It’s hard to believe, but there was once a time when rap music was the little indie genre that could. Well before Kanye West blew our minds with Yeezus or Drake broke our collective hearts, rap was a new phenomenon that fascinated and angered folks alike.
In a recently unearthed “20/20″ report from 1981, correspondent Steve Fox investigates this new “phenomenon” of “sexy, energetic music” that’s “from the street, heard on the streets.” Rather than ridicule or question the genre, Fox dives into the historical origins of rap, citing everything from the call-and-response traditions of the church to the hypnotic funk of James Brown.
The report also includes an interview with a 22-year-old Kurtis Blow, the creator of the 1980 hit song “The Breaks,” Debbie Harry of Blondie and other notable figures in and around the scene.
“It is very black and very urban and people are scared of that” says rock columnist Lisa Robinson in the clip, a sentiment that doesn’t feel that far from some of the criticisms we still hear today. Still, it is cool to think this style of music that is so ingrained in our music culture—from slang to videos to twerking—as once being as examined as a brand new subject.
Check out parts 1 and 2 of the report below:
No Comments