| Artist |
Title |
Comment |
| The Sugarhill Gang |
Rapper's Delight |
Probably the first rap song that most people would recognize unless you're Ma. Hehe!
|
| Blondie |
Rapture |
Believe it or not, this song is the first one considered rap that VH1 aired. Blondie was always very open to other musical styles. In the video, Fab Five Freddy makes an appearance.
|
Grandmaster Flash
|
The Message |
An inspirational song to many of today's rappers. This song was a socially awareness song related to the struggles of the Urban life.
|
Funky Four Plus One
|
That's The Joint |
Any song title like this today would be taken as a drug song. That's not what this song is about.
|
Kool Moe Dee
*This song samples James Brown
|
How You Like Me Now |
This song is considered a *battle* song. This song was a diss of LL Cool J. This is what rap music used to be like.
And they could do it without foul language. Amazing, huh?
|
LL Cool J
*His name stands for Ladies Love Cool James
(Nifty, huh? Hehe!)
|
Jack The Ripper |
This song is a *battle* song and a diss of KMD who you heard above. LL Cool J is one of the Old School rappers that can still sell today.
|
Afrika Bambaata
|
Planet Rock |
He is one of the early Pioneers. |
Salt N Pepa
|
Push It (Remix) |
First female rap group to make it mainstream. In the early days, there were few female rappers. It was very much a male dominated genre.
|
MC Lyte
|
Cold Rock The Party |
One of the first female rappers to hit radio. This song is from the 90s.
|
Queen Latifah
*This song samples *Dance To The Music* from Sly & The Family Stone.
|
Dance For Me |
Back in the Day, Dana Owens was reinforcing a positive image for women through her lyrics.
|
Public Enemy
*This song was made popular as it appeared on the *Do The Right Thing* soundtrack. In the movie, it is the opening credit song played with Rosie Perez *boxing*. |
Fight The Power |
Agree or disagree with PE's controversial lyrics that deal with race, society issues, or whatever is on Chuck D's mind, they were a powerful influence from the early days.
|
Whodini
|
The Freaks Come Out At Night |
One of MoJo's fave! Whodini had great songs with cool beats.
|
Run DMC
*The Kings of Rap
Some may disagree with MoJo, but they paved the way for a lot of rappers today!
|
King Of Rock |
The group that really set the tone for all rappers today is Run DMC. Their songs were usually sampled with some cool rock or heavy metal riff. |
Ice T
*West Coast *G*
*Not for kids*
|
Original Gangster (O.G.) |
Ice T is a pioneer from the West Coast. His rhymes were edgier and harder then his NY rappers. He gave voice to the LA gangs. He is a former gang member himself. His style began a shift towards a more violent lyrical style.
|
The Fat Boys
*MoJo loved these guys. Always fun lyrics!
|
The Fat Boys Are Back |
The Fat Boys were fat and proud of it. They loved food and rapping! They rapped with The Beach Boys and Chubby Checker! Loved these guys!
|
Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick
*Not For Kids
|
La Di Da Di |
What does MoJo remember about this song? It was the first rap song banned by the parents. This song was very sexually suggestive. Great beat, but not cool for MoJo's parents. This began the acceptance of what you hear a lot of today.
|
The Treacherous Three
|
Turn It Up |
The Treacherous Three introduced fast rhyming rapping and dubbed effects. This group was headed by Kool Moe Dee.
|
UTFO
*Stands for Untouchable Force Organization
|
Split Personality |
A rap group that started out fun and then they're lyrics got a bit more explicit. This particular song is from their earlier sillier days.
|
Stetsasonic
|
Talkin All The Jazz |
Positive black rappers that used different styles to reach their audiences. Using jazz sounds, they brought about the daisy age sound of rap. Such acts like De La Soul and The Jungle Brothers followed.
|
Heavy D & The Boyz
|
We Got Our Own Thang |
The Overweight Lover and his boyz brought a positive, fun, and great beat to rap music.
|
| Word Of Mouth |
King Kut |
This group brought the sound of the turntables to the forefront. They didn't rely on rock or heavy metal riffs for their raps.
|
| Chubb Rocks |
Treat'em Right |
He came later, but his positive message flow is something that should be highlighted. Not all rappers forgot their responsibility to the youth listening to them. Using upbeat and catchy lyrics with a positive message has kept MoJo a fan for life!
|
Digital Underground
|
Doowutchyalike |
Another group of West Coast rappers that hit the mainstream. Unlike NWA, they were basically out for a good time for everyone involved. They were also extremely with Tupac Shakur.
|
Kurtis Blow
|
Basketball |
As the first commercially successful rap artist, Kurtis Blow is a towering figure in hip-hop history. (Info from artistdirect.com)
This is probably one of his most popular songs.
|
Special Ed
|
I'm The Magnificent |
Showing up on the scene in '89, Special Ed continued the long tradition of *battling* via his lyrics, but also highlighting himself. This wasn't done in a hateful or violent way.
|
Tupac Shakur
*Not for kids
*Digital Underground make an appearance on this song!
|
I Get Around |
Tupac Shakur was the son of 2 Black Panthers. He was a member of Digital Underground and then went solo. His lyrics and lifestyle were both volatile, but deeply impacting to his fans. Next year, it will be 10 years since his violent death.
|
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
*I Dream of Jeanie is sampled in this song
|
Girls Are Nothing But Trouble |
While many may laugh about these two, they were always different. Funny, silly, but great to listen to. They also hailed from Philly and not from NY or LA.
|
Spoonie Gee & The Treacherous Three
|
Love Rap |
Spoonie Gee is also considered one of the early pioneers of rap music! |
Too Short
*Representing Oakland
|
Life is...Too Short |
Another West Coast Rapper that had a hard edge in his lyrics. This song was almost banned in MoJo's house until I insisted that the parents listen to this song. While the rest of his songs were necessarily positive, this song was. Most rappers are capable of being positive. They just choose not to be.
|
| Marley Marl |
The Symphony |
One of the first producers and DJs in the early days.
|
Toddy Tee
|
Batterram |
If you ever need to get people in the rap community to relate, you can always write a song about the cops!
|
Roxanne Shante
*The Real Roxanne
|
Go On Girl |
One of the early female rappers. She was probably most famous for *Battling* UTFO with reply rap songs.
|
Cold Crush Brothers
*Old Style
*This rap samples The Tom Tom Club
|
This is a rap battle from 1981 |
MoJo never really got into them, but the brothers most certainly liked them. |
| Newcleus |
Jam On It |
DJs from Brooklyn that hit the scene in the 70s. They're riffs and beats have been sampled the world over by rappers. And if you ever wanted to annoy your parents with funky beats. MoJo suggests Newcleus. Hehe!
|
Eric B & Rakim
|
Paid In Full |
Eric B & Rakim always brought a realistic perceptive to their rhymes. They didn't do the silly thing, but merely brought you the rap they felt you needed.
|
Young MC
|
Bust A Move |
A West Coast rapper that brought a college degree, fun, catchy rhymes, and a great beat to the scene.
|
3rd Bass
|
Gas Face |
3rd Bass proved that they could rhyme as well as any of their counterparts. MoJo loves 3rd Bass. They bring fun rhymes along with awareness of what was going on in society.
|
The Beastie Boys
|
Fight For Your Right To Party |
The Beastie Boys brought the Surburban kids into the fold with their styles and lyrics. MoJo saw them in concert in the 80s with Run DMC. They're especially known for their ridiculously silly antics.
|
Big Daddy Kane
*Not suitable for kids!
|
I Get The Job Done |
A rapper from the early days. He's a *smooth* rapper and flows better than anyone.
|
MC Hammer
*This song samples Rick James *Super Freak*
|
U Can't Touch This |
To some folks, Hammer is a sellout because he was commercially successful. He merely brought rap music to a different level. Nothing wrong with that.
|
Oran Juice Jones
|
Walking In The Rain |
One hit wonder, but a great song and his style reminds me of Eddie Murphy doing rap music. Hehe!
|
West Coast Rap All Stars
|
We're All In The Same Gang |
Taking the lead from the East Coast Rappers, most of the popular West Coast rappers got together to record this song to tell kids in their community to stop the gang violence.
|
Stop The Violence Movement
|
Self Destruction |
The East Coast rappers got together to send out a positive message to encourage youths to stop the killing.
|
EPMD
*Stands for Erick and Parrish Making Dollars
(Clever, huh? Hehe!)
|
Strictly Business |
Erick and Parrish make up EPMD and they definitely brought an entirely different style to their rhyming. The beats were extremely catchy and upbeat and they're rhymes were as well.
One of MoJo's favorite rap groups of all time!
|
| X-Clan |
Heed The Word Of The Brother |
The X-Clan brought a historical perspective in most of the songs. They were brutally blunt at times, but they remain a favorite of MoJo's.
|
