Lisa , thank you for the thoughts on The Art Of Noise. Few people seem to realize just how important non-Black/Hispanic folk were in early Hip Hop. I remember walking the streets of the Village in 1984-85 and hearing Art Of Noise (Beat Box), Malcolm McLaren (Buffalo Gals) and the The Dominatrix (The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight) blasting out of the boom boxes.
Don’t get me wrong, Hip-Hop is def a music that came from the ghetto and primarily from people of color. But when it started there were plenty of white folks who helped get it going. Hell, the Beastie Boys came late to the party (one of the dads is a record label owner. PS: They are playing today in Berkeley!) and Paul Revere had a major impact on how things jumped off.
As with so many things at birth, there was a hope that we could raise above the foolishness of race and class. It is sad to see that for the most part we have not been able to overcome the forces that divide…
PPS: I used to collect records (still own/store a couple thousand vinyl records) and The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight is the most expensive record I ever purchased. Having worn out one copy and losing my backup I paid $30 for the EP at a store in the Castro and feel lucky I got it. That and McLaren’s Madam Butterfly ushered me into Hip Hop and I am thankful for their influence =)
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I remember 3am at Union Square and having a one of my students protect me from his crew so I would not get shot (I was a high school math teacher). I rem another time at the Latin Quarter seeing DJ Red Alert introduce Biz Marki for the first time. Slick Rick at The World and De La Sul opening at The Fun House (that was crazy!) Rakim at the Top (only time I was really scared for my life). Drinks with X-Clan in Bed-Sty or the video with Spike Lee where I got my students (and me!) in front of the camera for Do The Right Thing.
And then there was that time I was run out of a Heavy D and the Boys / KRS 1 / Public Enemy concert in the Bronx cuz the group I was with from Brooklyn had to start shooting the place up. Now THAT was a loooong night…
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Madam Butterfly
The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight
Buffalo Gals
Iko Iko
Just-Ice – Wikipedia entry.
Latoya (an all-time fave!! I could go on for days about this girl named Latoya!!!)
Going Way, Way Back – A nice history lesson
Speaking of De La Soul…
You really MUST watch this remake of the #1 MTV Video by Gorillaz. It is quite fun and the bass line rox! =)