For three decades, hip hop has gone grown and expanded across the globe. Rappers, DJs and prominent people within the scene have all helped to make the genre the biggest cultural phenomenon in history. TSO takes a look at some of hip hop’ s most historic and pivotal moments .
70’s
- In 1973, DJ Kool Herc deejays the first block party in the Bronx.
- A student by the name of Kevin Donovan changes his name to Afrika Bambaataa Aasim and forms the Zulu Nation.
- Grandmaster Caz, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa start deejaying parties around the Bronx, after seeing Kool Herc’s rise to fame.
- Bambaataa categorises the ‘Four elements of hip hop’.
- MC Lovebug Starski coins the culture as ‘hip hop’.
- Grand Wizard Theodore accidentally invents ‘the scratch’ when he holds the record in place to listen to his mother.
- Afrika Bambaataa performs at the Bronx River Centre and sparks the first DJ battle.
- The Rock Steady Crew is founded.
- Russell Simmons ( a promoter within The Force) decides to change Kool DJ Kurts name to Kurtis Blow.Kurtis would later become the first rapper signed to a major record deal.
- Music industry coins the term ‘rap music’ and began focusing on emcees.
- Grandmaster Flash forms one of the most influential rap groups ever – The Furious 5.
- Sylvia Robinson launches Sugarhill Records and form’s The Sugarhill Gang. ‘Rapper’s Delight’ becomes the first known rap release and hit in 1979.
- Mr Magic’s ‘Rap Attack’ becomes the first hip hop radio show.
80’s
- Kurtis Blow is the first rapper to appear on national TV (Soul Train) and releases ‘The Breaks’. It becomes hip hop’s first gold single.
- At a DJ battle in Queens, DJ Run and his friend Darryl meet a young DJ names Jason Mizell.
- Whodini becomes the first rap group to shoot an official video for their song ‘Magic’s Wand’.
- Adam Horovitz, Adam Yauch and Michael Diamon form the Beastie Boys.
- Afrika Bambaataa samples Kraftwerk on Planet Rock.
- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5 release The Message.
- The duo of Run & D graduate high school and enlist the help of Jason Mizell. Run’s brother Russell changes their name to Run DMC and lands them a deal with Profile Records.
- Fab 5 Freddy and Charlie Ahearn co-produce Wild Style.
- Ice T pioneers gangsta rap in the West Coast.
- Run DMC releases It’s Like That b/w Sucker MCs, and become the first rap group to get consistent airplay on mainstream TV and radio.
- Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin team up and launch Def Jam Records.
- The film’s ‘Breakin’ and ‘Beat Street’ are released.
- Dougie Fresh releases The Original Human Beat Box.
- Salt 'N Pepa make their first appearance.
- Kris Parker meets DJ Scott Sterling (Scott La Rock) and forms Boogie Down Productions.
- Doug E. Fresh records ‘The Show’ with his new partner MC Ricky D (aka Slick Rick).
- A 16 year old LL Cool J releases his debut album ‘Radio’. It becomes the first album release of Def Jam.
- The Beastie Boys release Licensed To Ill. James Smith assembles
- The Geto Boys, which helps to force the evolution of southern rap.
- Run DMC’s third album ‘Raising Hell’ which features ‘Walk This Way’ , spans four hit singles and becomes the first multi-platinum rap album.
- New hip hop duo Eric B & Rakim release their first single ‘Eric B Is President’. Rakim’s wordplay and rhyming techniques begins a new era of MCing.
- Public Enemy releases Yo! Bum Rush The Show beginning the rise of politically charged hip hop.
- A former LA drug dealer named Eric Wright (Eazy –E) uses his money to finance an small rap lable called Ruthless records. He signs a group called H.B.O as his first act and recruits Andre ‘Dr Dre’ Young and Oshea ‘Ice Cube’ Jackson. HBO doesn’t make much of an impact so Eazy – E, Dr Dre, Ice Cube and DJ Yella form N.W.A after recruiting MC Ren to join them.
- Eric B & Rakim release ‘Paid In Full’.
- DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince debut with Rock The House, and with their fun and humorous videos become an instant MTV favourite.
- Hip hop gets its own show on MTV with Yo! MTV Raps.
- NWA help to continue the gangsta rap movement with their album Straight Outta Compton. ‘F*ck The Police’ incites controversy for it’s lyrics and leads the F.B.I to issue a formal warning to the group, Ruthless Records and Priority Records. Scott La Rock is shot and killed.
- Erick Sermon and Parish Smith (EPMD) release ‘Strictly Business’ and become one of the most influential duos in the hip hop underground.
- MC Lyte becomes the first female hardcore rapper signed to a major label and releases ‘Lyte As A Rock’.
- Bambaataa forms the Native Tongues crew and recruits a young female MC called Queen Latifah. The Jungle Brothers after releases Straight Out The Jungle’ join the crew and introduce a new sub-genre termed alternative rap.
- Chuck D formally dismisses Professor Griff from Public Enemy after anti-Semitic remarks.
- Doug E Fresh’s former partner Slick Rick releases The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick.
- Ice Cube announces he’s leaving the NWA after a dispute with Eazy E and Jerry Heller over finances.
- Florida party rap group 2 Live Crew release their third album and find themselves arrested for lewd conduct after a Miami performance.
- Queen Latifah releases All Hail The Queen.
- De La Soul release their debut ‘3 Feet & Rising’, the group is hailed the ‘future of hip hop’.
90s
- 2Pac joins Digital Underground as a dancer and roadie.
- Ice Cube records his solo debut Amerikkka’s Most Wanted.
- A Tribe Called Quest releases their debut album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm.
- Heavy D convinces Andre Harrell, the president of Uptown Records to take on a young college student as an intern. His name was Sean Combs .
- NWA’s sophomore album N****z For Life reaches Number 1 on the charts.
- Busta Rhymes appears on A Tribe Called Quest’s ‘Scenario’.
- Digital Underground has a hit single with Same Song featuring a young, lesser known member named Tupac Shakur.
- Ice Cube stars in Boyz N The Hood.
- De La Soul Is Dead and ATCQ’s Low End Theory provides the launching pad for the dominance of alternative rap with acts like Digable Planets, Arrested Development, P.M Dawn, Gangstarr, Pharcyde and Del The Funkee Homosapien all having successful debuts.
- Salt N Pepa release their third album Blacks Magic which features the controversial ‘Let’s Talk About Sex’.
- Cypress Hill initiates a campaign to legalise hemp and release their self titled debut.
- 2pac Shakur releases his debut album 2pacalypse Now.
- Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs is fired from Uptown.
- Eric B and Rakim release 'Don’ t Sweat The Technique', however the duo split immediately after its release.
- Dr Dre and Suge Knight form a partnership to create Death Row Records. Their first project is a song for a police drama which features a young rapper called Snoop Doggy Dogg.
- Dr Dre releases ‘The Chronic’.
- A Tribe Called Quest release their third album 'Midnight Marauders'.
- Sean Puffy Combs begins Bad Boy Entertainment, and signs Craig Mack and Christopher Wallace.
- Snoop Doggy Dogg releases DoggyStyle. It becomes the first debut album to enter the Billboard at Number 1.
- Wu-tang Clan releases Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers.
- Salt N Pepa release their fourth album 'Very Necessary'. It becomes the best selling rap album of all time by a female artist.
- Nas’ Illmatic goes gold and is received as one of the greatest hip hop albums ever.
- ‘southerplayalisticadillacmuzik’ is released by Outkast, and starts the rise of the South.
- Common releases Resurrection.
- Warren G’s Regulate: The G-Funk Era is certified 4 times platinum.
- Notorious B.I.G releases Ready To Die and spawns to hits ‘Juicy’ and ‘Big Poppa’.
- 2pac is robbed and shot 5 times in an NY recording studio, he recovers but is later sentenced to 8 months prison. 2pac releases his third album ‘Me Against the World’. He signs a deal with Death Row Records after Suge Knight posts his bail.
- Eazy E dies of AIDS at the age of 31.
- Notorious signs his protégés Junior M.A.F.I.A featuring Lil Kim.
- Da Brat releases Fundafied.
- The Score becomes The Fugees biggest album and grabs them two Grammys.
- Jay-Z drops his debut Reasonable Doubt.
- Bone Thugs- N-Harmony release 'Tha Crossroads'.
- 2pac releases ‘ All Eyez On Me’. He is fatally wounded after sustaining multiple gunshots as he rode in a car driven by Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight in Las Vegas. 5 days later the rappers dies and leaves the hip hop world shocked and in mourning.
- Dr Dre leaves Death Row Records declaring gangsta rap is ‘dead’. He forms Aftermath Entertainment.
- Outkast release ATLiens.
- Female MCs become more sexually charged as Lil Kim and Foxy Brown debut.
- The Notorious B.I.G is shot and killed.
- The Fugees split.
- Missy Misdemeanor Elliott redefines hip hop and R&B with Supa Dupa Fly.
- Master P releases Ghetto D, becomes one of the most powerful men in hip hop after founding the record label, No Limit.
- Def Jam signs Jay-Z, DMX and a reformed EPMD.
- Dr. Dre signs Eminem to Aftermath.
- Lauryn Hill’s solo debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill scores 5 Grammys.
- ‘Vol 2: Hard Knock Life’ marks the beginning of Jay-Z’s mainstream breakthrough.
- DMX debuts with It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot and then releases Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood, becoming the first rap artist to have two number one albums in one year.
- ATCQ announce their break up.
- Cash Money Records signs a 100 million distribution deal with Universal and releases albums from Juvenile, Lil Wayne and B.G.
- Ludacris debuts.
- The Dirty South eclipses the West coast.
- Big Punisher, releases ;Capital Punishment; and becomes the first Hispanic solo rapper to have a platinum selling album.
- Backed by producer Dr. Dre, Eminem sells 4 million copies of his debut The Slim Shady LP.
- Mos Def and Talib Kweli (Black Starr) release their debut.
- Eve releases her debut album ‘Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders First Lady'.
- Big L is shot and killed.
- Production duo The Neptunes (Chad Hugo and Pharell Williams) produce hits for Kelis, ODB, Noreaga and Mase.
- Dr. Dre returns with his comeback LP 2001.
- The Syllaboliks crew form in WA.
00’s
- DJ Craze wins the Technics DMC World DJ Championship three consecutive times.
- The West Coast alt-rap scene gets a reboost with Jurassic 5’s debut album Quality Control.
- Eminem releases the Marshall Mathers LP and wins two Grammy’s.
- Nelly releases ‘Country Grammar’, further cements the notion that hip hop is no longer bi-coastal.
- Downsyde release Eponimous.
- Big Pun dies of a heart attack.
- Puff Daddy changes his name to P.Diddy.
- Jay-Z releases The Blueprint. The song ‘Takeover’ ignites a sparring match with Nas, who responds with his fifth album ‘Stillmatic’ featuring the song ‘Ether’.
- Tip signs with LaFace and shortens his name to T.I
- DJ Jam Master Jay is shot and killed in a Queens studio.
- Nelly beefs with KRS One.
- Eminem beefs with The Source magazine. Stars in 8 Mile.
- Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopez dies in a car crash.
- Perth get’s youth radio station Groove 101.7FM, urban music hits the airwaves.
- The Hilltop Hoods release The Calling. It becomes the first Australian hip hop album to go gold.
- Obese Records store is bought by Pegz and turned into a record label.
- T.I forms Grand Hustle Records after being dropped from LaFace.
- NY rapper 50 cent releases ‘Wanksta’ and creates a major buzz.
- DJ Jazzy Jeff releases ‘The Magnificent’, and helps the semi-revival of the Golden Age.
- Federal investigators raid the NY offices of Murder Inc.
- ODB signs to Roc-A-Fella after a jail stint, and changes his name to Dirt McGirt.
- 50 Cent releases In Da Club and the album ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’. It becomes one of the fastest selling albums in history.
- Nike and Reebok sign hip hop stars Nelly, Jay-Z and 50 Cent to lucrative endorsement deals.
- Outkast releases ‘Speakerboxx/ The Love Below ‘and wins Album Of The Year at the Grammys.
- Crunk becomes a dancefloor craze. Lil Flip, David Banner and T.I shine with gritty rap releases and Luda continues his reign of the south.
- Matty B releases ‘The Courageous’ LP.
- Jay-Z releases 'The Black Album' and announces his retirement.
- At the Vibe Awards a man named Jimmy James Johnson punches Dr. Dre in the face. A full on brawl ensues and Johnson is stabbed, by G-Unit rapper Young Buck.
- Kanye West releases his debut album ‘The College Dropout’, and is voted the Best Album Of The Year by Rolling Stone.
- Lil Wayne releases ‘Tha Carter’ to critical acclaim.
- ODB dies inside a recording studio.
- Jay-Z and Nas end their long running feud at a concert in New York.
- Jay-Z and Dame Dash sell off the remaining 50% stake of Roc-A-Fella Records to Universal’s Island Def Jam for less than $10 million and go their separate ways.
- Jay-Z soon becomes president Def Jam.
- 50 Cent announces The Game is off G-Unit.
- Lil' Kim begins a year-long prison sentence for perjury.
- Lil Wayne named President of Cash Money Records, sets up Young Money Imprint.
- Nas signs a deal with Def Jam, and releases 'Hip Hop Is Dead’.
- J Dilla dies of complications from Lupus disease.
- D12’s Proof is shot and killed.
- Lupe Fiasco releases ‘Food & Liquor’.
- ATCQ reunite.
- Jay-Z comes out of retirement and releases ‘Kingdom Come’.
- T.I stars in ‘ATL’. ‘King’ debuts at number one.
- KRS One and Marley Marl put two decades of rivalry behind them to release ‘Hip Hop Lives’.
- T.I vs T.I.P is released. Authorities arrest the rapper four hours before the BET Awards. He was charged with two felonies .
- Hilltop Hoods get commercial airplay on radio stations across Australia.
- Downsyde releases Land Of The Giants.
- Green And Gold Records launch in Australia.
- 50 Cent and Kanye West release albums on the same day. 50 claims he’ll retire if Kanye beats him. The rivalry sees a surge in CD sales.
- Pimp C of UGK dies.
- Obama tributes hit the airwaves as hip hop artists pledge their allegiance to the future president.
- Jay-Z becomes the first rapper to headline Glastonbury.
- T.I begins his prison sentence.
- Q-Tip releases ‘The Renaissance’.
- Wale releases ‘The Mixtape About Nothing’.
- ‘Tha Carter III’ is released and sells over a million copies alone in the first week.
- Drapht finds national success with the single ‘Jimmy Recard’.
- Wale releases ‘Attention Deficit’ to rave reviews.
- Jay-Z buys himself out of his Def Jam contract and signs a deal with Live Nation. ‘Blueprint 3’ is released, and sees the rapper break Elvis Presley’s record of 11 number one US albums.
- Drake releases ‘So Far Gone’ mixtape and has success with the single 'Best I Ever Had'. He signs with Young Money Entertainment.
- Kid Cudi comes to everyone’s attention with the mixtape ‘A Kid Named Cudi’. Follows it up with the release ‘Man On The Moon’.
- Still waiting for ‘Detox’ to drop...
