The two rock songs that popularised rap music
In the present day, rap and hip-hop music is one of the biggest genres on the planet. What started among young kids from the Bronx in the 1970s has since become a global phenomenon, transcending virtually every language and culture. Although the genre is not viewed as particularly close to rock music nowadays, it was the collaboration between rap and rock artists that brought hip-hop to the mainstream in the first place.
Rap music has its roots, like most musical genres, in blues and jazz music. West African griots are also viewed as being a kind of precursor to rap music. However, rap music as we know it now first began in the 1970s in New York City. A DJ would mix vinyl records to create a beat, while an MC would freestyle over it. Although it began as a fringe movement, rap music grew in prominence throughout the decade and began to spread outside of New York.
Across the 1970s, proto-rap artists such as Kurtis Blow began to receive more airplay on radio stations, but it was not until rock musicians started to take notice of the scene that the success became more mainstream. Elsewhere in New York City in the 1970s, there was a blossoming punk rock scene surrounding the CBGB club. Acts like the Ramones, Talking Heads, and Blondie were transitioning from cult punk bands towards mainstream musical acts towards the end of the decade.
It was through that CBGB scene that rap found its way into the mainstream consciousness. Though rap had been incorporated into rock and punk music before, in ‘The Magnificent Seven’ by The Clash, it was not until Blondie had a go that people began to take notice. The New York natives had been inspired by the early hip-hop scene and chose to incorporate rap into their sound on the 1980 track ‘Rapture’.
‘Rapture’, by modern standards, is a pretty goofy number. Debbie Harry’s flow leaves a lot to be desired, often sounding as though the vocalist has swallowed a rhyming dictionary. Regardless, it must be noted that ‘Rapture’ hugely affected the hip-hop scene, becoming the first hit song to feature a rap section. Although Blondie received criticism for the song from their punk fanbase, not only for its influence of hip-hop but also disco, the track was a big hit for the group and, in many ways, signified their move from grassroots punk band to new wave 1980s pop stars.
The other rock song that helped to popularise rap came from Blondie’s CBGB contemporaries. Tom Tom Club was formed as a side project by Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth or Talking Heads. Their 1981 track ‘Wordy Rappinghood’ topped the US disco charts on its release. Dropping a few months after Blondie’s effort, ‘Wordy Rappinghood’ is similarly dated and silly sounding by today’s standards. Notably, despite the heavy influence of sampling in early hip-hop, both these tracks feature fairly standard original new wave backing tracks. While the Tom Tom Club track is perhaps not the best song Frantz and Weymouth ever worked on, it still deserves credit for adopting rap in its early phase.
Attributing the success of early rap music to two white new wave groups is fairly problematic. Early hip-hop acts like the Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash or Fab Five Freddy were absolutely vital in establishing the genre, and the lineage of their influence can still be heard in many modern rap songs. However, the mainstream success of rap music, in terms of chart-topping songs, came in the form of rock bands.
