Memoirs Of Redefinition Radio #3: Reminiscing On Hip Hop

Memoirs Of Redefinition Radio #3: Reminiscing On Hip Hop

One of the more popular past times in Hip Hop lyricism is the art of looking back…reflecting…ya know, good ole' fashioned reminiscing. Often it's the MC telling the story of how they first found Hip Hop or sharing with the listener their journey thru life and the ways it relates to their Hip Hop experiences. Many times it's used as a means to stress they feel that the days of long gone where far superior to the days of now. Within that context the MCs often wish for a return to those days or express their feeling that those glory days may never return. OK, we'll tackle this a bit later on*…

The first song I could find that falls under the bracket of "Reminisce Rap" is Grandmixer D.st and his "Home Of Hip Hop" single in 1984. The Grandmixer had been a recognized DJ on the scene for a while at that point. His debut single, "Grandmixer Cuts It Up", released in 1982 more so showcased his skills in playing the synthesizer than his scratching techniques. However, his DJ skills became unquestionable, extremely influential, and eventually legendary with is contributions to Herbie Hancock's "Rock It" single in 1983. You can take your pick on what makes this record more significant; 1) It being the first major Hip Hop & Jazz Collaboration, 2) It being the first major hit record with scratching as a prominent element, or 3) It being perhaps the first record that truly focused on using the turntable as a instrument with D.st's very precise and calculated, yet fluid, rhythmic scratches. This is most likely the record that influenced more people to become DJs than any other of its' generation. Anyway, getting back on track, "Home Of Hip Hop" speaks about the earliest days of Hip Hop. This is a time before rap records (circa 1974-1979) and when Hip Hop was in the hands of the DJ with key names such as Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa. It focuses on a time when the only way you could experience Hip Hop was at the park jams/neighborhood jams around the way (mainly or at least initially in the Bronx, New York).

MC Shan's "The Bridge" is a Hip Hop classic that is also responsible for the birth of another Hip Hop classic as well. MC Shan, along with Producer Marley Marl, wanted to create a song to tell you about the Hip Hop history of "where they come from". "The Bridge" tells the rap roots of Queens, New York. MC Shan paints a vivid and clear picture of what was taking place while Marley Marl provides a very influential production style. It's the production on "The Bridge" that Public Enemy's Chuck D & Hank Shocklee have credited for being influential on their sound starting with "Rebel With Out A Pause". It's composed of raw sampled drums, courtesy of the SP-1200, topped with some high-pitched tones wailing all through out the track. This is pretty much the track that made noisy production acceptable and in many cases preferred. However, not everyone was ready to stand behind and support this record. Boogie Down Productions (KRS One & DJ Scott La Rock) were actually determined to do just the opposite. "South Bronx" was an answer record where KRS One attacked Shan on the grounds that "The Bridge" suggested that Hip Hop started in Queens*. KRS One, who later became known as "The Teacher", felt it was his duty to tell the "real story" of where Hip Hop began. This was a breakthrough record for Boogie Down Productions, it wasn't their debut but it can pretty much be considered the starting block for a long, legendary career in Hip Hop. These two songs were only the beginning of a long standing "wax war" with the Boogie Down Productions vs. the Juice Crew (mainly MC Shan, Roxanne Shante, & Big Daddy Kane). Many believe it was this competition that tarnished MC Shan's reputation (particularly BDP's second attack, "The Bridge Is Over") and why he never rose to any higher levels of success, even when he dropped the best work of his career two years later in '88 with his "Born To Be Wild" LP (that's a whole other story for another day...). Regardless of the results, many years later KRS One admitted that his attack on MC Shan was unprovoked…at least by MC Shan. He was angry with Mr. Magic, who is recognized as the Grand Daddy of Hip Hop radio and the host of one of the most influential radio shows of that time and all time for that matter, "Mr. Magic's Rap Attack" (of which Marley Marl was his DJ). BDP had taken their demo to Mr. Magic for feedback and hopefully some radio-play. Mr. Magic sent them away feeling unsatisfied, but only after he told them that he wasn't feeling them and apparently made some negative remarks about their music on his show. Besides the radio show Mr. Magic, along with partner Fly Ty, were also supporters of what was to become the Juice Crew (Mr. Magic also went by the name Sir Juice so that is probably the root to the name) so when KRS felt disrespected by Mr. Magic he chose to not just to attack him but those affiliated with him and particularly "The Bridge" which was probably the biggest Mr. Magic related record at the time.

Reminiscing rap songs sprinkled in all through the late 80s. By '94 it hit a peak with back in the day anthems (by title or topic) from some of the hottest artists at the time: KRS One, Artifacts, Common, Nas, etc… To single just one of those groups, The Artifacts perhaps took it even a step further. In addition to their back in the day anthem, "Whayback", their image itself was based on returning to the roots of Hip Hop. They made a very distinct point of incorporating all the key elements of Hip Hop. They rapped about Graffiti (with their lead single "Wrong Side Of The Tracks"), Breakdancing, DJing, & of course the art of MCing. The only other crew that comes to mind of putting that much effort in representing the history of Hip Hop in their music as well as persona would be The Lixx on the West Coast. Over the years other groups began to surface with this same mind-state. In the next few years' crews such as Jurassic 5 & The Arsonists made an impact on the indie rap scene pushing this same ideal forward.

In more recent times the art of basing a career on speaking on or recreating/reinterpreting the sounds of the early generations of Hip Hop (whether it be the 70s, 80s or the 90s) has been adopted by many artists; Edan, Ugly Duckling, Starving Artists, Giant Panda, P Brothers, Statik & Nat Ill, Time Machine and probably many others who are escaping me right now. Beyond that there's many artists who can be found regularly injecting sentiments and admiration for the Old School ways in their music; Beastie Boys (who've been doing since their start), Ghostface (and most of the Wu Tang for that matter), Mos Def, Cormega, Aceyalone, Blueprint, Insight, Crown City Rockers, Madlib, R.A. The Rugged Man, Count Bass D, Sage Francis, People Under The Stairs, Nice & Smooth, De La Soul, and the list goes on…

I imagine we can safely guess that the art of paying homage to the past will always be a big part of Hip Hop. Consider the fact that in another 10 years, or maybe even sooner, people will rhyme about how they miss their "good ole days" of 2006…

Stop back by next week to check out the complete list I have compiled of "Reminisce Rap"…

Listen To The First Two Volumes of "Reminiscing On Hip Hop":

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/programs/redefinition_radio