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Friday Open Thread- The History of Hip Hop Pt. 1

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Happy Friday P.O.U. family and lurkers! It is the start of weekend. This week’s open thread theme is focused on the beginnings of hip hop.

 

Run DMC was an American hip hop group from Hollis, in the Queens borough of New York City. Founded by Joseph “Run” Simmons,Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels, and Jason “Jam-Master Jay” Mizell, the group is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture. Run–D.M.C. were one of the most well-known hip hop acts in the 1980s, who along with LL Cool J, signified the advent of the new school of hip hop music. They were the first group in the genre to have a gold record and be nominated for a Grammy Award. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them number 48 in their list of the greatest musical artists of all time. In 2007, Run–D.M.C. was named “The Greatest Hip Hop Group of All Time” by MTV.com and “Greatest Hip Hop Artist of All Time” byVH1. On April 4, 2009, rapper Eminem inducted them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In doing so, Run–D.M.C. became only the second hip hop group in history to be inducted, after Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The initials “DMC” are widely accepted to refer to Darryl McDaniels’ initials. In the 1985 album King of Rock’s title track, DMC says the initials have two meanings: “Devastating Mic Control” and “D for never dirty, MC for mostly clean.” He also makes a third reference “The ‘D’s for Doing it all of the time, the ‘M’s for the rhymes that all are Mine, The ‘C’s for Cool – cool as can be.”

It’s Tricky – 1987

 

Mary, Mary -1988

 
 
Musically, they moved hip hop and rap music away from the funk and disco-oriented sound of its beginnings, into an altogether new and unique sonic imprint. Their sound is directly responsible for intentionally transforming rap music from dance-and club-oriented funk grooves like “Rapper’s Delight” and “The Breaks” to an aggressive, less-danceable approach. Characterized by sparse, hard-hitting beats—as typified on hits like “It’s Like That”, and “Peter Piper”—this would form the foundation of hardcore hip hop (particularly hardcore East Coast hip hop). As such, Run–D.M.C. is considered the originators of the style, and hardcore hip hop would dominate the next two decades of rap music, from the bombastic, noisy sound of Public Enemy and stripped minimalism of Boogie Down Productions to the thump of early Wu-Tang Clan and Nas. Their influence was not limited to the East Coast, however. L.A.’s N.W.A., on their landmark 1988 album Straight Outta Compton, showed heavy influences from Tougher Than Leather-era Run–D.M.C., and Chicano rap act Cypress Hill were definitely influenced by Run–D.M.C.’s fusion of rap and rock.
 
Walk This Way- 1986

 

***Information Courtesy of Wikipedia.org***