You allways refer to the blockparty scene and that it could not be that people knew of rapping before 1979.
But you forget the downtown scene which was the playground for DJ Hollywood, Eddie Cheeba and Lovebug Starski.
I have no clue if Ian Dury or Joan Baez are influenced by that, but why shouldnt they've been in a downtown club and seeing Hollywood do his thing ?
Check Joan Baez with here song "Time Rag" which she calls a "Talking Disco Blues" from 1977. It was releasesd in the UK too as a 45.
Wow. 1977!?!?!
That came as a complete surprise to me.
The studio version is even more obvious with the disco backing.
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,913 Posts
Yemsky said:
Hawkeye said:
You allways refer to the blockparty scene and that it could not be that people knew of rapping before 1979.
But you forget the downtown scene which was the playground for DJ Hollywood, Eddie Cheeba and Lovebug Starski.
I have no clue if Ian Dury or Joan Baez are influenced by that, but why shouldnt they've been in a downtown club and seeing Hollywood do his thing ?
Check Joan Baez with here song "Time Rag" which she calls a "Talking Disco Blues" from 1977. It was releasesd in the UK too as a 45.
Wow. 1977!?!?!
That came as a complete surprise to me.
The studio version is even more obvious with the disco backing.
There's not a world of difference between talking blues or things like The Signifying Monkey and early rap. David Toop's book The Rap Attack concluded as much back in 1984, but it would have been interesting to see what he made of things like this. It's more likely that Baez and Dury would have been influenced by the former rather than the latter, but it isn't beyond the realm of possibility that someone like them might have made the connection even earlier, and at a time before rap realistically meant anything beyond the five boroughs.
in 1981 The Clash were at least trying to do it in their own weird way, after GM Flash opened for them in NYC. Their Sandinista album had "Lightning Strikes (Not Once But Twice)", and then their "This Is Radio Clash" single later that year. I mean, its not 'genuine' rap any more than Blondie's 'Rapture ' was... but they were in fact British, intentionally trying to rap on a record, in 1981.
Word is bond, I would not lie about the Sayer..... But at least he seemed like a genuine weirdo, so I can forgive it somewhat.
yeah hes a likeable oul codger
im still thinkin nice 'ere innit is a rap record. if tanya winley recorded those same lyrics in 1979 it would be called rap.
Comments
Wow. 1977!?!?!
That came as a complete surprise to me.
The studio version is even more obvious with the disco backing.
There's not a world of difference between talking blues or things like The Signifying Monkey and early rap. David Toop's book The Rap Attack concluded as much back in 1984, but it would have been interesting to see what he made of things like this. It's more likely that Baez and Dury would have been influenced by the former rather than the latter, but it isn't beyond the realm of possibility that someone like them might have made the connection even earlier, and at a time before rap realistically meant anything beyond the five boroughs.
heres the track
yeah hes a likeable oul codger
im still thinkin nice 'ere innit is a rap record. if tanya winley recorded those same lyrics in 1979 it would be called rap.