Old School Hip Hop

The Old School Hip Hop Message:
The message behind old school hip hop focused on parties, good times, and friendships. The only exception was “The Message” which was written by Melle Mel as a rap song for his hip hop music group. In the early seventies, the hip hop music genre started in N.Y.C. along with the invention of breakbeat DJing. Grandmaster Flash, Kool DJ Herc, as well as other DJs took the time to extend the breaks which were short percussion interludes of funk records which created a sound that was even more danceable and sophisticated. The actual use of this extended percussion breaks led to the overall development of scratching and mixing techniques and then later it led to popularization of these remixes.

As time passed and the popularity of hip hop grew, the performers started to speak during the time that the music played and they were referred to as emcees or MCs. The first individual that referred to himself as a MC was Melle Mel, who was a rapper among Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Often, there were times that the performers would emcee for several hours at a time, with a little improvisation, a basic chorus, and a rather simple beat of four counts.

In time, the MCs were able to grow more varied in relationship to rhythmic and vocal approach, which incorporated brief rhymes as well as a theme. African American culture was incorporated into the early raps by its rhyming lyrics such as the dozens.

The First Steps Leading the Way to Commercialization:
The first steps leading the way to commercialization of the hip hop music genre accompanied the release of the first two hip hop recordings that were commercially issued: Fatback Band’s “King Tim III”, The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rappers Delight”. Even though “King Tim III” is technically considered to be the earliest hip hop song that was recorded, it had some rather significant roots in the culture of Djing; the song entitled “Rapper’s Delight” became listed among the Top Forty Hits on the Billboard Chart for pop singles in the United States.

After the follow-up acts made their releases, the hip hop music genre was pegged with a temporary, successful trend in the music. The acts included: “The Breaks” by Kurtis Blow, “Funk You Up” by The Sequence and “Freedom” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.