1980

• Year of the record label battles. Enjoy and Disco Fever records pop on the scene.
• Kurtis Blow releases “The Breaks” on Mercury records (went on to sell more than a million copies).
• Kurtis Blow is the first hip hop artist to appear on national television. He peforms “The Breaks” on Soul Train on October.
• Sequence – All female crew off of Sugar Hill records hits the charts with the release of the single “Funk You Up” .
• Members of the High Times Crew are arrested for breakdancing at a Washington Heights subway — photos of the incident in the New York Post .
• Afrika Bambaata and his crew the Zulu Nation release their first 12″ on Paul Winley Records called “Zulu Nation Throwdown Pt. 1″.
• Blonde releases “Rapture”after meeting Fab 5 Freddy and others during the Mudd Club era. Lead singer Debbie Harry raps.

1981

• On February 14th, The Funky 4 plus One More performed their classic hit,”That’s The Joint” on NBC’s Saturday Night Live becoming the first hip hop Group to appear on national television.
• Dynamic Rockers and Rock Steady Crew battle at the Lincoln Center.
• Grandmaster Flash’s “Adventures on the Wheels of Steel” is the 1st rap record to bring the real sounds of live DJ scratching on wax.
• Disco Daddy and Captain Rapp’s “Gigolo Rap” (Rappers Rapp #1989) is the first west-coast rap on vinyl.
• ABC’s 20/20 shows the first national television coverage of the “Rap Phenomenon”.
• Beastie Boys are formed: Adam Horovitz aka King Ad-Rock (b. October 31, 1966) ~ Adam Yauch aka MCA (b. August 5, 1964) ~ Michael Diamon aka Mike D (b. November 20, 1965). p

1982

• Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force releases “Planet Rock” on Tommy Boy records in May, the first big techno-funk hit with the Kraftwerk’s “Trans Euro Express” beat. (selling 620,000 copies in the US alone)
• Soul Sonic Force members: Bam, Jazzy Jay, Mr. Biggs (Ellis Williams), G.L.O.B.E. (John Miller), Whiz Kid and Pow Wow (Robert Darrell Allen).
• Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five release “The Message” in June on Sugar Hill Records which peaked at #4 on the music charts.
• Roller Skating Jams – Sat. Feb 27th, 1982 at the Bronx Skating Rink by Nubian Productions.
• The Cold Crush Brothers appeared in the legendary South Bronx hip hop film Wild Style.
• Popular graffiti artist Futura 2000 puts out a record with himself rhyming called “Futura 2000 and His Escapades” with music done by the Clash, signifying the beginning of the rock/rap fusion.
• First international hip hop tour in Europe with Bambaataa, Fab 5, Rammellzee, GrandMixer DXT (formerly D.ST.) & The Infinity Rappers, Rock Steady Crew, the Double Dutch Girls, and Graffiti Artists Phase 2, Futura, and Dondi. At this point parts of Europe and Asia became exposed to the culture, which resulted in its fast growing popularity worldwide.
• George Clinton releases the legendary funk track “Atomic Dog”.
• Wild Style, co-created by Fab 5 Freddy and directed by Charlie Ahearn, is released featuring the first full-length account of all four elements in hip hop culture: Graffiti, DJ-ing, MCing, and B-boying. The actors are played by the real members of New York’s hip hop scene including graffiti legends Lee, Zephyr, Fab 5 Freddy, Lady Pink, Crash, Daze, Dondi and showcases performances from Grandmaster Flash, Grandwizard Theodore, DJ AJ, Grandmixer D.S.T and Rock Steady Crew members: Crazy Legs and Frosty Freeze. The soundtrack was produced by Fab 5 Freddy and Chris Stein with performances by Double Trouble, Cold Crush Brothers, Fantastic Freaks, Chief Rocker Busy Bee, Rammellzee and Shockdell.

1983

• Herbie Hancock and Grandmaster D.ST. cut “Rockit,” the first hip-hop/jazz cross-over.
• Afrika Bambaataa records “Looking for the Perfect Beat” (Tommy Boy single #831), which features the first recorded use of digital sampling on Tommy Boy.
• Three punker white kids from Manhattan named the Beastie Boys put out a single called “Cooky Puss”, which is a crank call to a Carvel Ice Cream store laid over a funky beat (later to be signed to Def Jam).
• A Documentary of subway graffiti in New York “Style Wars”, filmed by photographer Henry Chalfant and directed by Tony Silver, is aired on PBS featuring several interviews with popular graffiti writers of the time including Crash, Daze, Dondi, Zephyr, Revolt, Kase2, Skeme, Haze and Seen as well as interviews with the Metropolitan Transit Authority and NYC Mayor Ed Koch. More raw footage of hip hop’s other elements in Rock Steady Crew, Busy Bee and Grandmaster Flash.
• Ice T puts out his first singles, “Cold Winter Madness” and “Body Rock/Killers” which are considered some of the first West Coast gangster raps.
• Malcolm McClaren, the Sex Pistol’s managerial mastermind, organizes a group called the World Famous Supreme Team and puts out a song co-produced by synthpop veteran Trevor Horn called “Buffalo Gals”. McClaren was influenced to get into hip hop by meeting Bam and the Zulu Nation during the previous year.
• The Rock Steady Crew appeared in “Flashdance” the movie. They visited the UK and impressed a bunch of kids in Manchester who later form the Kaliphz crew.
• Grandmaster Flash sued Sugar Hill Records for $5 million in royalties. The lawsuit resulted in the group splitting up.
• Run DMC releases “It’s Like That b/w Sucker MC’s” which put a symbolic end to old school rap styles even though they continued for a few more years.
• Originally known as the Disco 3, Brooklynites Mark “Prince Markie Dee” Morales, Damon “Kool Rockski” Wimbley, and Darren “Buff the Human Beat Box” Robinson won a talent contest at Radio City Music Hall in 1983, thanks in part to Robinson’s talent for using his mouth to improvise hip-hop rhythms and a variety of sound effects aka “Beatboxin”.
• Grand Master Flash and Melle Mel’s anti-cocaine single “White Lines (don’t do it)” became a classic rap anthem and international hit.
• Michael Jackson first performs the moonwalk on Motown 25 TV Special.
• Schoolly D (aka Jesse B Weaver Jr. from Baltimore, MD) records his first singles ‘Gangster Boogie’ and ‘Maniac’ with his DJ Code Money.
• Afrika Islams “Zulu Beats” airs on WHBI; Red Alert first appears on 98.7 KISS FM.
• The NYC Breakers were formed by Michael Holman (Manager) in late 1983 adding members like “Flip Rock”,”Icey Ice”,”Powerful Pexter” to the existing “Floormasters” crew. The “Floormasters” crew did many shows like “That’s Incredible”, Merv Griffin and others. The NYC breakers travelled the world performing and even performed for President Reagan as well as appearing in the movie Beat Streat.
• Breakin’ and Enterin’, a documentary about California poppin’ and lockin’ filmed in Los Angeles airs on cable TV, featuring Shabba Doo, Boogaloo shrimp, Pop ‘n’ Taco, Blue City Strutters (aka Boo Ya Tribe), and Ice-T, Egyptian Lover, Chris “The Glove” Taylor.
• Ice T releases his first singles, “Cold Winter Madness” and “Body Rock/Killers”, some of the first West Coast gangster raps.

1984

• “It’s Yours” (Cat. PT-104, 101 BPM) by T La Rock & Jazzy Jay is first record on Def Jam, on the vanity PARTY TIME label (Arthur Baker’s Streetwise subs.). This was written by Kevin Keaton & Rick Rubin and recorded at Power Play studios. It was followed up by LL’s “I Need a Beat” and the rare “Beastie Groove” by the Beastie Boys.
• The rap group UFTO records “Roxanne, Roxanne,” a diss on a fictional woman named “Roxanne.” Over 100 “response” records are made, including “Roxanne” Shante’s (14-years old) single called “Roxanne’s Revenge”, originally recorded in Marley Marl’s living room which sold over 250,000 copies in the New York area alone.
• While touring in Oakland, UTFO asks a young local MC named Too Short to open up for them.
• The Fresh Fest concert tour, featuring Run-D.M.C., Kurtis Blow, Whodini, Fat Boys, and Newcleus, is hip-hop’s first big money making tour ($3.5 million for 27 dates).
• Los Angeles’s KDAY becomes the first rap-only radio station in the US
• Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons form Def Jam records.
• Michael Jackson does the moonwalk on the Grammy’s and the whole world thinks he’s a breaker. He actually learned it from some LA poppers.
• Breakdancing (as the media calls it) goes global via Lionel Richie’s performance at the Closing Ceremony of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Kool Herc played his last Old School party in 1984.
• Doug E. Fresh, known as “The Entertainer” releases “The Original Human Beatbox” (Vindertainment, 1984 [004])
• Michael Holman (manager of The NYC Breakers) creates hip hop’s first TV dance show, “Graffiti Rock” with special guests – Run DMC, Shannon, The NYC Breakers, Kool Moe Dee and Special K of The Treacherous Three (who also battled Run DMC on the show). It is cancelled after only one show. Now an Actress, Debi Mazar (B-Girl from Queens) has her first TV appearance.
• Schoolly D releases ‘Gangster Boogie’ while he is still working in a shoe shop.
• The movie “Beat Street” by Harry Belafonte is released which features Kool Herc, Doug E. Fresh, Kool Moe Dee. Legendary B-Boy battle at the Roxy with Rock Steady Crew and NYC Breakers is the highlight of the film.

1985

• Salt ‘n’ Pepa makes its first appearance on wax on Super Nature’s “The Show Stopper”.
• “The Show” by Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew changes the sound of hip hop. Ricky D’s laid back style was unheard of at that point.
• Sugar Hill Records is forced into bankruptcy and ceases to be active in the record industry.

1986

• “Eric B. is President” drops and again changes the sound of hip hop forever; it forces Emcee’s to step up their skills.
• Run-D.M.C. releases a hip-hop version of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way,” and hip-hop breaks into the pop charts, MTV, and mass media all at once.
• The Juice Crew’s “The Bridge” and Boogie Down Productions’ “The Bridge is Over” start one of the longest-running payback battles in hip-hop history.
• Schoolly D releases ‘PSK-What does it mean’ independently. The acronym stands for Park Side Killers, a Philly Gang D was affiliated with. Unwittingly Schoolly D invents ‘Gangsta Rap” or “Reality Rap”.
• Houston, Texas native James Smith brings together “The Geto Boys”. The original lineup consisted of MCs Raheim, Jukebox, DJ Ready Red, and Sir Rap-A-Lot. The group also featured Little Billy, a dancing dwarf who later joined full-time as Bushwick Bill. Following a short break-up in 1988, Smith called on local rhymers Willie D and multi-instrumentalist Akshun (later known as Scarface) to join the lineup.
• The Beastie Boys — Adam ‘King Ad-Rock’ Horowitz (vocals/guitar), Michael ‘Mike-D’ Diamond (vocals/drums) and Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch (vocals/bass), release their debut album, LICENSED TO ILL (1986; Def Jam; Producer: Rick Rubin), moving from hardcore to rap.
• Kool Keith, Ced Gee, and DJ Moe Love emerge as Ultramagnetic MC’s. They are the first group to employ a sampler as an instrument.

1987

• Boogie Down Productions’ “Criminal Minded” LP is released.
• DJ Scott LaRock killed in the South Bronx. (I think from an argument over a female.)
• “The Wop”, “California Prep”, “FILA”, “Smurf”, “Troop”, “Hammer” and “2-Hype” freestyle dances became part of the scene.
• Scott La Rock was killed intervening in a beef D-Nice had with some kid at 164th and University in the Bronx. He went to go negotiate with the kid and was shot from a tenement window as he sat in his jeep.
• First Technics World DJ Champion – Chad Jackson from the UK. View Archive of Past Winners
• Public Enemy releases their debut album “Yo! Bum Rush The Show”. The group Public Enemy included Chuck D (born Carlton Ridenhour on August 1, 1960 in NYC), Flavor Flav (born William Drayton on March 16, 1959 in NYC), the “Minister of Information” Professor Griff (born Richard Griffin) and DJ Terminator X (born Norman Rogers). PE came together around an Adelphi College, Long Island radio show.

1988

• Def Jam founders Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin split up; Simmons opts for distribution through CBS/Columbia Records, while Rubin goes on to found Def American.
• Yo! MTV Raps first airs, bringing hip-hop to a wider main stream audience.
• N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton goes Gold, popularizing the ‘gangsta’ school of rap.
• Brooklyn Born “Big Daddy Kane” (aka Antonio Hardy) releases ‘Ain’t No Half Steppin’ from his album ‘Long Live The Kane’.
• Marly Marl brought Big Daddy Kane out, who started as a ghostwriter for several rappers. BDK ran with the Juice Crew (DJ Mister Cee, Scoob & Scrab Lover). Big Daddy Kane emerged as hip-hop’s first sex symbol.
• Ultramagnetic MC’s release “Critical Beatdown” on Roadrunner Records.

1989

• Controversy over Public Enemy member Professor Griff’s anti-Semitic remarks causes a media madness. Griff eventually leaves the group and forms the Last Asiatic Disciples.
• On May 12, 1989 the MTA declared a victory over graffiti, removing all marked subway cars from line service.
• “Cowboy” of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five died after spending nearly two years hooked on crack. He was 28 years old. (RIP)
• Tribe Called Quest releases “Description of A Fool” in August 1989. Tribe consisted of Q-Tip (b. Jonathan Davis, 20 November 1970, New York), DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammed (b. 11 August 1970, Brooklyn, NYC), Jarobi and Phife Dog (b. Malik Taylor, 10 April 1970, Brooklyn, NYC).
• ATCQ formed at school in Manhattan, NYC, where they started out as part of the Native Tongues Posse, with Queen Latifah and the Jungle Brothers, and were given their name by Afrika Baby Bambaataa of the Jungle Brothers.
• As members of the Native Tongues Posse ATQC were promoters of the Afrocentricity movement, which set out to make African Americans aware of their heritage.
• Dallas rapper “The D.O.C.” releases “No One Can Do It Better” produced by Dr. Dre. This album was still burning up the charts when a car crash almost killed the D.O.C., greatly hindering his rapping abilities.

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