We have come so far in HipHop since the late 1970s and our culture has affect all of the major changes in every industry. These industry include Movies, Fashion, Graphics and of course Music.
We want to show you what the people born in 1980 may remember from the era when HipHop and Rap started. Check out the 10 things that 80s Babies Remember below. You can comment and add some other things that we have missed as well.
Let's Get Started.
1. Krush GrooveIf you have never seen this movie, you cannot call yourself a true fan of HipHop. Produced in 1985, Krush Groove is a film based on the early days of Def Jam Recordings and up-and-coming record producer Russell Simmons (renamed Russell Walker in the film), portrayed by Blair Underwood in his feature film debut. Russell Simmons was the film's co-producer and story consultant; he also had a cameo role in the film as a club owner named Crocket.
In the movie, Russell Walker has signed all of the hottest acts to his Krush Groove record label, including Run-D.M.C., Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde (Alonzo Brown), and Kurtis Blow. Rick Rubin produces their records. When Run-D.M.C. has a hit record and Russell doesn't have the money to press records, he borrows money from a street hustler. At the same time, Russell and his brother Run are both competing for the heart of R&B singer-percussionist Sheila E. Also appearing in the film are LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, New Edition, the Fat Boys and some of their songs, as well as others from the likes of Chaka Khan, Debbie Harry, and the Gap Band. Members of the R&B group Full Force also make a cameo in the film as bodyguards.
To all of the 2000s kids, Nintendo didn't just start with their now popular "WII" Console. You have to go way, way, way back! This company, which started in 1889 making handmade trading cards, found it's niche in 1983 after making the Nintendo Game Console. Everyone on my street had one and I know that you've had one too. In 1983, Nintendo launched the Family Computer home video game console in Japan (abbreviated "Famicom" and known outside Japan as the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES) alongside ports of its most popular arcade titles. In 1985, the NES launched in North America, and was accompanied by Super Mario Bros., one of the best-selling video games of all time.
The NES Gaming Console has sold over 61 Million consoles throughout the world! Have you guys beat Super Mario Bros. yet?
Even though, just like Air Force, they have brought these shoes back to the new times, everyone at one time was rocking The Reebok Pump shoes. The Pump, as it is called, is a line of athletic shoes that was popular in the late 80s. It was the first shoe to have an internal inflation mechanism, or a pump on the shoe. What was the purpose of the pump on the tongue? It helped to regulate a unique fitting cushion in two versions: the lower tongue; and also in the upper to provide locking around the ankle.
The original Reebok Pump was made as a collaboration between Reebok's Paul Litchfield and industrial design firm Design Continuum. It was released in 1989, as a basketball high-top shoe. The shoe was quite expensive compared to other retail athletic shoes at the time, often costing as much as 150% more than the next most expensive athletic shoe on the market. It became something of a status symbol on urban basketball courts and eventually in suburban high schools.
A hi-top fade is a style of haircut where hair on the sides is cut off or kept very short and hair on the top of the head is very long (in contrast, a low fade is when hair on the top is kept shorter). The hi-top has been a trend symbolizing the Golden Era of hip hop and urban contemporary music during the late 1980s and the early 1990s. The hi-top fade was common among young African Americans between 1986 to 1993 and to a lesser extent in the mid-1990s (1994-1996). The style fell completely out of fashion by 1997, though it has slowly made a return in the public eye since the late 2000s.
In 1986, rappers like Schooly D and Doug E. Fresh had the first, somewhat developed, styles of the hi-top fade in hip hop. However, their hairstyles lacked the geometric precision that characterized the more modern hi-top fade styles. In the hip-hop community, one of the first public appearances of the more modern hi-top fade hairstyles was in the "Tramp" video by Salt-N-Pepa, released early in 1987. In this video, the dancers could be seen with this hairstyle. They can be also seen dancing in a 'New Jack Swing' style form based on their wardrobe and choreography, which was not seen in other hip hop and R&B videos at the time.
An asymmetric cut is a female haircut in which the hair is cut in such a way that the hair does not have left-right symmetry and one side is cut or appears to be longer than the other. You could find female MC's from Salt N Pepa to MC Lyte all sporting this wacky style.
Way before 2Chainz, there where Dookie Chains. Big, fat, Gold Ropes that everyone could where around their necks. Some of hiphop top pioneers wore these chains. Artist from Rakim, to RUN DMC, to Slick Rick was all photographed with multiple of these around their necks. This style at one time in the 2000s started to make a comeback.
Check out RUN DMC's "It's Tricky" video where you can see them sport the Dookie Chains:
Lastly, one of Public Enemy's most controversial albums entitled "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back." This classic album is the second studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released in April 1988 by Def Jam Recordings. Public Enemy set out to make the hip hop equivalent to Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, an album noted for its strong social commentary. Recording sessions took place during 1987 at Chung King Studios, Greene St. Recording, and Sabella Studios in New York City. Noting the enthusiastic response toward their live shows, Public Enemy intended with Nation of Millions to make the music of a faster tempo than the previous album for performance purposes.
Since its initial reception, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back has been regarded by music writers and publications as one of the greatest and most influential albums of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 48 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, the highest ranking of all the hip hop albums on the list.
Throughout the album, Chuck D delivers narratives that are characterized by black nationalist rhetoric and regard topics such as self-empowerment for African Americans, critiques of White supremacy, and challenges to exploitation in the music industry.
Well that's the list and that's my time. Research more about the items on this list and if you can remember anything else from the 1980s that influenced you and the way you lived, please feel free to comment below and let us know. PEACE to the Middle East!
So Mic Hustlers, tell us what your remember about the 1980s?
