Old-school hip hop

Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop
music and original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979
to 1983,[1] as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contemporary styles.[2]

The image, styles and sounds of old-school hip hop were exemplified by figures like
Grandmaster Flowers, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Kool Herc, Treacherous
Three, Funky Four Plus One, Kurtis Blow, The Sugarhill Gang, Melle Mel, Super-Wolf,[3]
West Street Mob[4] Spoonie Gee, Kool Moe Dee,[5] Busy Bee Starski, Lovebug Starski,
The Cold Crush Brothers, Warp 9, T-Ski Valley, Grandmaster Caz, Doug E. Fresh, The
Sequence, Jazzy Jay, Rock Steady Crew, and Fab Five Freddy.[6] It is characterized by the
simpler rapping techniques of the time and the general focus on party-related subject
matter.[6] The lyrics were usually not a very important part of old-school rap songs.
There were, however, exceptions such as Brother D's "How We Gonna Make the Black
Nation Rise?" and Kurtis Blow's "Hard Times" (both released in 1980), that explored
socially relevant ideas. The release of The Message in 1982 by Duke Bootee (who did
nearly half the rapping and the rest by Melle Mel) and Melle Mel, although released as
by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, marked the arrival of hip hop as social
commentary, making it possible for future artists like Public Enemy and N.W.A to create
an identity based on socially conscious themes in later years.[7] Old-school rappers are
widely respected by current hip hop artists and fans, with many claiming they have
contributed to the evolution of hip hop.[8]

Musical characteristics and themes[edit]

The very first crossover rap single, "The Breaks" (1980) is exemplary of old-school hip
hop. It features a repetitive funk guitar riff, popping bassline, and party noise in the
background. Kurtis Blow's playful rapping features simplistic rhyme patterns, with
cadences that fall squarely on the beat, followed by breakdowns. His anthemic lyrical
content retains a social conscience that is both comedic and cautionary.
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Old-school hip hop is noted for its relatively simple rapping techniques, compared to
later hip hop music.[6] Artists such as Melle Mel would use few syllables per bar of
music,[9] with simple rhythms[6][9] and a moderate tempo.[10]

Much of the subject matter of old-school hip hop centers around partying and having a
good time.[6] In the book How to Rap, Immortal Technique explains how party content
played a big part in old-school hip hop: "hip-hop was born in an era of social turmoil...
in the same way that slaves used to sing songs on a plantation... that's the party songs
that we used to have".[11]

Battle rap was also a part of the old-school hip hop aesthetic. While discussing battle
rapping, Esoteric said, "a lot of my stuff stems from old school hip-hop, braggadocio
ethic".[12] A famous old-school hip hop battle occurred in December 1981, when Kool
Moe Dee challenged Busy Bee Starski.[13] Busy Bee Starski's defeat by the more
complex raps of Kool Moe Dee meant that "no longer was an MC just a crowd-pleasing
comedian with a slick tongue; he was a commentator and a storyteller".[13] in the
documentary Beef, KRS-One also credits this as creating a shift in rapping.[14]

Sci-fi/Afrofuturism was another theme introduced into hip hop. The release of Planet
Rock in 1982 was a game-changer, like "a light being switched on."[15] The combination
of electronic percussive propulsion and Afrika Bambaataa's rap sounded like "an
orchestra being rocketed into outer space."[16] "Light Years Away", by Warp 9 (1983),
produced and written by Lotti Golden and Richard Scher, explored social commentary
from a sci-fi perspective.[17] A "cornerstone of early 80's beatbox afrofuturism", "Light
Years Away" is characterized as "a brilliantly spare and sparse piece of electro hip-hop
traversing inner and outer space."[18]

Freestyle rap during hip hop's old-school era was defined differently than it is today.
Kool Moe Dee refers to this earlier definition in his book There's a God on the Mic:
"There are two types of freestyle. There's an old-school freestyle that's basically rhymes
that you've written that may not have anything to do with any subject or that goes all
over the place. Then there's freestyle where you come off the top of the head".[19] In
old-school hip hop, Kool Moe Dee says that improvisational rapping was instead called
"coming off the top of the head".[20] He refers to this as "the real old-school freestyle".
[21] This is in contrast to the more recent definition defining freestyle rap as
"improvisational rap like a jazz solo".[22]
Old-school hip hop often sampled disco and funk tracks, such as "Good Times" by Chic,
when performed live in the 1970s. Recorded hip hop (such as Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's
Delight)" would use a live band to do covers of the famous breaks from the 1970s block
parties. However, after Planet Rock, electro-funk (the electronic Roland TR-808 drum
machine recreation of the original 1970s breakbeat sound from the now infamous block
parties) became the staple production technique between 1982 and 1986 (the invention
of the sampler later in the 80s and Eric B & Rakim's Eric B for president brought the
original 1970s break beat sound back to hip hop, referred to today as the "boom-bap"
sound). The use of extended percussion breaks led to the development of mixing and
scratching techniques. Scratching was pioneered by Grand Wizard Theodore in 1975,
and the technique was further developed by other prominent DJs, such as Grandmaster
Flash. One example is "Adventures on the Wheels of Steel", which was composed
entirely by Flash on the turntables.

Quincy Jones was an influential figure in hip hop as a record producer for Mercury
Records, and eventually became its vice president, which made him popular in hip hop
culture. He went on to publish Vibe magazine, which became a cornerstone in hip hop
history.
History[edit]

Old-school hip hop typically refers to music created around 1980; however, the term
may also be applied to music before this with hip-hop styles. "Here Comes the Judge"
(1968) by Pigmeat Markham is often referred to as "old-school hip hop".[23]