As American As It Gets
July 5, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Chilling out on the beach this hot, sunny 4th of July weekend, I took some time to reflect on some of the pioneers of hip hop, even though I wasn’t really around to listen to them at the time. Now I know I’ve left out a few notables such as Grandmaster Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore, etc., but these tracks and artists help remind me how great hip hop was at its humble beginnings.
About a few of the tracks-
“Everyday People” is a classic American song of equality and working class people, and along with other funk acts of the time period, was instrumental in setting the stage for hip hop in the 80s and 90s.
“The Bridge Is Over” is the one of the first diss songs, off of one of the very first gangsta rap albums, Criminal Minded. This kicked it all off for Biggie, 2Pac, and Jay-Z in the 90s.
Public Enemy, Eric B. and Rakim, and EPMD all speak for themselves as defiant, rebellious hip hop acts of the 80s. Each respective album is an absolute classic.
The Beastie Boys album “Paul’s Boutique” would be illegal nowadays, as the prescence of over a hundred unlicensed samples was revolutionary and, well, prohibited. Note Bernard Hermann’s Psycho shower theme in the chorus to “Egg Man”.
The last 3 tracks include Dr. Dre and the D.O.C., who released this album and never rapped again due to a car accident that severed his vocal chords, and Nas’s debut on Main Source’s “Live at the Barbecue”. Thought it was fitting for July 4th weekend. Finally, Immortal Technique, leading the charge against the media in “The 4th Branch”.
I apologize for the long article, enjoy your weekend and incorporate some hip hop into it at some point…
Sly & the Family Stone- Everyday People
Stand! (1969)
Boogie Down Productions- The Bridge is Over
Criminal Minded (B-Boy Records, 1986)
Public Enemy- Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos
It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Def Jam, 1988)
Eric B. and Rakim- Follow the Leader
Follow the Leader (1988)
EPMD- You’re a Customer
Strictly Business (Sleeping Bag Records, 1988)
Beastie Boys- Egg Man
Paul’s Boutique (1989)
The D.O.C.- Lend Me an Ear
No One Can Do It Better (Ruthless Records, 1989)
Main Source- Live at the Barbecue
Breaking Atoms (Wild Pitch Records, 1991)
Immortal Technique- The 4th Branch
Revolutionary Vol. 2 (Viper Records, 2003)
Image: americanhustle
ST. this is a very risky post. We definitely gonna get a take down notice with all those major label stuff. Flush down the big label mp3s after a week. (sony, def-jam, geffen, capitol, B-boy) The first 3 are specially nasty.
don’t forget.
k sorry man. by flush you mean…delete the ftp files?
yeah. keep the post/list intake. they are nice.
(trust me. I know it’s frustrating, since I really want to post bunch of classic too. Little historical note on hip-hop is definitely something nice to hear. But on the bright side post def-jam hip-hop get more chance. )
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By a strange synchronic event that `Everyday People` has been gracing my airwaves recently :) Lovely tune.
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DOC still raps…his voice is waaay diffrent and he fell out with dre, but he’s still puttin out records.