Hip-hop started out as underground music, performed at parties to get the crowd pumped up. When the Sugarhill Gang released “Rapper’s Delight” in 1979 everything changed. Their breakout song became a chart-topping success and gave birth to the rap genre.
Hip-hop Stars Reflect on Their First Rap Songs
The song’s catchy beat, rhymes, and lyrical themes resonated with listeners. Themes of drug dealing, street fighting, and gang violence. This paved the way for new MCs to share their stories about their inner-city struggles.
Hip hop pushed back against racial and socioeconomic injustices. The explosive new genre couldn’t help but go mainstream. It gained popularity far outside the hood where it originated.
For over 3 decades now, hip-hop has been the crowned King of music. Rap goes undisputed as the most popular genre of music in the world. It even influences other genres like pop, rock, and country artists.
As hip hop celebrates its 50th anniversary, rappers reflect on their first experiences. Many rap legends remember their first time hearing rap and how it changed their life.
For Too Short, his eye-opening moment happened when he first heard “Rapper’s Delight.” At the time, he preferred funk music like the Ohio Players and Funkadelic. That being said, when he heard rap for the first time, he fell in love.
Will Smith admitted that hip hop was the most revolutionary thing that he ever heard. He was only 13 years old when he heard rap for the first time. Smith said it opened his eyes to a whole new world, and from then, he knew he wanted to pursue a rap career.
Roxanne Shante’s first exposure to rap came from a live performance. She saw a rap group perform in Atlanta and instantly fell in love with the genre. The performance taught her the basics of hip hop, such as beatboxing and blending musical styles.
