What was the first tune you ever heard with rapping in it?

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I remember hearing "I Feel For You" by Chaka Khan on the radio when I was in about Grade 7, and wondering what the heck that talking/rhyming stuff was at the beginning... but I knew it kicked ass.

― blutroniq (blutroniq), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 02:53 (twenty-two years ago)

'rapture' by blondie probably. and 'the message'

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 02:56 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah... that Blondie song was probably my first taste of "rap"

― jesus whip, Tuesday, 27 May 2003 02:58 (twenty-two years ago)

'paul revere'. some kid in the schoolbus had it memorized and in like two days the whole second grade had taught it to each other.

― vahid (vahid), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 02:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, the Beasties when I was in Grade 10. Living in a small Ontario farming town, we didn't have much exposure to that there urban music.
And obviously I'm much older than vahid.

― Bruce Urquhart (Bruce Urquhart), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 03:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Definitely Blondie for me.

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 03:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Blondie as well. I'm sure I heard "Rappers Delight" somewhere before that, though...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 03:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Sadly, "Rappin' Duke." "Da-ha da-ha / Da-ha-ha-hahaha..."

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 03:24 (twenty-two years ago)

'Warm Leatherette' by The Normal in 1978.

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 03:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Definately "Rappers Delight" first, "Rapture" afterwards. "Rapture" was played on rock and top 40 radio, though; everyone got to hear it.

― Sean (Sean), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 03:42 (twenty-two years ago)

"Rapper's Delight" and then "Rapture" here too. The first rap I memorized & really paid attention to was UTFO's "Roxanne Roxanne."

― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 03:51 (twenty-two years ago)

second on "feel for you." still a great great song.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 03:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Wait, wait, it was actually "Tom, Tom, The Piper's Son", a traditional nursery rhyme. I think I was about four.

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 04:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Newcleus - "Jam on It"

― Paul Cox (paul cox), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 04:20 (twenty-two years ago)

"i feel for you", probably. i also remember seeing the clip for "the message" when i was really young.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 04:29 (twenty-two years ago)

almost certainly "I Feel 4 U," but I didn't actually know it was rapping until I was, like, 20. (well more like 15 but it might as well have taken that long.) unless I heard some "Rappin' Duke" thing in the parking lot of my apt complex (where I used to hang w/the neighborhood kids approx. 5-10 yrs) beforehand

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 04:37 (twenty-two years ago)

I think, 'You Talk to Much' by Run DMC.

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 04:44 (twenty-two years ago)

"Bust A Move" by Young MC.

― Hayden Nicholls (Pop the Weasel), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 05:23 (twenty-two years ago)

can't remember, but it must certainly have been either
'I Feel For You', or 'Hey You (The Rock Steady Crew)'
- if her rhymes actually qualifies for the category 'rap' ...

and then: Fat Boys' stuff
and Doug E. Fresh's 'The Show'. WHOOOOOAAAAHHHH!!!!!

― Jay K (Jay K), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 07:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Prolly "Rapper's Delight."

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 08:01 (twenty-two years ago)

"walk this way"

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 09:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I have a hideous feeling it was "Ice Ice Baby".

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 10:36 (twenty-two years ago)

"Rapper's Delight", but "The Message" was the first thing I liked.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 10:41 (twenty-two years ago)

"Holiday Rap" by MC Miker G and DJ Sven. It changed my life. Now I'm a serial killer.

― Lynskey (Lynskey), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 11:54 (twenty-two years ago)

If memory serves "Rapper's Delight" was played at the roller rinks...just another good disco tune.

― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 12:08 (twenty-two years ago)

"Pour Some Sugar On Me"

― Charles McCain (Charles McCain), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 12:45 (twenty-two years ago)

haha Colin almost said it for me. i'v first heard "the message" and than "Rapper's Delight" and i liked "the message" better.

― Jrvision (visionjr), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 12:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan

― harveyw (harveyw), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 12:54 (twenty-two years ago)

At a guess, Walk This Way.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 13:07 (twenty-two years ago)

"rapture"/those 2 songs off "sandinista"/"the message"/same as everyone else

― duane, Tuesday, 27 May 2003 13:18 (twenty-two years ago)

I guess it must have been "I Feel For You", but I distinctly remember hearing Fat Boys and Run DMC and thinking that stuff sounded a lot different than the usual music I heard on the radio.

― dleone (dleone), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 13:24 (twenty-two years ago)

maybe 'christmas rap' or 'the breaks' they were pretty huge. I know something prior to 'I feel for you' cuz it was a very big deal to us kids that something with melle mel rapping in it was that HUGE a hit (ie. our parents actually heard it). channel 46 used to use 'basketball' in their ads for atlanta hawks games, and this was while it was fairly current. it also seemed like a 'holy moly they're playing kurtis blow on channel 46' moment at the time. 'roxanne roxanne' and 'you got a big mouth (homeboy you never shut up)' may have been the first raps songs I can remember everybody playing/singing/etc. to the point where I kinda wanted people to give it a rest, although 'boogie in your butt' was probably just as unavoidable (I NEVER got sick of 'boogie in your butt' though). 'the fat boys are back' was like 'hey jude' in fifth grade.

― James Blount (James Blount), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 13:31 (twenty-two years ago)

the fat boys featuring the beach boys 'wipeout' was the first rap hit so huge even my dad got sick of it.

― James Blount (James Blount), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 13:32 (twenty-two years ago)

"Double Dutch Bus," if that qualifies. Hip-hop is the first music I remember

― Ta-Nehisi Coates (Ta-Nehisi Coates), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 18:03 (twenty-two years ago)

"Rapper's Delight" (which yeah, just seemed like a novelty disco song.) But only if you don't count:

Jackson Five, "Goin' Back to Indiana"
Napoleon XIV, "They're Coming to Take Me Away Ha-Haa!"
The Pipkins, "Gimme Dat Ding"
Steve Martin, "King Tut"
Paper Lace, "The Night Chicago Died"
Chuck Berry, "Too Much Monkey Business"
The Temptations, "Ball of Confusion"
Johnny Cash, "A Boy Named Sue"
C.W. McCall, "Convoy"

Maybe also: assorted rap hits by Bob Dylan, Jerry Reed, Roger Miller, Charlie Daniels, the Hombres, Pigmeat Markham, and Parliament. (Also, I forget if I heard "Pop Muzik" by M before or after "Rapper's Delight." They both came out in 1979, but the Sugarhill Gang didn't actually enter the top 40 chart until January of 1980, apparently.)

― chuck, Tuesday, 27 May 2003 18:17 (twenty-two years ago)

you people really do need to check out Jerry Reed

― James Blount (James Blount), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 18:22 (twenty-two years ago)

>>Maybe also: assorted rap hits by Bob Dylan, Jerry Reed, Roger Miller, Charlie Daniels, the Hombres, Pigmeat Markham, and Parliament

Actually, I MUST have heard "Here Comes the Judge" by Pigmeat Markham -- It was almost the theme song of *Laugh In*, I think!

― chuck, Tuesday, 27 May 2003 18:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Also "Rock Island" from The Music Man

― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 18:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Probably "West end girls" or "One night in Bangcock", depending on which came out first.
I loved "I feel 4 U" but I don't think I realised at the time that "that talking" at the beginning was called rapping...

― Seb, Tuesday, 27 May 2003 19:58 (twenty-two years ago)

A song sung by Muhammad Ali.

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 20:13 (twenty-two years ago)

"Christmas In Hollis"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Tuesday, 27 May 2003 20:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Definitely "Rapper's Delight".

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 20:21 (twenty-two years ago)

if taking off from Chuck E's lists upthread, then (apart from young Dylan) it must've been for me either Paper Lace's "The Night Chicago Died" or M's "Pop Music" (when i first may have thought, 'hm, the vox are kinda different').

otherwise...
mem'ry sadly fails. to the point of me being now v.unsure about
for how long a time exactly did "rap" have for me the sole connotation of "some word from a beatnik's book".
LL Cool J's "BAD" was anyway the first rap rec i owned (i'd first heard its opening track played over the PA at a World Doination Enterprises concert)

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 22:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh c'mon we all know that these pre-79 tunes being mentioned are not rapping in the commonly accepted meaning of the term.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 07:12 (twenty-two years ago)

why not?

― James Blount (James Blount), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 07:28 (twenty-two years ago)

all in the rhythm/delivery i guess. I mean, i don't consider all talking over music to be rapping.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 07:49 (twenty-two years ago)

It just strikes me as 'hey-look-at-my-unique-take-on-this-issue'

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 07:54 (twenty-two years ago)

as previously blondie were primary in introducing rap into my mindstream. but i didn't realise it at the time. the 1st real 'Hello Rap' record was probably Duck Rock by Malcolm McClaren. and to this day that album still makes we wanna boogaloo. from there i went onto RockSteady Crew/Rockit/World Destruction and never looked back. glorious.
go go gadget.

― mark e (mark e), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 07:55 (twenty-two years ago)

what's the big radical difference in blowfly's or pigmeat markham's flow I'm missing? how is eminem's delivery on the slim shady lp radically different from napoleon xiv's delivery?

― James Blount (James Blount), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 08:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Blondie's sublime 'Rapture'.

― russ t, Wednesday, 28 May 2003 08:41 (twenty-two years ago)

what's the big radical difference in blowfly's or pigmeat markham's flow I'm missing? how is eminem's delivery on the slim shady lp radically different from napoleon xiv's delivery?

It's the same reason why John Cage didn't invent turntablism.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 09:32 (twenty-two years ago)

'Rapture' - but I don't remember thinking it was anything revolutionary .. so maybe I had heard something prior to that...

― dave225 (Dave225), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 10:25 (twenty-two years ago)

The firxt rap tune=Convoy stuff really says more about how you experienced the music as a listener, not whether the tunes have anything to do w/ each other in absolute terms. So for example, there was something neat about "Convoy" that was also present in "Rapper's Delight." My ten-year-old brain heard similarities.

― Mark (MarkR), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 11:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Children's Story, by Slick Rick. Sad but true.

― Henry, Wednesday, 28 May 2003 12:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Hey Mark I think you're right.. Can you think of any other early examples of talking in cadence in a song?

― dave225 (Dave225), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 12:07 (twenty-two years ago)

"He had a 22 gun in his pocket full of fun and a razor in his shoe."
Bad Bad Leroy Brown was the first single i ever bought. which means that i have been a gangsta rap fan for almost 30 years.

― scott seward, Wednesday, 28 May 2003 12:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)
By: Reunion
(Norman Dolph-Paul DiFranco-Joey Levine)
1974

B. Bumble and the Stingers, Mott the Hoople, Ray Charles Singers
Lonnie Mack and twangin' Eddy, here's my ring we're goin' steady
Take it easy, take me higher, liar liar, house on fire
Locomotion, Poco, Passion, Deeper Purple, Satisfaction
Baby baby gotta gotta gimme gimme gettin' hotter
Sammy's cookin', Lesley Gore and Ritchie Valens, end of story
Mahavishnu, fujiyama, kama-sutra, rama-lama
Richard Perry, Spector, Barry, Rogers-Hart, Nilsson, Harry
Shimmy shimmy ko-ko bop and Fats is back and Finger Poppin'

Life is a rock but the radio rolled me
Gotta turn it up louder, so my DJ told me
Life is a rock but the radio rolled me
At the end of my rainbow lies a golden oldie

FM, AM, hits are clickin' while the clock is tock-a-tickin'
Friends and Romans, salutations, Brenda and the Tabulations
Carly Simon, I behold her, Rolling Stones and centerfoldin'
Johnny Cash and Johnny Rivers, can't stop now, I got the shivers
Mungo Jerry, Peter Peter Paul and Paul and Mary Mary
Dr. John the nightly tripper, Doris Day and Jack the Ripper
Gotta go Sir, gotta swelter, Leon Russell, Gimme Shelter
Miracles in smokey places, slide guitars and Fender basses
Mushroom omelet, Bonnie Bramlett, Wilson Pickett, stop and kick it

Life is a rock but the radio rolled me
Life is a rock but the radio . . .

Arthur Janov's primal screamin', Hawkins, Jay and Dale and Ronnie
Kukla, Fran and Norma Okla Denver, John and Osmond, Donny
JJ Cale and ZZ Top and LL Bean and De De Dinah
David Bowie, Steely Dan and sing me prouder, CC Rider
Edgar Winter, Joanie Sommers, Osmond Brothers, Johnny Thunders
Eric Clapton, pedal wah-wah, Stephen Foster, do-dah do-dah
Good Vibrations, Help Me Rhonda, Surfer Girl and Little Honda
Tighter, tighter, honey, honey, sugar, sugar, yummy, yummy
CBS and Warner Brothers, RCA and all the others

Life is a rock but the radio rolled me
Gotta turn it up louder, so my DJ told me
Life is a rock but the radio rolled me
At the end of my rainbow lies a golden oldie

Listen (remember) they're playing our song

Rock it, sock it, Alan Freed me, Murray Kaufman, try to leave me
Fish, and Swim, and Boston Monkey, Make it bad and play it funky

(Wanna take you higher!)

― Scott Seward, Wednesday, 28 May 2003 12:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Add to Chuck's proto list: Bill Parsons' "All American Boy" and Nervous Norvus' "Transfusion", both from the late 50s.

And although it came after "Rapper's Delight", Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks" made a lot bigger impression as something totally new.

― Curt (cgould), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 13:10 (twenty-two years ago)

but the first actual rap song i ever heard was in 1979 when a kid who had just moved to my town recited Rapper's Delight in it's entirety! i thought it was the coolest thing i had ever heard and i was very impressed that he knew it all. he also told everybody the entire plot of Mad Max from beginning to end and that was almost as cool. i don't know what precinct of cool he had come from, but it was mighty cool indeed to me and my pals. then he did something unspeakable and had to be sent away forever.

― scott seward, Wednesday, 28 May 2003 13:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Talking Heads song, damm I forget which one where David goes on personifing facts. This is gonna bug me till I remember the title.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 14:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Crosseyed and Painless.

― dave225 (Dave225), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 14:19 (twenty-two years ago)

thank you my sanity is saved for a few more hours.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 14:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Could Black Betty by Ram Jam be considered rap in that kind of rap/singy thing that guys like Ja Rule use? It's pretty rhymic?

― Matt Helgeson (Matt Helgeson), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 19:51 (twenty-two years ago)

― James Blount (James Blount), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 19:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Please? The main guy in Ram Jam used to be in the Lemon Pipers, just to give them a little more "street cred."

― Matt Helgeson (Matt Helgeson), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 20:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Reason's to be cheerful part 3, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, then Rappers delight, then Christmas rappin' by Kurtis Blow. All UK hits in '79.

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Wednesday, 28 May 2003 21:09 (twenty-two years ago)

When this question first came up I couldn't remember. But I was just reading something and it reminded me: of course -- "Double Dutch Bus"! Quasi-rap, but still, I remember thinking, this is a whole new GENRE (or whatever the word I had for that in those days). I also remember memorizing some of the verses and inflicting it on my friends.

― Wired Flounder (Wired Flounder), Saturday, 31 May 2003 00:11 (twenty-two years ago)

sugar hill gang "rapper's delight"

― jack cole (jackcole), Saturday, 31 May 2003 00:50 (twenty-two years ago)

two months pass...

Everyone agree's on rappers delight. Blondie Rapture -Buffalo gals -Genius of Love-grand master flash Apache. But the best album and group of all time was run d m c. Hard times set it off. Sucker mc's is the best rap song of all times. Other awsome songs are: Pac Jam-Planet Rock-Joystick-Electric Kingdom-Clear-Freakazoid. Rap can never be as good as 80-84.

― augster, Friday, 22 August 2003 19:17 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

"Bust a Move" by Young MC's is the first one I remember hearing, but I was only two when it came out.

― Ian Riese-Moraine (Eastern Mantra), Wednesday, 9 March 2005 22:16 (twenty-one years ago)

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