So we’re going to do things a little different today. April 3rd was a relatively slow day, so we’re going to jump back a few days to April 1st, and you’ll see why. I will point out that on April 3rd, 2008, Wayne “Freeze” Frost of the The Rock Steady Crew passed away. The Rock Steady Crew was a hip hop and breaking group that was best known for their international smash hit “Hey You” in 1983 and their breakdancing style.
April 1st has been a busy day in hip hop history. I’ll break it all down for in chronological order, starting with the earliest event. We start our ride in 1987 when Public Enemy released their debut album Yo! Bum Rush The Show. Chuck D and Flavor Flav brought a powerful and unique lyrical style to dope scratches from DJ Terminator X. The trio were known for their incredibly political music. Hailing from Long Island, New York, Public Enemy took their name seriously and turned the sounds of that era into messages that spoke to the black community and youth. They caught a lot of heat from the mainstream media for their outspoken views but that never stopped them. All four of their first albums have been certified either gold or platinum and it’s all dope. Chuck D was as raw as they come as an MC and Flavor Flav’s personality played great off of it. Be sure to check out Yo! Bum Rush The Show and the rest of their discography, you won’t regret it.
Speaking of raw MC’s, EPMD released their second album Unfinished Business on April 1st, 1989. Erick & Parrish Making Dollars, better known as EPMD, was started by Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith in 1986. Like Public Enemy, EPMD came out of Long Island.EPMD would change hip hop forever with their sound. Both E and PMD were great rappers and knew their way around a punchline. Their production style helped shift the focus from electronic sounding samples to using breaks from funk and rock records. They had five straight gold records from 1988 to 1997. EPMD have to be in the discussion whenever you’re talking about the all-time greats. They revolutionized the game and helped grandfather in an entire new era of hip hop. If you’ve never heard an EPMD record before, slap yourself, then go find one.
We’ll end our lesson for today with DJ Kool and one of the most known records of all time. DJ Kool released Let Me Clear My Throat on April 1st, 1996, and we haven’t stopped listening since. The version that sticks with us today was recorded live at Bahama Bay. The track uses two key samples,“Hollywood Swinging” (1974) by Kool and the Gang and “The 900 Number” (1987) by The 45 King. DJ Kool interacts with crowd making it perfect for parties and sporting events. Many remixes were made with a bunch of different rappers from the era laying down different verses. This track was anywhere and everywhere people were getting hyped up and still gets crowds going. I’ll leave the original in a video below just because it is a personal favorite.
Now I hope you’ve got nothing to do for the rest of the day cause I just gave you plenty of music to catch up on. Get comfy and start bumping.
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