Rapper's Delight as New York celebrates 50 years of hip-hop

The hip-hop movement was born as a way for African Americans and Hispanics to escape poverty and discrimination.

The article as usual mainly fetes the huge names but the underground of hip hop is where there are many gems; from political activists like Immortal Technique to theatrical creators like MF Doom to Japanese beatmakers like Nujabes.

Many of them are no longer active now for various reasons and it is a shame.

He also crossed rap's boundaries, including with his megahit "Empire State of Mind,"

Let's hear it for New York

Lil Kim, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Run DMC and The Sugarhill Gang

*List incomplete without Nas. Before 'the Empire State of Mind' there was the 'New York State of Mind'.

Congrats, been a long run, combine hip hop , breakdancing with West Coast Pop-locking boogooloo and street dancing completely changed the world of music in so many ways and created new genres of music and dance that it has become a global phenomenon and seen almost in every facet of life.

Fifty years has gone by pretty fast. Yesterday, there was the story about Bruce Lee and today we get hip-hop. Both were integral in shaping my adolescence. The list mainly talks about big names but the best years in my opinion were before Jay-Z and the West Coast ever came on the scene. The impromptu DJ events in the streets by then-unknowns (outside of the NYC area) like Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Grand Wizard Theodore and others were so raw and unique and full of energy, it was a heady time. Kind of like Japan during the bubble years. Uncharted waters never to be seen again.

50 years ago is 1973. Who are they using as the originator to set that date, The Last Poets? Gil Scott Heron? Rappers Delight is the Chic Good Times riff, so that won't be till 1978 or 1979.

As in the comments above, a lot of geniuses in hip-hop, but Jay Z isn't one of them. Chuck D, Q Tip, De La, Dilla, Wu Tang, NWA ....

> kohakuebisuToday 10:33 am JST

50 years ago is 1973. Who are they using as the originator to set that date, The Last Poets? Gil Scott Heron? Rappers Delight is the Chic Good Times riff, so that won't be till 1978 or 1979.

> As in the comments above, a lot of geniuses in hip-hop, but Jay Z isn't one of them. Chuck D, Q Tip, De La, Dilla, Wu Tang, NWA ....

Agree with you on all that.

Not forgetting the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” in 1966, cited as a major influence.

No mention of Vanilla Ice? Best selling rap single of all time and did more to move rap to a mainstream audience than any other artist. Now a successful real estate agent.

For the uninformed, who marked down my above post:

“You can look at hip-hop, and using samples, or scratching in music, the Beatles were doing that in Tomorrow Never Knows.”

Rick Rubin, record producer for the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Run DMC and Public Enemy

This is outstanding news. As a fellow minority musician, it is heartwarming to see that hip hop is finally being recognized by the oligarchy that controls the media and entertainment industry. Sugarhill Gang paved the way for other musical geniuses like the Fat Boys and even that Vanilla Ice character. Run DMC were the best, in my vast musical knowledge enhanced opinion. Someday, Japan based electronica noise avant garb experimental industrial musicians such as myself should release an homage album on CD-R of covers.