becomes one of rap's biggest stars, with a label (Roc-A-Fella Records), clothing line (Roca-Wear) and even his own brand of vodka (Armadale).
* 1996 -- Tupac Shakur is shot Sept. 7 in Las Vegas. He dies Sept. 13.
* 1997 -- The Notorious B.I.G. is shot and killed on March 9.
* 1998 -- Sean "Puffy" Combs launches his Sean John clothing line.
* 1998 -- Dr. Dre signs Eminem to his Aftermath Entertainment label. Em's "The Slim Shady LP," debuts at No. 2 on the pop chart in 1999.
* 1999 -- The Wu-Tang Clan become the first hip-hop artists awarded their own video game when "Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style" is released for Playstation.
* 2000 -- Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers LP" becomes the fastest selling hip-hop album of all time, selling 1.76 million copies its first week.
* 2001 -- Russell Simmons holds the first Hip-Hop Action Summit in New York City, where a number of key figures in hip-hop -- including Sean "Puffy" Combs, LL Cool J, Will Smith and Chuck D -- discuss the future of hip-hop. Similar summits spring up in other cities.
* 2002 -- Will Smith becomes the first rapper nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in "Ali."
* 2002 -- Run DMC's Jam Master Jay is murdered in New York City.
* 2003 -- Eminem becomes the first rapper to win an Academy Award with his "8 Mile" theme "Lose Yourself."
A look at hip-hop through the years
* 1973 -- Spinning old funk and R&B records, DJ Kool Herc becomes the first DJ to play "the break" -- the funky, crowd-pleasing instrumental portion of a song -- on repeat, essentially creating a full track out of one snippet of a song. The process becomes known as "sampling."
* 1974-1976 -- Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa begin DJing parties in and around the Bronx. It's also during this era that Grand Wizard Theodore is credited with inventing "scratching" by hand-manipulating a record to play a key word, phrase or sound over and over.
* 1977-1978 -- As DJs -- who strictly provide the music -- become prominent fixtures at New York parties, MCs -- who talk, or "rap," over the beats and lead the crowd in chants -- begin to steal their spotlight.
* 1979 -- The Sugarhill Gang releases "Rapper's Delight," the first rap record recognized by the mainstream. It sells 2 million copies.
* 1980 -- Kurtis Blow signs with Mercury Records, becoming the first rapper signed to a major label.
* 1980 -- Blondie's Deborah Harry raps on "Rapture." The song becomes the first No. 1 single to incorporate elements of rap.
* 1982 -- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message" moves away from the party-hearty lyrics of rap songs past, focusing on poverty and urban frustration. It becomes the first socially conscious rap song.
* 1982 -- "Wild Style" -- the first hip-hop movie -- hits screens.
* 1983 -- Run DMC's "Rock Box" becomes the first rap video played on MTV.
* 1984 -- LL Cool J's "I Need A Beat" becomes the first single released on Russell Simmons' and Rick Rubin's Def Jam Records. It sells 100,000 copies. LL's debut album is released a year later and sells 1 million copies.
* 1986 -- Run DMC and Aerosmith collaborate on "Walk This Way," which becomes a crossover hit.
* 1986 -- The Beastie Boys release "Licensed to Ill," fusing the worlds of rock and rap. The album enjoys enormous crossover success, eventually going nine-times platinum.
* 1987 -- Salt 'N' Pepa's "Hot, Cool, and Vicious" -- released in 1986 -- becomes the first female rap record to sell 1 million copies.
* 1987 -- Public Enemy release "Yo! Bum Rush The Show," which lays out the group's socio-political agenda that continues on 1988's "It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" and 1990's "Fear of a Black Planet." Chuck D emerges as a key figure in the politicization of hip-hop.
* 1988 -- Def Jam's Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin part ways.
* 1988 -- NWA's "Straight Outta Compton" is released, putting West Coast "gangsta" rap on the map.
* 1988 -- "Yo! MTV Raps" premieres on MTV.
* 1989 -- DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince win the first Grammy for Best Rap Performance for their hit, "Parents Just Don't Understand."
* 1990 -- Will Smith becomes the first rapper to star in his own sitcom with NBC's "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air."
* 1990 -- A Florida record store owner is jailed for selling 2 Live Crew's "As Nasty As They Wanna Be." His obscenity trial results in an acquittal.
* 1990 -- Rap goes pop as MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice enjoy wild success but suffer credibility issues. MC Hammer goes on to star in his own Saturday morning cartoon, entitled "Hammerman."
* 1991 -- Ex-NWA rapper Ice Cube snags a leading role in John Singleton's "Boyz N The Hood," signaling his crossover from rap to Hollywood.
* 1992 -- Dr. Dre leaves NWA and forms Death Row Records with Marion "Suge" Knight. He releases "The Chronic" LP, which makes a star out of Snoop Doggy Dogg (who later drops the "Doggy"), and amasses talent that goes on to include Tupac Shakur and Tha Dogg Pound.
* 1992 -- Russell Simmons launches the Phat Farm clothing line.
* 1992 -- Ice-T is thrown off the Warner Bros. record label thanks his controversial "Cop Killer," a heavy metal track recorded with his thrash-rock outfit Body Count.
* 1994 -- Brooklyn MC The Notorious B.I.G. releases his "Ready To Die" LP, produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs.
* 1995 -- While he's incarcerated, 2Pac's "Me Against the World" debuts at No. 1.
* 1995 -- Eazy-E of NWA dies of AIDS.
* 1995 -- East Coast/West Coast tensions escalate at The Source Awards, as Death Row's "Suge" Knight openly mocks Bad Boy label head Sean "Puffy" Combs.
* 1996 -- Jay-Z releases his debut album, "Reasonable Doubt." He becomes one of rap's biggest stars, with a label (Roc-A-Fella Records), clothing line (Roca-Wear) and even his own brand of vodka (Armadale).
* 1996 -- Tupac Shakur is shot Sept. 7 in Las Vegas. He dies Sept. 13.
* 1997 -- The Notorious B.I.G. is shot and killed on March 9.
* 1998 -- Sean "Puffy" Combs launches his Sean John clothing line.
* 1998 -- Dr. Dre signs Eminem to his Aftermath Entertainment label. Em's "The Slim Shady LP," debuts at No. 2 on the pop chart in 1999.
* 1999 -- The Wu-Tang Clan become the first hip-hop artists awarded their own video game when "Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style" is released for Playstation.
* 2000 -- Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers LP" becomes the fastest selling hip-hop album of all time, selling 1.76 million copies its first week.
* 2001 -- Russell Simmons holds the first Hip-Hop Action Summit in New York City, where a number of key figures in hip-hop -- including Sean "Puffy" Combs, LL Cool J, Will Smith and Chuck D -- discuss the future of hip-hop. Similar summits spring up in other cities.
* 2002 -- Will Smith becomes the first rapper nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in "Ali."
* 2002 -- Run DMC's Jam Master Jay is murdered in New York City.
* 2003 -- Eminem becomes the first rapper to win an Academy Award with his "8 Mile" theme "Lose Yourself."
