Tracing a line through rap history is virtually impossible. With so many precursors and proto versions, it’s hard to say definitively what impacted the musical form. But on this episode of Bring the Noise, we look at a strong contender – the radio DJ. In fact, if it wasn’t for these early jocks having an influence on one particular club DJ, rap music might not even exist today. And in a rare instance of the influencer becoming influenced by their proteges, a few radio DJs even tried to get in the rap game…with varying degrees of success. Learn more on the latest episode of Bring the Noise: A History of Early Hip-Hop! Be sure to subscribe and review the show wherever you get your podcasts! Follow The Space Monkey X Audio Workshop on Twitter and Instagram for show updates, as well as occasional old school hip-hop photos and facts. If you have Spotify, search for “Bring the Noise Podcast” and you’ll find a new playlist after each episode with songs from the featured artist, as well as others mentioned in the show. Or you can just click here for the latest playlist. This episode contains a lot of rare tracks, so the Spotify list is not very complete. Be sure to check out this special YouTube playlist to hear all the music mentioned in this episode. SHOW NOTES:The Bring the Noise Spotify Playlist for Episode 3 YouTube Playlist for Episode 3 featuring more music from the show DJ Hollywood: The Original King of New York (medium.com) Maurice “Hot Rod” Hulbert Paul “Fat Daddy” Johnson Robert Weston Smith AKA Wolfman Jack Gary Byrd Gary Byrd in the 1970s Gary Byrd today Frankie Crocker Anthony Holloway AKA DJ Hollywood Hollywood (Left)Hollywood on the micHollywood promo photo from the 1980s Douglas “Jocko” Henderson Jocko in his Ace from Outer Space Rocket Ship Show space suit Jocko Fan Club Card – 50,000 members strongPamphlet for the Get Ready program established by Jocko in the 1980s My copy of Jocko’s Rhythm Talk CORRECTION: In the section about DJ Hollywood’s record releases, his first single was Shock, Shock the House, not Shock, Shock the World. Sorry for the confusion.

When the DJ superstars like Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash moved from the house parties to the dance clubs, it left a hole in hip-hop that only an act of God could fill. Like the Biblical flood, new MCs and DJs came onto the scene and struggled to keep their head above water in the hopes they too could become famous. But for three young MCs, the best way for them to make their name was to go mainstream and release the first rap record, Rapper’s Delight. On this episode of Bring the Noise, we look at the world-dominating success, as well as the trials and tribulations, of the first Top 40 rap group, Sugarhill Gang. Be sure to subscribe and review the show wherever you get your podcasts! Follow The Space Monkey X Audio Workshop on Twitter and Instagram for show updates, as well as occasional old school hip-hop photos and facts. If you have Spotify, search for “Bring the Noise Podcast” and you’ll find a new playlist after each episode with songs from the featured artist, as well as others mentioned in the show. Or you can just click here for the latest playlist. SHOW NOTES: The Bring the Noise Spotify Playlist for Episode 2: Rapper’s Delight I Want My Name Back (Amazon rental/purchase) I Want My Name Back (iTunes rental/purchase) I Want My Name Back (YouTube rental/purchase) Master Gee interviewed on ThaFoundation.com Wonder Mike interviewed on ThaFoundation.com Bassist Chip Shearin on playing the backing track for Rapper’s Delight at NoTreble.com Nile Rodgers interview with POPBOXTV Nile Rodgers interviewed about Rapper’s Delight in The Washington Post The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Viva Lost Wages (Originally aired 11/13/1995) Big Bank Hank and Grandmaster Caz talk Rapper’s Delight rhymes from “And You Don’t Stop: 30 Years of Hip-Hop History” “Making Peace with Big Bank Hank” by Grandmaster Caz on Cuepoint Sugar Hill Gang featuring Grandmaster Caz at the Video Music Box 25th Anniversary Concert (July 2008) Sugar Hill Gang on Jimmy Kimmel Live (10/24/2019) Rapper’s Delight performed by Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant My copy of Rapper’s Delight in the classic Sugar Hill Records sleeve Sadly, my copy is one of the later releases, so only Edwards and Rodgers are given credit

New York City in the 1970s was a pretty rough place to live. So in order to escape from the trials and tribulations of The Big Apple, people attended house parties to dance their cares away. But no one could have predicted that a young Jamaican immigrant working as a house party DJ would change the world of music forever.

Show notes for Bring the Noise