'80s Hip-Hop

It all starts here — smack dab in the middle of the ’80s, as the stage is set for hip-hop’s many subgenres and scenes. That includes the Aerosmith-aided rap-rock of “Walk This Way,” the bubble-popping electro of “Don’t Stop . . . Planet Rock,” the Top 40 tendencies of “Summertime,” the suffocating samples and heavyweight breaks of “Fight the Power,” the street-seasoned poetry of Eric B. & Rakim, and the rabid hardcore-rap rhymes of Ice-T, Boogie Down Productions, and N.W.A.

Most of whom slay our Next Steps as well, right alongside such major mic manipulators as Beastie Boys, Queen Latifah, and A Tribe Called Quest.

Continuing with our crash course in hip-hop’s golden age is another stack of boombox-bashing singles. For starters, we’ve got the Beastie Boys fighting for our right to party as Rick Rubin piles on diamond-edged drums and raucous rock guitars. On the deadly serious side of things, Ice Cube’s solo debut, [i]Amerikkka’s Most Wanted[/i], borrowed Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad for one of the most important gangsta rap albums of all time. Let’s just say we don’t blame you for taking cover after hearing the title track.

Speaking of P.E., they leave our Deep Cuts battered and bruised, while Kid ’N Play keep things calmer than a Monday-night house party.

While Chuck D, Flavor Flav, and the rest of the Public Enemy crew sounded the alarm with siren wails and frenzied funk loops in the ‘80s (“Bring the Noise,” “Public Enemy No.1”), the Reagan years also marked the beginning of hip-hop’s beautiful relationship with block parties and the pop charts. Aside from the keg-tapping cuts of Kid ’N Play, we’re talking about Will Smith [i]way[/i] before his highly paid Hollywood days (the boom-bap score and swift turntable scratches of “Brand New Funk” and “A Touch of Jazz”) and the Adidas-rocking peak of Run-DMC (“Rock Box,” “Peter Piper”).

Since hip-hop [i]is[/i] pop music now, it’s easy to forget the early days, as artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Kurtis Blow, Whodini, Grandmaster Flash, the Sugarhill Gang, and the Jungle Brothers defined the true meaning of “old school.” Meanwhile, many decade-spanning careers were set in motion to the tune of dusty breakbeats and overheated samplers, including that of KRS-One (see: his stint fronting Boogie Down Productions), Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, Run-DMC, and four A-list actors who also happen to flow like a butterfly and sting like a battle-ready bee: LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, Ice Cube, and Ice-T. And, hey, who could forget 2 Live Crew? We’ll let them speak for themselves . . .