Disco Rap

Disco rap refers to the very first wave of recorded Hip Hop music, a style that was most prevalent during the years 1979 to 1982 and subsequently also referred to as 'old school hip hop'. The rappers' lyrics typically concern party-oriented topics, braggadocio and having fun, delivered over the contemporary Disco breaks which were popular at the time. The latter were either performed by a live band or sampled (originally using limited technology such as pausing and looping cassette tapes). Prior to being recorded commercially, hip hop music was performed by inner city African Americans and Latino Americans in The Bronx in New York City earlier in the 1970s. At block parties (often in the streets), MCs rapped whilst DJs played percussive breaks on turntables from disco, Funk and Soul records. In 1979, whilst preceded by funk act The Fatback Band's B-side "King Tim III (Personality Jock)", one of the earliest and the single most notable recording of the era was Sugarhill Gang's 1979 single "Rapper's Delight", which interpolated Chic's "Good Times" (leading to a lawsuit which resulted in a settlement and writing credits). This introduced hip hop to the mainstream and paved the way for a wave of other rap singles with disco backing, including Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks" a year later, which was the first gold-certified hip hop song in the USA and only the second 12-inch single overall to achieve the status. This era of hip hop ended when productions switched to a more synthesized sound, heralded by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's socially conscious "The Message" in 1982. The Roland TR-808 drum machine played a crucial role in the development of new styles, namely Electro with Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock" the same year and Hardcore Hip Hop with Run-D.M.C.'s "Sucker M.C.'s" in 1983.