WHY HAVE I CONSISTENTLY AND SHAMEFULLY UNDERRATED THE FUNKY 4 + 1???
― "Why is the voice of reason treated as the unreliable narrator?", asked (Austin), Tuesday, 19 July 2022 18:45 (one year ago) link
So with “Rapper’s Delight” being released September 16, 1979, all of these songs except “King Tim III” were released in the span of three-and-a-half months? That’s pretty wild.
― Mr. Snrub, Tuesday, 19 July 2022 18:57 (one year ago) link
good observation, mr snrub! on that front—
(Disco never died in New York, remember)
from all of the "history of early hiphop" stuff that i've taken in, the general vibe i get is that —especially in nyc— most folks just knew about hiphop from hearing it at block parties for years. so it makes sense that all it took was one hit and the floodgates opened.
for anybody interested in a lofi documentary that sheds light on a lot of important figures who allowed for the immediate onslaught in 1980, check out founding fathers narrated by chuck d. the general mood of the doc is, "these guys played a lot more disco and didn't always have mcs with them" but it's very cool to hear recollections.
― "Why is the voice of reason treated as the unreliable narrator?", asked (Austin), Tuesday, 19 July 2022 19:12 (one year ago) link
did any of these had some airplay outside ny - in 1979 ?
― meisenfek, Tuesday, 19 July 2022 19:32 (one year ago) link
“Rapper’s Delight” hit number three in the UK, amazingly enough. Over here it didn’t do quite as well, reaching #36.
― Mr. Snrub, Tuesday, 19 July 2022 22:12 (one year ago) link
Yeah that’s the one I remember hearing on the radio a lot. Kids in my suburban Florida neighborhood were memorizing the lyrics. Couldn’t swear I heard any of the others. I remember hearing “The Breaks” by Kurtis Blow but that was 1980.
― Josefa, Tuesday, 19 July 2022 22:18 (one year ago) link
"funk you up" is great, did not realize that's the OG ringadingdingdingdong!
― corrs unplugged, Wednesday, 20 July 2022 08:03 (one year ago) link
this is a silly scene from a silly movie, but I can definitely relate to the joy of rapping along to rapper's delighthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZLoKbPQHy0
― corrs unplugged, Wednesday, 20 July 2022 08:06 (one year ago) link
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 20 July 2022 09:59 (one year ago) link
this is them performing it for Dutch chart show TopPop:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zer0tlE4zGQ
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 20 July 2022 10:01 (one year ago) link
further proof of how deeply the song is embedded in the European public (sub)consciousness: in 2002, this Spanish song (note: "Rapper's Delight" had also been a number one hit in Spain) became of one of the biggest selling songs of the 2000s, reaching number one basically everywhere except for the US, where it peaked at #54:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMT698ArSfQLas Ketchup • The Ketchup Song (Asereje)
"The Ketchup Song" is about a young man named Diego who enters a nightclub. The DJ, a friend of Diego's, plays Diego's favorite song, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, and Diego dances and sings along to the song, imitating its chorus with Spanish gibberish. "Aserejé" is therefore a meaningless word, with the chorus "Aserejé, ja, de je, de jebe tu de jebere ..." being a somewhat incorrect imitation of the Rapper's Delight's "I said a hip-hop, the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop ..."Lyrical comparison of "The Ketchup Song" and "Rapper's Delight":The Ketchup Song: Aserejé ja de jé de jebetu de jebere sebiunouvamajabi an de buguian de buididipíRapper's Delight:I said a hip hop the hippie the hippieto the hip hip hop, a you don't stopthe rock it to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogieto the rhythm of the boogie, the beat
Lyrical comparison of "The Ketchup Song" and "Rapper's Delight":The Ketchup Song: Aserejé ja de jé de jebetu de jebere sebiunouvamajabi an de buguian de buididipí
Rapper's Delight:I said a hip hop the hippie the hippieto the hip hip hop, a you don't stopthe rock it to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogieto the rhythm of the boogie, the beat
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 20 July 2022 10:13 (one year ago) link
btw, in the slipstream of "Rapper's Delight", Joe Bataan's "Rap-O Clap-O" (also from '79) became a top-3 hit in the Netherlands in early 1980 (I can't find stats about its performance in other (European) countries):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntuSM_7WiKE
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 20 July 2022 10:19 (one year ago) link
"Christmas Rappin'" also reached #30 in the UK in December/January in the UK, and was a minor hit in NL as well somewhat later, as simply "Rappin'":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFtA7IHZgzw
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 20 July 2022 10:46 (one year ago) link
By coincidence "Ant Rap" also got to number 3, but that was a couple of years later:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4z__lCCBX0
It was released in December 1981 and peaked the next month, about a year after Blondie's "Rapture".
Apart from the fact that it's completely ridiculous I find it fascinating, because it almost represents a kind of parallel evolution of rap music - where the genre was inspired by the Royal Drummers of Burundi rather than Clyde Stubblefield.
― Ashley Pomeroy, Wednesday, 20 July 2022 19:59 (one year ago) link
sure, we could list all the rap-inspired songs that charted during the early 80s, but this thread is about the batch of ‘79, and my posts were relevant to that.
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 20 July 2022 21:36 (one year ago) link
xp hehe yes, I was quite old when I realized the Ketchup Sugarhill connection, but perhaps it subliminally sold me on Asereje
"Rapper's Delight" will probably walk this, it's the big stone cold classic of the bunch, very strong opening lines and that undeniable Chic groove
the endless version is hilarious, I think 3 or 4 minutes will suffice for most purposes
― corrs unplugged, Thursday, 21 July 2022 07:08 (one year ago) link
voted "We Rap More Mellow"
― F'kin Magnetometers, how do they work? (President Keyes), Thursday, 21 July 2022 13:47 (one year ago) link
yeah that is super good, funky
less mellow tbh
― corrs unplugged, Friday, 22 July 2022 07:00 (one year ago) link
3 or 4 minutes [of RD] will suffice for most purposes
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Friday, 22 July 2022 07:51 (one year ago) link
controversial opinion, it may work even better read in holden caulfield voice than to the beat
Have you ever went over a friend's house to eatAnd the food just ain't no good?I mean the macaroni's soggy, the peas are mushedAnd the chicken tastes like woodA so you try to play it off like you think you canBy saying that you're fullAnd then your friend says, "Mama, he's just being politeHe ain't finished, uh-uh, that's bull"A so your heart starts pumping and you think of a lieAnd you say that you already ateAnd your friend says, "Man, there's plenty of food"So you pile some more on your plateBut while the stinky food's steaming, your mind starts to dreamingOf the moment that it's time to leaveAnd then you look at your plate and your chicken's slowly rottingInto something that looks like cheeseOh, so you say that's it, I got to leave this placeI don't care what these people thinkI'm just sitting here making myself nauseousWith this ugly food that stinksOh, so you bust out the door while it's still closedStill sick from the food you ateAnd then you run to the store for quick reliefFrom a bottle of KaopectateAnd then you call your friend a two weeks laterTo see how he has beenAnd he says "I understand about the foodBaby bubba, but we're still friends"
― corrs unplugged, Friday, 22 July 2022 08:20 (one year ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Sunday, 24 July 2022 00:01 (one year ago) link
Hot Take/Challops alert: The Chicken Verse is actually rather good and provides a nice break from all the braggadocio.
― Mr. Snrub, Sunday, 24 July 2022 02:02 (one year ago) link
Not that rapping about, say, having a bigger dick than Superman or being able to watch Knicks basketball on a color TV don’t also kick ass, you understand.
― Mr. Snrub, Sunday, 24 July 2022 02:22 (one year ago) link
would be great to find some hip-hop without all the braggadocio, if anyone has any recommendations
― symsymsym, Sunday, 24 July 2022 04:06 (one year ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Monday, 25 July 2022 00:01 (one year ago) link
can't argue with that
as we proceed Ego Trip's Rap Singles 1980
― corrs unplugged, Monday, 25 July 2022 08:29 (one year ago) link
i didn't know we were voting for most popular . . .
― "Why is the voice of reason treated as the unreliable narrator?", asked (Austin), Monday, 25 July 2022 14:03 (one year ago) link
haha we weren't Austin!
I think in polls to come we'll see more vote splitting, but Rapper's Delight was never going to lose this I'm afraid
― corrs unplugged, Tuesday, 26 July 2022 07:32 (one year ago) link