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Where Rap came from
- Thread starter chiph
- Start date
dwarfthrower
Programmer
Rapture" - released in '81 - was one of the earliest songs to feature rap and gain wholesale commercial success, but Blondie certainly didn't invent the genre. Rap originated in New York in the 70s.
Never be afraid to share your dreams with the world.
There's nothing the world loves more than the taste of really sweet dreams.
Webflo
Never be afraid to share your dreams with the world.
There's nothing the world loves more than the taste of really sweet dreams.
Webflo
- Moderator
- #4
Can you back that up with a reference?
Blondie was the first "rap"-ish song that I remember... and I was born in 1966. The Wikipedia article on Rap is unconfirmed, at best.
Just my 2¢
-Cole's Law: Shredded cabbage
--Greg
Rap evolved from a games called "The Dozens" and "Signifying", in which the participants use rhythm and rhyme to both promote themselves and tear down their opponent - elements which remain strong in rap lyrics to this day. The term "rap" comes from the slang meaning of the word, which is to speak or to converse.
The 1979 song "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang is widely acknowledged as the first commercially successful rap song. It was this song that inspired Blondie's "Rapture".
Here's a pretty good article about the history of rap.
I used to rock and roll every night and party every day. Then it was every other day. Now I'm lucky if I can find 30 minutes a week in which to get funky. - Homer Simpson
Arrrr, mateys! Ye needs ta be preparin' yerselves fer Talk Like a Pirate Day!
The 1979 song "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang is widely acknowledged as the first commercially successful rap song. It was this song that inspired Blondie's "Rapture".
Here's a pretty good article about the history of rap.
I used to rock and roll every night and party every day. Then it was every other day. Now I'm lucky if I can find 30 minutes a week in which to get funky. - Homer Simpson
Arrrr, mateys! Ye needs ta be preparin' yerselves fer Talk Like a Pirate Day!
I'd wager that the word originated from 'Rapport', which would have enjoyed a renaissance in the youth movements of the late 60s/early 70s.
Don't forget that DJs were 'toasting' over the records in Jamaican dancehalls in the 60s; poking fun at other DJs. It's my understanding that this begat 'rap' in NYC.
soi la, soi carré
Don't forget that DJs were 'toasting' over the records in Jamaican dancehalls in the 60s; poking fun at other DJs. It's my understanding that this begat 'rap' in NYC.
soi la, soi carré
- Moderator
- #10
OK, I didn't realize that Sugar Hill Gang "Rapper's Delight" was out before Rapture by Blondie.
I guess that, just like there is no one inventor of the modern-day watch, Rap music can be traced back to Jamacian and caribbean roots, and all the way to pygmie chants.
Just my 2¢
-Cole's Law: Shredded cabbage
--Greg
I guess that, just like there is no one inventor of the modern-day watch, Rap music can be traced back to Jamacian and caribbean roots, and all the way to pygmie chants.
Just my 2¢
-Cole's Law: Shredded cabbage
--Greg
dwarfthrower
Programmer
gbaughma said:
Hmmm.... could you back that up with a reference?
Never be afraid to share your dreams with the world.
There's nothing the world loves more than the taste of really sweet dreams.
Webflo
You know, I've often thought some of the old "spoken" "Western" songs were really the for-runner of rap. As "rap" includes as a slang term for talking, it would seem this "spoken" form in songs has been around far longer. It has gained popularity as a musical genus as a result of evolution in music, favored first by these more "story tellers set to music", and has simply progressed into modern form, emphasizing more emphasis on matching words to the beat.
To site an example, "Ghost Riders in the Sky" written in 1948. There were 100's (if not 1,000's) of songs of similar vein.
So, really, "rap" has been around a lot longer, and wasn't "invented" (maybe "invigorated") by the Sugar Hill Gang.
Best Regards,
Scott
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."![[hammer]](/data/assets/smilies/hammer.gif "[hammer] [hammer]")
To site an example, "Ghost Riders in the Sky" written in 1948. There were 100's (if not 1,000's) of songs of similar vein.
So, really, "rap" has been around a lot longer, and wasn't "invented" (maybe "invigorated") by the Sugar Hill Gang.
Best Regards,
Scott
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."
KenCunningham
Technical User
Yo' jivin' me bro?
I want to be good, is that not enough?
I want to be good, is that not enough?
Never mind where rap came from, when's it going to go?
-- Chris Hunt
Webmaster & Tragedian
Extra Connections Ltd
-- Chris Hunt
Webmaster & Tragedian
Extra Connections Ltd
While I agree with TheManiac about the roots of Rap being wide and varied across musical genres, I would have to hold that Rap as a style of it's own did grow out of NYC in the late 70's.
The influences on rap went wider than songs like Ghost Riders too (although a very good example). If one considers the doo-wop rhythms of the street corner harmony groups and the cadenced poetry of the spoken word beatniks, and ties all of that into the rhyming and rhythmic oratory of high-profile preachers, these were all heavy influences on the genre of modern Rap.
Throw into the mix, that for the first time in history, the tools of the trade (turn-tables, PA systems, mixing boards, sample libraries) were all available and priced in a range that made them as affordable (at least as used items) as musical instruments.
So if you consider Rap as it's own musical style that emerged from roots of rhyming rhythmically, then I would also hold that there still exists other media that has evolved from these roots as well.
The resurgence of spoken word poetry like that evidenced in Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry (HBO) and the continued use of speaking over music* as in Blues Traveler's The Hook**, both demonstrate that the older roots did not evolve into Rap. Rap instead is one child of older traditions... there are other competing children that continue the tradition as well.
* a few other examples -
REM: It's The End Of The World As We Know It
Billy Joel: We Didn't Start The Fire
Smash Mouth: Walking on the Sun
**The Hook lyric - ("Could be financial suicide but I've got too much pride inside / To hide or slide / I'll do as I'll decide and let it ride until I've died / And only then shall I abide this tide / Of catchy little tunes / Of hip three minute ditties")
The influences on rap went wider than songs like Ghost Riders too (although a very good example). If one considers the doo-wop rhythms of the street corner harmony groups and the cadenced poetry of the spoken word beatniks, and ties all of that into the rhyming and rhythmic oratory of high-profile preachers, these were all heavy influences on the genre of modern Rap.
Throw into the mix, that for the first time in history, the tools of the trade (turn-tables, PA systems, mixing boards, sample libraries) were all available and priced in a range that made them as affordable (at least as used items) as musical instruments.
So if you consider Rap as it's own musical style that emerged from roots of rhyming rhythmically, then I would also hold that there still exists other media that has evolved from these roots as well.
The resurgence of spoken word poetry like that evidenced in Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry (HBO) and the continued use of speaking over music* as in Blues Traveler's The Hook**, both demonstrate that the older roots did not evolve into Rap. Rap instead is one child of older traditions... there are other competing children that continue the tradition as well.
* a few other examples -
REM: It's The End Of The World As We Know It
Billy Joel: We Didn't Start The Fire
Smash Mouth: Walking on the Sun
**The Hook lyric - ("Could be financial suicide but I've got too much pride inside / To hide or slide / I'll do as I'll decide and let it ride until I've died / And only then shall I abide this tide / Of catchy little tunes / Of hip three minute ditties")
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