When I first heard Hip Hop, in the winter of 1979, I was in Germany living the childhood life of what is often termed an "army brat". Previous to that day I had always had a love for music. My parents were always playing Motown, Lou Rawls, James Brown, Rolls Royce, Earth Wind & Fire, Kool & The Gang and the list goes on… I was hooked. Records and Cassette Tapes became as exciting as toys. At this time in particular my Dad had to travel to U.S. (Indiana I believe) for some Military training of some sort and he decided to send me a gift. What better gift for my 9-year-old ears than a style of music I hadn't heard before. I listened to The Sugar Hill Gangs "Rappers Delight" with intrigue, wide-eyed excitement and much curiosity… Is this some new form of music? How come I hadn't heard it before? How do I find more? I set out to answer those questions and from that point made a conscious choice to "find everything that sounds like this".
My travels took my around my army base, large double deck radio in tow, to find other people with tapes of this new found sensation. Luckily for me it seemed that there was always some family or G.I. moving to the base from New York or other East Coast based cities. They always had tapes of the Legendary Hip Hop radio shows, live performances and things of the such. I soaked it all in. I imagine that's how a lot of countries around the world first experienced Hip Hop, courtesy the U.S. military.
During my time living in Germany I didn't hear any Hip Hop being created in the communities outside of my Military Base radius*. Then again I was a Pre-Teen kid and really didn't get out much….ha! It's certainly possible and rather likely that the seeds had been set and things were brewing even if it was unbeknownst to me. Perhaps the first time I thought of Hip Hop being international was accompanying one of my German friends to the theater to see Star Wars: Return of The Jedi in '83 (note: No, I have no idea why I went to see it in the German theater because I couldn't understand a word of it, but you have to admit it is visually stimulating…). In any event, leaving the theater I noticed a poster on the wall with some Hip Hop styled Graffiti and a guy doing a back-spin advertising a new movie coming out, about Hip Hop, called "Wildstyle". I don't know if I was more excited or shocked.... "There's going to be a movie about Hip Hop?!?!?" I asked myself. "…and it's playing in German theaters too!!?" Bonkers... Unfortunately for me before it released I had moved back to the U.S. and by the time I arrived there "Wildstyle" had left the theaters in my new stomping grounds of Junction City, Kansas. Anyway, I digress…
I'm not 100% sure what my earliest memory of International Hip Hop (I.E-something not created in the U.S. or by Americans) was, but I believe it took place in the mid 80s*. Unquestionably the UK was at the forefront of making Hip Hop outside the confines of the U.S. to make an impact here. In 1985 Davy DMX, known for his production & DJ work with Run-DMC among others, released a 12" single entitled "The DMX Will Rock" featuring two Female MCs. One was Sweet T who went on to have a fruitful career in Hip Hop. The other I never heard of again. Her name was Iyoni J who informed (or was it "boasted"), "…I'm not like you from around the way. Where I come from we're rappin' night and day, but we rock to the big beat just the same." A few years later, in 1988, Profile records, a key US Hip Hop label that was the home for Run-DMC and many other key figures on the scene, released a UK Hip Hop compilation called "Hard As Hell". It was released in conjunction with premier UK Hip Hop label, Music Of Life who had already experienced some state side attention with artist Derek B as well as Daddy Freddy & Asher D. The label was formed by key UK producer Simon Harris and introduced the world to MC Duke, She Rockers, Thrashpack, C.J. Mackintosh, Demon Boyz and my personal favorite, Hijack.
Hijack was easily the first International Hip Hop artist to make a big impact and be influential on me personally. They made fast, aggressive, intensive Hip Hop. MC, Kamanchi Sly keep me listening closely. He was anti-industry before it was cool and the underground standard. I remember The Source, then the prominent Hip Hop publication as much for the underground as the main stream, quoting his "Suckers sell out so I stand aside, another brothers greed overtakes his pride" line and thinking 'This is a man very serious about rapping'…ha! His quote worthy lines are endless. The Hijack legend is classic. From getting their record deal by winning a Hip Hop competition and throwing the prize money into the crowd stating 'Hip Hop is not about the money'...certainly a rarity. Hijacks' DJs, Supreme & Undercover, were as good as any U.S. DJ at the time. To be quite honest they were better by many accounts. They are often cited as influences by the likes of Q Bert & Mix Master Mike who both exist as "scratch-gods" in the eyes of many. In 1988/89 Hijack was invited to join Ice T's crew the Rhyme Syndicate and was slated for a full U.S. release via the Rhyme Syndicate new label imprint deal with Epic. However, after a slew of singles the label folded before releasing the Hijack LP, "The Horns Of Jericho", robbing them of their chance to take-over the U.S. as they had so carefully and meticulously planned.
Also in 1988 First Priority Records, who were known for being responsible for key Brooklyn Hip Hop artists such as MC Lyte and Audio Two, released a compilation called Basement Flavor. It featured all of their current line-up including the aforementioned as well as "up-comers" The Alliance, Barsha, etc… My personal two favorite offerings came in the form of more of my early exposure to International Hip Hop. First up was Female MC, Michie Mee from Toronto. Her song "On This Mic" floored me. It was composed of very nicely done James Brown samples (then again in '88 what wasn't a James Brown sample) and her very aggressive yet sexy delivery. I was hooked...not to mention I'm pretty sure I had a crush on her…ha! She had so much style and flavor, mixing in her Jamaican/Reggae background for some additional international effect. That became one of my anthems for that year without question. The compilation came to a close with a track called "Break The Limits" with DJ Soul Shock and featuring an MC named See Que, they were representing Denmark. Quite honestly I don't think I had any idea where Denmark was at the time. Actually, I still wouldn't know right now if there wasn't a large world map plastered right in front of me*… Anyway, I was impressed. The track had great energy. Soul Shock was indeed a class act on the turntables (and later to prove behind a sampler as well). See Que attacked the mic in true B-Boy fashion as he gave deserving praise to his DJ. The difference between See Que and Michie Mee was that See Que definitely had an unfamiliar vocal tone. Michie Mee sounded Jamaican and as previously stated that was already common. I made this distinction in my head but it never struck me as particularly a bad or good thing. However, that would come to be one of the things that would make it difficult for Hip Hop created outside of the U.S. to be accepted here. Mind you, it was already challenging enough within the confines of the United States. Cities outside of New York (Hip Hop's birthplace) had also long been developing and releasing Hip Hop of their own. For the most part everyone shared a common goal; emulate this music and sound they heard and were inspired from in New York and ultimately be accepted by them. New York wasn't making that easy by any means. Most New York DJs and the like considered most anything not made there to be "cheap imitations" or "water down versions" of what they were doing so they weren't that supportive. This is what inspired groups like N.W.A, Too Short, Two Live Crew and many others to finally decided that they couldn't beat 'em or join 'em so they sought out to create their own sound and support base.
International Hip Hop didn't have as easy or quick of a breakthrough as those sort of artists, particularly the MCs. Probably the first musically mark on Hip Hop from abroad came in the form of the DJs. This mainly made possible to the wide spread popularity of Competitions such as the DMC. The DMC started to have "DJ World Championships" dating back to 1986. By 1991 three Non-U.S. DJs had won world titles: Chad Jackson (UK 1987), Cutmaster Swift (UK '89) & DJ David, the first with back-to-back championships (Germany '90 & '91). Besides the "champs" these competition heats were taking place at various other locations with impressive representations from Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Holland, Japan and so on. Many of the DJs involved in these competitions eventually made the natural progression into production and became embraced by U.S. MCs (ex: DJ Honda, DJ Krush, Soul Shock, etc…).
Without a doubt, the MCs had and have it the hardest. A lot of people simply can't get past the difference in the voices…man us Americans can be so picky, not to mention trivial…ha! Anyway, despite the struggles, the many years of the progress and evolution of Hip Hop has brought forth a vast amount of incredible talent from artists representing all the elements of Hip Hop. Redefinition Radio just completed a two-week special titled "Hip Hop Around The Globe" where we tried to give just a brief glimpse of some of the top-notch offerings from the various corners of the world. With only two hours of total time to represent 20+ years of creation across the globe we certainly barely scratched the surface. Even with this somewhat lengthy article there is a wealth of information, locations, and artists not being represented. However, I think we gave you a great jumpstart to seek out and explore the endless other options yourself. With that in mind, what are you still here for? Go explore the possibilities, here's some more help*:
www.dmcworld.com
www.hiphopireland.com
www.italianrap.com
http://www.russian-hiphop.de/
www.djsupeme.com
http://www.kamanchisly.com/
www.africanhiphop.com
www.hiphopdirectory.com
www.heroesofukhiphop.com
http://www.globalvillageidiot.net/hiphop.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/swedish-hip-hop
http://www.answers.com/topic/japanese-hip-hop
http://www.msu.edu/~okumurak/japan/history.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3324409.stm
http://www.low-life.fsnet.co.uk/ukhiphop/international/
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/canadianhiphop.html
You can also find a wealth of stuff at: wikipedia.org
…And many many more
Sub-Notes:
*although I recall a song of what I would guess was a British
Comedian doing his version of Melle Mel's "The Message" back
in '82. Plus the obvious influence of Electro music pioneers
Kraftwerk, who hail from Germany.
*This doesn't include the always-existing influence of Jamaica &
and Africa on Hip Hop which is a story within itself
*I possibly am the worst geographical knowledgeable person
known. Ok, that's probably a bit extreme but I'm awful by
most accounts. Trust me, I'm working on it…
*I surfed all these sites a bit when looking for songs and info for
the "Hip Hop Around The Globe" special. Most are in English.
However, I by no means fully navigated them so there's no
telling what you may find, so enter at your own will and that
pertains to kiddies and grown-ups alike…
REDEFINITION RADIO-HIP HOP AROUND THE GLOBE:
Part One: 3-18-06
Part Two: 3-25-06
to hear these shows follow this link:
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/programs/redefinition_radio/
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