Melle Mel
Real Name: Melvin Glover D.O.B.: May 15, 1962 New York Affiliation: Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five Melle Mel The original G.O.A.T. is known as being the Godfather of Rhyme, the maddest lyricist! […]
Posts Tagged "Old school"
Sugarhill Gang
Sugarhill Gang Formed: 1979 in NY Years Active: 70 ‘s, 80 ‘s, 90 ‘s, 00’s Genre: RAP Though the Sugarhill Gang inaugurated the history of recorded hip-hop with their single […]
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg Mini Bio (1) Snoop Dogg was born in Long Beach, California, to Beverly (Tate) and Vernell Varnado, who was a mail carrier and singer. His parents were both […]
Whodini
Whodini Members Jalil (Jalil Hutchins) Ecstasy (John Fletcher) Grandmaster Dee (Drew Carter) Formed in the early 80′s Whodini got its start in a rather unusual way. Keyboard wiz Thomas Dolby […]
Afrika Bambaataa
A seminal Bronx DJ during the 1970s, Afrika Bambaataa ascended to godfather status with Planet Rock, the 1982 hip-hop classic which blended the beats of hip-hop with techno-pop futurism inspired by German […]
Big Daddy Kane
Big Daddy Kane Born: September 10, 1968 Emerging during hip-hop’s massive creative expansion of the late ’80s, Big Daddy Kane was the ultimate lover man of rap’s first decade, yet […]
Kool Moe Dee
Kool Moe Dee Born Mohandas DeWese in 1963 (some sources say 1962), in Harlem, NY Education: State University of New York, B.A. in communications. Career Rapper. Began rapping in high school; […]
The Fat Boys
The Fat Boys originally known as The Disco 3, were an American hip-hop music trio from Brooklyn, New York City, that emerged in the early 1980s. Former Members Mark Morales a.k.a. […]
Doug E. Fresh
Doug E. Fresh Born: September 17, 1966 in Barbados Years Active: 80 ‘s, 90 ‘s, 00’s Genre: RAP The first human beatbox in the rap world, and still the best […]
Kool DJ Red Alert
Kool DJ Red Alert (born Fred Crute in November 20, 1956) is a disc jockey who rose to fame on 98.7 Kiss-FM in New York City, and has been recognized […]
Fearless Four
Fearless Four Members The Great Peso (Mitchell Grant) b. 12/5/59 The Devastating Tito (Tito Jones) b. 5/27/64 Mighty Mike C (Michael Kevin Clee) b. 3/10/63 DLB, The Microphone Wizard (Daryl […]
Spoonie Gee
Spoonie Gee, born Gabriel Jackson, had something a lot of other old school hip hoppers didn’t have- an uncle in the music industry. Bobby Robinson was already an accomplished producer […]
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys As the first white rap group of any importance, the Beastie Boys received the scorn of critics and strident hip-hop musicians, both of whom accused them of cultural […]
MC Lyte
MC Lyte Born: October 11, 1971 in Queens, New York, NY Years Active: 80 ‘s, 90 ‘s, 00’s Genre: RAP MC Lyte was one of the first female rappers to […]
Biz Markie
Biz Markie Biz Markie’s inclination toward juvenile humor and his fondness for goofy, tuneless, half-sung choruses camouflaged his true talents as a freestyle rhymer. The Biz may not have been […]
Public Enemy
Public Enemy Rewrote the rules of hip-hop, becoming the most influential and controversial rap group of the late ’80s and, for many, the definitive rap group of all time. Building […]
Salt n Pepa
Salt N Pepa By the late ’80s, hip-hop was on its way to becoming a male-dominated art form, which is what made the emergence of Salt-n-Pepa so significant. As the […]
LL Cool J
LL Cool J Born James Todd Smith on January 14, 1968, LL Cool J is a nickname that stands for “Ladies Love Cool James.” He signed to fledgling hip-hop label […]
Roxanne Shante
Roxanne Shante Genres: Rap Styles: Old-School Rap Active: 1980s Born: November 9, 1969 in Queens, New York, NY Aka: Lolita Gooden Member of: Juice Crew Born Lolita Shante Gooden, Roxanne Shante was […]
MC Shan
MC Shan Genres: Rap Styles: Old School Rap Active: 1980’2 – 2000s Born: September 8, 1965 in Queens, New York, NY Aka: Shawn Moltke member of: Juice Crew According to legend, MC Shan […]
Crash Crew
Crash Crew Members E.K. Mike C La Shubee Barry Bistro G-man Reggie Reg DJ Darryl C (d. late 1990′s) Formed in Harlem in 1977 by a group of high school […]
DJ GrandMaster Flash
DJ Grand Master Flash Born: January 01, 1958 in Barbados Years Active: 70 ‘s, 80 ‘s, 90 ‘s, 00’s Genre: RAP DJ Grandmaster Flash and his group the Furious Five […]
Eric B & Rakim
Eric B & Rakim Hip-hop trailblazers Eric B. and Rakim’s first single, “Eric B. Is President” (#48, 1986), sparked early debate on the legality of unauthorized, uncredited sampling when James […]
Kurtis Blow
Kurtis Blow Genres: Rap Styles: Old-School Rap Active: 1970s – 2000s Born: Agust 9, 1959 in Harlem, New York, NY Aliases: Kurtis Walker As the first commercially successful rap artist, Kurtis Blow is […]
The Cold Crush Brothers
The Cold Crush Brothers Formed: 1978 in New York, NY [The Bronx] Years Active: 70 ‘s, 80 ‘s Genre: RAP The Cold Crush Brothers were one of the first rap […]
RUN DMC
Run – D.M.C. Formed: January 1, 1981 Disbanded: January 1, 2002 More than any other hip-hop group, Run-D.M.C. are responsible for the sound and style of the music. As the […]
