As far as I’m concerned, hip hop officially begins in 1979 with the release of “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang. Some will say it is the release of “King Tim III (Personality Jock)” by Fatback Band. Those people are broken tools.

I remember my response to Rapper’s Delight when I first heard it at a shitty frat party in 1981. This is stupid stupid noise. Come on, who says this? “I said a hip hop hippie to the hippie. The hip, hip a hop, and you don’t stop, a rock it out bubba to the bang bang boogie, boobie to the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie the beat?” This made AC/DC’s “Back In Black” sound genius. Keep in mind, when I first heard Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, I thought it wasn’t memorable. First impressions can really make one idiotic. Now I know how a racist feels.

Speaking of racist, where did hip hop come from? I think it originates from square dance callers, the guy or gal who told you to grab your partner and do-si-do. This was made popular in the U.S. during the ‘30s. Hank Williams, under the guise of Luke The Drifter, may have been one of the first gangster rappers in 1954. During the height of his career, Williams had the urge to take on spoken word or talking blues.

1970 introduces The Last Poets, a huge influence on Chuck D of Public Enemy. This is a more obvious choice and ancestor of modern hip hop. Check it out here.

1973 brings us Hustlers Convention by Lightnin’ Rod. It is a concept album of hustlers attending the Olympics of hustlers. Dig it.

Hip Hopkins Syndrome

/hip/ /häp/kinz/ /sin/drōm/

noun

neurological disorder caused by hip hop music

synonyms: rhythmic spasms, bobble head on crack, electrocution without electricity

“Dude be trippin’, I was going to tell him to chill with the tics and shit, but someone told me he had the Hip Hopkins Syndrome.”

“Although it was quite comical, her impersonation of Katherine Hepburn in the back of a bus on a bumpy ride, it was all too real for my father died from the Hip Hopkins Syndrome, so I cried between laughs.”

#WithoutJamesBrownHipHopWouldBeDifferent