I just wanna say that reading your post made starting this thread completely worthwhile. I didn't just want to throw some random album covers up and call it a day. I truly wanted to share some things I thought were interesting and get a nice discussion going. A thank you to all who have contributed so far!
An excerpt from It Takes A Nation Of Millions...(33 1/3) by Christopher R. Weingarten: Chuck D and Hank Shocklee, leader of Public Enemy production crew the Bomb Squad, went to a throwdown at Old Westbury University in New York and heard the tides change without them. They heard Eric B and Rakim's "I Know You Got Soul," a lean monorail of a track featuring a Funkadelic break and a spindly Bobby Byrd sample, which were both totally dominated by the "serious as cancer" tone of MC Rakim... "It was frightening," recounted Chuck. "I looked at Hank, he looked back at me, and the DJ must've played this record 60 times. I was like, 'Hank, that's the greatest record.' We was f---in' mad. We left Old Westbury university p---ed."... A month after Bum Rush dropped, right after "I Know You Got Soul" set everything in motion, they were on the defensive, ready to create something people couldn't ignore. Marley Marl treated his sampler like a well-oiled machine, full of crisp breaks and sharp, jabbing riffs. But with "Rebel Without A Pause," the Bomb Squad were out to make organized chaos, dog-piling samples into a mind-rattling mess. "Rebel Without A Pause" was originally on the B-side of "You're Gonna Get Yours," recorded only weeks after Yo! Bum Rush The Show had been released. It was released in the UK on its own 12". It would later appear on It Takes A Nation Of Millions... Here's PE performing the song live on Yo! MTV Europe, a show that debuted in 1987, while the US market would have to wait until 1988 for Fab Five Freddy to hit the airwaves.
For the folks in the UK and other parts of Europe, what do you remember about Yo! in 1987? I'm curious to know if the infamous logo was the same, who hosted, what videos were played, etc. I can't find a whole lot of information about the show, other than it was created in 1987 for the European market by Ted Demme and Peter Dougherty (who sadly passed away a couple years ago).
This video might be jumping ahead a little bit--as we're still on 1987--but it seems this is a "best of" recap for Yo! Europe. I assume this is the original host and the original show opener from when the show launched? Part 1 seems to cover mainly 1987-88. Parts 2 & 3 below highlight later years ('88-'90), but I thought I'd still post.
Well, Yo! was in Europe only in '87. But when '88 comes up for discussion, that show would be 100% responsible for every hip hop track I was exposed to. There just were no black/R&B stations in my rural hometown.
I had this one!! I've been reading this thread on a time delay which has prevented my posting, but the earlier post with "Pee Wee's Dance" truly made my day. I haven't heard that track since 1986-87. I bought this compilation mainly for "The Show," which I first heard via my cousin from Philadelphia (I was a rural PA bumpkin), when he gave his own a capella, um, interpretation. I was so fascinated by it I had to hear the real thing. "A Fly Girl" was another favorite, and I was likewise thrilled when someone posted that one in this thread. I lost this cassette years ago. LOVE this thread.
I credit the show for boosting the popularity of rap music in the late 80s and 90s. If I remember correctly, the show, and rap videos in general, were not welcomed on MTV by many of the rock audience. MTV took a big gamble on it, and succeeded. Of course, MTV also had Headbanger's Ball, which helped to calm the anger of the disenchanted rockers.
By all means, feel free to reply to older posts! I was the one who posted about "A Fly Girl." That song is still my jam 32 years later!
Paid In Full (Coldcut Remix) Amazing track! the female vocals are the vocal sample of the Israeli singer Ofra Haza RIP
Boogie Boogie Boogie Boogie Boogie Down Produc Duc Duc D Duc Pretty much the only rap I was listening to in 87. My (younger) sister was into Public Enemy, The Beasties, and Salt N Pepa, but KRS-ONE was the only rapper I got hooked on. (Of course, I hadn't heard Rakim yet)
1987 for me was the already mentioned Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Kool Moe Dee, and Run DMC. DC's go go scene was peaking that year, and I'm going to post a few tracks when I'm not on a dying phone (if that's OK, @kanno1ae). But here's one of the few local rappers from back then, DC Scorpio, with his one big hit:
The "Paid In Full" remix is always mentioned among the best remixes from late '80s hip-hop, and rightfully so. Not talked about nearly as often, though, is the UK Double Trouble Remix for "I Know You Got Soul." Similar to the "Paid In Full" remix, this one features loads of samples, too, going back to the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" most often (although it's likely replayed rather than the original song directly sampled). Frankly, I like this remix just as much as I like the Coldcut Remix of "Paid In Full."
Very powerful remix .very rich production. Eric B and Rakim are among my favorite artists, I discovered them when I was a teen , I bought Paid and full cd and I was mesmerized by the sounds and the vocals, Immediately after I got Follow The Leader , Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em and Don't Sweat The Technique , I love them all. Eric B and Rakim were very unique, true explorers of sound , the combination of Eric B Adventurous / Crispy electronic sounds and the fantastic vocal flow of Rakim just connects perfectly.
'Then you'll begin....to master rhymin' rhymin' rhymin'.....' Loved BDP too, Criminal Minded and By Any Means Necessary both still feature heavily on my running soundtrack. KRS-One seemed to know what he was talking about....to a 15 year old in any case.
That's a good point. MTV helped spread rap to a younger suburban audience. The music industry was stunned to find out how much hip hop was selling when Soundscan was introduced in 1991. Soundscan ended up playing a bigger role in rap's growth than I think most realize. It helped usher in the 90's rap boom across the country, as labels started pumping money in on the business side.
That is correct! Before then, the record industry had the idea that White kids bought rock, and Black kids bought rap, and rarely did the two intermingle. It's the same reasoning MTV used in the early 80s when they got a lot of grief for not playing Black artists. But, anyone living in reality could have told the labels that White suburban kids were eating up all kinds of rap music, and had been for years. MTV and Soundscan proved it. It also alarmed middle America when the once neatly isolated drugs and street gangs spread to the suburbs, too. More discussion of that to come. We're on 1987, but the bubble was about to burst.
Another hit that I believe just stayed local--Sweet Cookie, out of Baltimore, and 1987's "Mind Your Business"
That was a big turning point for sure, unfortunately, I think that's when rap started taking a turn for the worst. Once the big labels got involved and hip hop went more mainstream in the late 90's, it fell into what rock had done, with pressure for hit songs, following trends and trying to find the "next big thing". I don't think it was ever the same, artists didn't get to express themselves like they used to and put out the albums they really wanted with the messages they wanted to convey. It felt like every artist had to have the "club hit", then the track with whoever the hot R&B singer was at the time to get the airplay on MTV. The creativity took a hit overall, although some artists stayed true. As we'll be discussing coming up through 1988 into the early 90's, it's amazing to see the variety of styles and the different flows of all the M.C's that were breaking through at those times, we're now getting into the good stuff!
Love Heavy D! Probably should've mentioned his debut single "Mr. Big Stuff" when we were talking about '86. Today, the original mix is fairly hard to find on CD. When it was included on Livin' Large, it was remixed, and that's the version that most often shows up today. The music video below has the original mix.
