Prehistoric Hip-Hop. →[More:]

To the casual observer, hip-hop may seem to have fallen fully-formed from the sky (perhaps dropped by the Mothership), but like all popular music phenomenons, including the emergence of rock and roll itself, it has a long and complex history, full of amazing artifacts for the enterprising musical archaeologist.

Now, for the sake of this conversation, I'll define the 'Year One' as 1979, the year of the first big hip-hop hit, 'Rapper's Delight,' (youtube link) from the Sugar Hill Gang, which puts the tracks I am about to present to you squarely in paleolithic territory.

Doriella Du Fontaine - Lightnin' Rod (feat. Jimi Hendrix)(yousendit). Recorded in 1969, this studio jam pairing the guitar legend with the man who would become Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin of rap pioneers the Last Poets (with some help from Buddy Miles on drums), definitely points toward the future. The sinuously funky guitar from Jimi and the dense, detailed, street-slang loaded (and raw) lyrics from Rod make this one of the original proto-rap artifacts.

Lenox Ave. - Angela Simpson(yousendit). From 1972, this record features then six-year old Miss Simpson delivering a meditation on the black and Latino inhabitants of the Big Apple and their history over a nice relaxed funk beat. The kid had flow.

Gil Scott Heron - Whitey's On The Moon(youtube) and The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (youtube, again). Heron is probably the best known of the pioneers mentioned here, having actually had some commercial success, even though drug abuse and legal problems have derailed him of late. These tracks from 1970, however, show him at the peak of his powers. The musicality of the vocals, the seamless flow, the wit and the clear vision all provide the blueprint for the Public Enemy's and Boogie Down productions to come.

You could add plenty of people to this list, Jamaican sound system 'toasters', beat poets reciting over jazz, playground legends who never made it big like Kool Herc, but I hope you enjoy today's artifacts.