- Back To The Old School

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Back To The Old School - The Beginning

And as the 1970s - the showy decade, the decade of disco fever, hermaphrodite glitter, progressive pomp rock and jazz rock Mahavishnus - drifted into the turn, there was a drum beat audible in the forgotten districts of New York City. It was not that outsiders were unaware of the rapping rhymes and crude beats that pulsated the night air of Harlem and the Bronx; self-important rock critics like Robert Christgau had actually seen DJ Hollywood rapping and filling the interval spots at the Harlem Apollo. Like everybody else, he thought nothing of it. It was just children making noise in the spaces between events of importance.

For some years (and only the insiders know exactly how many) Harlem and South Bronx DJs and rappers like Kool Herc, Jay Cee, Clark Kent, Grandmaster Caz, Lisa Lee, the Late Cowboy, Kool Moe Dee, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Hollywood, Eddie Cheeba, Lovebug Starski and Grand Wizard Theodore had been cutting beats, writing poetry, making entertainment. Manhattan might as well have been on Mars. Certainly white New York had consequently missed the genesis of arguably the most influential, controversial and creative form of music of the last twelve years.

There were older entrepreneurs alert to the funny rhymes they heard on the streets or in their family homes. Kings and queens of previous eras, these record producers, label owners and hustlers recognised echoes of rhythm and blues, doo wop, even corner live from the black parts of town; in a confusion of excitement, opportunism and incompetence they made plans to release records that would push back the increasingly inane tide of disco. Then in 1979 they were beaten to the punch by the Fatback Band and Spring Records. Fatback had been employing an MC called King Tim III to spice their shows and it was King Tim, with Fatback, who took that first historic step for mankind by releasing a rap record.

The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" followed quickly, released initially sporting a plain label with no proper logo, but when it started to fly out of the shops it acquired the distinctive logo of Sugarhill Records. Then came Kurtis Blow on Mercury and the old R&B labels shook into action. A flood of 12" singles hit the market: Enjoy, Holiday, Sound of New York, Reflections, Golden Flamingo, Showstoppers, Grand Groove, Winley, Sounds of New York U.S.A., Brass Records, Clappers, Tree Line and many other obscure companies.

The productions were quaint, being a conflict of intentions between musicians and label owners (who thought they knew what was commercial), against rappers and DJs (who knew they knew but were too inexperienced to say). So we hear disco kick drums, clap tracks, flabby bass, primitive squelching synthesisers and thin guitars. Rappers would weep, having practiced their craft over fragmented snatches of James Brown beats.

Many of these tracks sound too raw to belong in our world, yet they have the appeal of music in a state of becoming. Nobody thought to censor or censure rap at this stage, since it was too black and seemingly too unimportant, and few old school rappers had hits, kept their money or sustained their careers. Many vanished - only an grime-encrusted 12" single left as a small mark upon the world. We look back and listen with the fascination of remote aliens gazing on history. There was a party, it jumped, but the invitation arrived late. This time around: catch the beat.

DAVID TOOP.

Track 11 is a bonus track, not included on the vinyl edition.