Rap Around - Oldschool Artists of the 70s and 80s
These are some of the finest 70s and 80s rappers and rap gangs!
They were a loud and proud sign of the new consciousness of black people on the east and the west coast of the USA. It was a must have to get their new album and be the one who got the record first.
Which of these guys and gangs is (... or was) your favorite?
(For a better remembrance I've linked their most significant track.)
Break it down here.
They were a loud and proud sign of the new consciousness of black people on the east and the west coast of the USA. It was a must have to get their new album and be the one who got the record first.
Which of these guys and gangs is (... or was) your favorite?
(For a better remembrance I've linked their most significant track.)
Break it down here.
List activity
1.8K views
• 56 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
24 people
- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Kurtis Blow was born on 9 August 1959 in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010), Krush Groove (1985) and Notorious (2009). He has been married to Shirley Stewart since 2 September 1984. They have three children.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture and one of the most famous hip hop acts of the 1980s. Along with Beastie Boys, LL Cool J and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new school hip hop music. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship.
With the release Run-D.M.C. (1984), Run-DMC became the first hip hop group to achieve a Gold record. Run-D.M.C. was followed with the certified Platinum record King of Rock (1985), making Run-DMC the first hip hop group to achieve this. Raising Hell (1986) became the first multi-platinum hip hop record. Run-DMC's cover of "Walk This Way", featuring the group Aerosmith, charted higher on the Billboard Hot 100 than Aerosmith's original version, peaking at number four. It became one of the best known songs in both hip hop and rock. Run-DMC was the first hip hop act to have their music videos broadcast on MTV, appear on American Bandstand, be on the cover of Rolling Stone, perform at Live Aid and be nominated for a Grammy Award.
In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Run-DMC at number 48 in its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2007, they were named The Greatest Hip Hop Group of All Time by MTV and Greatest Hip Hop Artist of All Time by VH1. In 2009, Run-DMC became the second hip hop group (first being Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, 2007) to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2016, the group received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2018, Raising Hell was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant".- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
He is one of hip hop's greatest pioneers.Grandmaster Flash helped revolutionized the art and skills of DJing and set standards in hip hop history. An icon during the culture's heyday, Flash introduced many techniques that would be used by many DJs worldwide. He was also known as the DJ of one of hip hop's greatest pioneering MC groups, The Furious Five.- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
Public Enemy is known for Do the Right Thing (1989), Star Trek Beyond (2016) and End of Watch (2012).- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Melvin Glover better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel (or simply Melle Mel) is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Glover began performing in the late 1970s. He may have been the first rapper to call himself MC (master of ceremonies). Other Furious Five members included his brother The Kidd Creole (Nathaniel Glover), Scorpio (Eddie Morris), Rahiem (Guy Todd Williams) and Cowboy (Keith Wiggins). While a member of the group, Cowboy created the term hip-hop while teasing a friend who had just joined the US Army, by scat singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
New York-raised Doug E. Fresh, born Douglas Davis, got his initial notoriety for being the original human beat-box, inventing a method to imitate a drum machine using breath control through the teeth, lips, and gums. He had a string of hit singles with his then-partner Slick Rick in the early and mid-1980s, most notably on "The Show" and "La-Di-Da-Di" in 1985. A subsequent album, "Oh, My God," included guest stints from veteran jazz trumpeter Jimmy Owens and synthesizer player Bernard Wright. Fresh also released a 1988 follow-up album, "The World's Greatest Entertainer," and recorded an album in 1992 for M.C. Hammer's short-lived Capitol/EMI Records-distributed label, Bust It Records. After recording another album for Gee Street Records in the mid-1990s and appearing on many other artists' albums, Fresh disappeared for a few years. He has just resurfaced as a solo artist with a new release on a small independent label, but he remains an active force in hip-hop music, appearing as a guest artist on many records, to the present day.
The Show (together with Slick Rick)- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Afrika Bambaataa was born on 17 April 1957 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Vanilla Sky (2001), Swordfish (2001) and The Mechanic (2011).- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
L.L. Cool J was born James Todd Smith in Bay Shore, Long Island, New York, the son of Ondrea Griffith and James Louis Smith, Jr.
Todd, as he was called, did not have a very happy childhood. At the age of four, he saw his mother and grandfather shot by his own father. After they recovered from their injuries, his mother began to date a young physical therapist she met while in the hospital. The therapist treated Ondrea kindly, but for years he abused Todd physically and verbally, which resulted in Todd becoming a bully himself. It was during this period that he started wearing hats all the time (one of L.L. Cool J's trademarks is the fact that people never see him without a hat on--until recently). Fortunately, Ondrea finally discovered what this man was doing to her son and left him.
As he grew older, Todd found a way to escape the effects of his abuse and his bullying attitude: hip-hop music. He fell in love with it at the age of nine, and by 11 he was writing lyrics and making his own songs with some DJ equipment his grandfather gave him. At 15, he and one of his best friends came up with his present stage name, L.L. Cool J, which means "Ladies Love Cool James."
In 1984, when L.L. was 16, he met Rick Rubin, a student at NYU, who gave him his big break in music. Rick really liked L.L.'s music and decided to try to get him a record deal. Together, they made the single "I Need a Beat" and sent it to an artist manager named Russell Simmons. Simmons loved the single, and, in the same year, Rick and Russell co-founded the famous Def Jam Recordings; L.L.'s debut album, "Radio," released in 1985, after securing a distribution deal for Def Jam with Columbia/CBS Records, was the label's first long-playing release. Even today, L.L. is considered one of Def Jam's most prized possessions.
1985 was also the year L.L. started his acting career. He first appeared in Krush Groove (1985), which is a semi-biographical account of the early days of Def Jam Recordings. L.L. had a cameo appearance in the film. In 1986, L.L. also had a cameo appearance in the movie Wildcats (1986) and also wrote that movie's theme song. After that, L.L. took a break from film and concentrated more on his first love: music. His career took off, and after every one of his albums hit platinum-selling status, he was (and still is) regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time.
After a few years, he had small roles in a few other films, but was still better known for his music. All this changed in 1995. By this time he was a happily married 27-year-old with three children. His first starring film, Out-of-Sync (1995), had also been released. It didn't do very well at the box office, but it got him noticed by executives at NBC-TV, who wanted to give him a part in a sitcom they were going to air. This sitcom was In the House (1995), which showed L.L.'s acting ability; the show stayed on the air until 1999.
He had been offered several films roles during the run of the show and decided to accept a part in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998). Its success resulted in L.L. being cast in bigger and better film roles, and he has acted alongside such stars as Whoopi Goldberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Lee Curtis, James Woods, Al Pacino, Omar Epps, Pam Grier, Stanley Tucci, and Dennis Quaid, to name a few.
In 2000, he was finally rewarded for his acting talent. That year he won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for the best supporting actor in the action film Deep Blue Sea (1999). Even though his film career has taken off, he hasn't forgotten his love of hip-hop music. In 1998, he was planning to retire from hip-hop and just concentrate on his film career, but he later decided to keep dividing his time between both fields. L.L. is not only known as one of the greatest MCs of all time, but he is also known as a great actor.- Actor
- Producer
- Composer
The legendary gangsta hip-hop emcee Ice-T was born Tracy Marrow on February 16, 1958, in Newark, New Jersey. He moved to Los Angeles, California, to live with his paternal aunt after the death of his father while he was in the sixth grade; his mother had died earlier when he was in the third grade. His aunt lived in the South Los Angeles district of Crenshaw, colloquially referred to as South Central. He became immersed in the street life of the inner-city and eventually became a member of the West Side Rollin 30s Original Harlem Crips.
In 1979, Marrow joined the Army after leaving Crenshaw High School, but his 4-year hitch was enough for him, as he was a leader, not a follower. "I didn't like total submission to a leader other than myself," he said. After ETSing from the Army in 1983, he returned to South Central with the intention of becoming a hip-hop musician. More than music, his life got caught up in street life as as a jewel thief and as a pimp. (His nomme de guerre, Ice T, is an homage to the fabled pimp and raconteur Iceberg Slim (Robert Beck). He committed himself totally to his music after a 1985 car crash.
As a musician, Ice-T played a major role in the creation of the gangsta incarnation of hip-hop music and was a colossus of the West Coast hip-hop scene, despite his East Coast, greater New York, origins. Though his music displays a political consciousness, like the indictments of racism that were a hallmark of seminal hip-hop group Public Enemy, it also is nihilistic as befits a chronicler of street life. His most infamous song, the heavy metal "Cop Killer," was one of the major battle in the cultural wars of the 1990s, in which cultural conservatives enlisted the Moses of the right wing, Charlton Heston, to get Ice-T dropped from his then-label, Sire/Warner Bros.
The charismatic Ice-T has also achieved success as an actor in movies and on TV. He plays Detective Odafin Tutuola on the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), which is ironic for someone famous for "Cop Killer" and his feud with the L.A.P.D. Ice-T currently resides in North Bergen, New Jersey, with his wife, Coco Austin.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Producer
Ice Cube was born in South Central Los Angeles, to Doris (Benjamin), a custodian and hospital clerk, and Hosea Jackson, a UCLA groundskeeper. He first came to public notice as a singer and songwriter with the controversial and influential band N.W.A. His compositions with that group included many of the classic cuts from their debut LP "Straight Outta Compton" (Ruthless/Priority, 1989), including the title track, "Gangsta Gangsta" and "Express Yourself". He quit the band over business differences in 1990 and began a still-growing series of commercially and critically acclaimed solo albums, starting with "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" (Priority, 1990). His second solo album, "Death Certificate" (Priority, 1991), a concept album about the fall and rise of the Black man, sold two million copies, and his subsequent solo output (six albums to date total) has sold over ten million copies. He has also discovered Yoyo, Del the Funky Homosapien, K-Dee and Mack 10. He has also produced, written, toured and recorded with Public Enemy, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, George Clinton, The D.O.C., Michel'e, Big Daddy Kane, WC & The Madd Circle (which spawned the solo career of Coolio), former N.W.A. bandmate Dr. Dre and Cypress Hill. He has also recorded with two post-N.W.A. side-project bands, Da Lench Mob ("Guerillas In Tha Mist", Street Knowledge/East-West, 1991) and Westside Connection ("Bow Down", Priority, 1996). His movie career has been no less stellar. Ice Cube's debut in Boyz n the Hood (1991) led to more roles in such films as Trespass (1992), Dangerous Ground (1997) and Anaconda (1997). He also appeared as himself in the comedy CB4 (1993). He is also no stranger to the other side of the camera, directing videos for himself as well as Prince and Color Me Badd, as well as co-writing his screenwriting debut, Friday (1995).
F*** T** P***** (explicit)- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
- Actress
- Producer
- Music Department
- Actor
- Music Department
- Composer
Eric Lynn Wright, better known by his stage name Eazy-E, was an American rapper who performed solo and as a member of the group NWA Wright is affectionately called "The Godfather Of Gangsta Rap."
He was born in Compton, California. After dropping out of high school in the tenth grade, he supported himself primarily by selling drugs before investing it in and becoming founder of Ruthless Records. He made his debut as a rapper with "Boyz-N-The-Hood" which was a revolutionary song in rap history written by Ice Cube. NWA first released N.W.A. and the Posse in 1987. In 1988, they released their most controversial album, "Straight Outta Compton." The group released two more albums before disbanding in the early 1990s.
Eazy-E continued as a solo artist releasing three solo projects. In addition, he released several notable artists on his Ruthless Records label including but not limited to Jada Michelle, The D.O.C., Above the Law and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
He fathered nine children. He died March 26, 1995 due to complications of pneumonia associated with AIDS.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Kool Moe Dee was born on 8 August 1962. He is an actor and composer, known for Wild Wild West (1999), A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989) and Scrooged (1988).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Boogie Down Productions is known for The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005) and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988).- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Ms. Melodie was born on 21 March 1969 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), Boogie Down Productions: You Must Learn (1989) and Boogie Down Productions: Jack of Spades (1989). She was married to KRS-One. She died on 17 July 2012 in the USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince is known for Strange Days (1995), The Wackness (2008) and The Parent Trap (1998).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Newcleus is an American Hip-Hop group formed in 1977 and based in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The group was formed by three teenage DJ's collectively known as Jam-On Productions: Ben "Cozmo D" Cenac, his cousin Monique Angevin, and her brother Pete. By 1979, the group's members had evolved to include Cenac, Yvette "Lady E" Cook, Monique Angevin, and Bob "Chilly B" Crafton. The group recorded two iconic albums ("Jam On Revenge" in 1984 and "Space Is the Place" in 1985) and one iconic song Newcleus: Jam On It (1984) that immensely influenced the growth of old school hip-hop, DJing and break-dancing in the early-1980s.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Joe Bataan was born on 15 November 1942 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Driver: Parallel Lines (2006), Un Dia Divino (1973) and Shine (2017).- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
- Composer
- Soundtrack
World Class Wreckin' Cru is known for Journey of Dr. Dre (2000).- Kangol Kid was born on 10 August 1966 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Should I Stay or Should I Go (2021), UTFO: Roxanne, Roxanne (1984) and UTFO: Leader of the Pack (1985). He died on 18 December 2021 in Manhasset, New York, USA.
Just Buggin' (feat. by Whistle) - Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
Although born in Madrid, Spain, Placido Domingo spent a major portion of his life living in Mexico City where he graduated from the Mexico City Conservatory. His first operatic performance was in a staging of La Traviata in Monterrey playing Alfredo. He was then a Tenor for the Israel National Opera and subsequently moved to Europe.
These gentlemen are significant artists for sure, but my heart is stuck to another genre.
Nessun Dorma