Rappers of the 60s had an entirely unique sound than today’s artists; their songs addressed racism and other concerns plaguing their community.
Initially, an MC’s role was simply to introduce and excite the crowd; but soon enough they started providing humorous rhyming lines during music-play.
The Last Poets
The Last Poets were one of the earliest groups to combine spoken word verse with music. Composed of Gylan Kain, David Nelson and Abiodun Oyewole from late 1960s era Los Angeles, their members were inspired by Malcolm X’s black nationalism while echoing political fervor of Black Panthers and dissatisfaction with Martin Luther King’s integrationist agenda. Famed for their politically charged rhymes with Afrocentric musical accompaniment The Last Poets were among one of most influential spoken word groups ever created – their work helped pave way for beat master DJ Kool Herc and rappers such as Gil Scott-Heron to come.
The trio toured with musicians and performed in churches and clubs, protesting racism and oppression while encouraging blacks to band together and fight for freedom. Sly Stone of Sly & The Family Stone as well as Tacuma often joined them onstage, while in early 1970s The Last Poets released their only album, Right On (an anti-white supremacy and black poverty anthem that quickly made the Top 10 US Album chart). Later it inspired an award winning film of the same name.
As soon as The Last Poets split up, each member pursued solo projects. Oyewole and Hassan would later reunite years later for some albums; additionally they briefly made an appearance on John Singleton’s 1995 film Stolen Moments: Red Hot and Blue soundtrack. In mid-1990s, The Last Poets performed on PBS show Poetic Justice before later releasing compilation album Holy Terror that featured bass player Bill Laswell along with Senegalese drummer Aiyb Dieng.
Made in Amerikkka was released as a documentary in 2009. Subsequently, Oyewole and Hassan released the album Understand What Black Is as a powerful reminder of The Last Poets’ impactful message; featuring musicians such as Common, Mos Def and Pharoah Sanders among many others to create musical interpretations of it all. Together they continue to speak out against injustices while striving to build a better world.
Kurtis Blow
Kurtis Walker, better known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, was one of the earliest commercially successful rappers and is often considered to be the Godfather of Rap. Born in Harlem and graduating with a BA degree from Columbia University, his early work included break dancing before moving on to DJing (under Kool DJ Kurt’s moniker) and later rapping.
Blow was one of the first MCs to capitalize on the term “rap” when its music industry coined it in 1979. Additionally, he was the first one to perform at public events and create music videos as well as receiving a gold record, touring internationally and appearing in national commercials.
He established Krush Groove Records in New York City and pioneered what would come to be known as “funky hip hop.” This style featured silky R&B-influenced production with more materialist content than earlier styles, drawing influence from surf rock instrumental racks of the 60s and early 80s.
Though Blow’s career faltered during the 1980s, his contributions to hip hop cannot be denied. He was widely considered the first artist to incorporate G funk and use synthesizer. Additionally, his songs helped establish what is known as conscious rap through songs such as “Throughout Your Years,” an affirmation track encouraging children to set goals.
Blow is an advocate for maintaining the tradition of hip hop music. He believes that its powerful message should be taught in schools. Additionally, he has worked alongside numerous rappers such as Run DMC and Fat Boys.
According to Blow, rap is more than just music – it’s an entire culture and way of life. He hopes that younger generations can learn from it and continue developing it further. Blow has left an indelible mark on hip-hop; every rapper who followed has to thank him.
George Clinton
George Clinton made waves in the music world from his birth in an outhouse in Kannapolis, North Carolina for decades with his signature brand of monster funk and rhinestone rap. Sometimes described as being similar to Frank Zappa or James Brown on acid, his goal was to save dance music from becoming irrelevant; his P-Funk juggernaut is widely credited with reinvigorating groove within rock, pop and dance music genres alike. Now at 77 years old and touring regularly with Parliament-Funkadelic band while working on new album release plans; truly an original and source of inspiration among modern producers alike!
Clinton started rehearsing with fellow doo wop group the Parliaments while working at a barbershop with friends, recording on home recorder. They quickly developed a local fan base playing local hops and school dances; in 1956 they released a single for Hull Records that became famous among local listeners; they later joined up with Parliament-Funkadelic band to gain fame and start performing together again.
In the 1970s, this band experimented with sound by mixing soul music with funk elements while drawing inspiration from Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, and other late 1960s acid heroes such as Sly Stone. By the end of the decade they had established themselves as one of the key forces in black music with several top 40 R&B hits to their name.
Bernard “Bernie DaVinci” Worrell’s classically trained keyboard playing and orchestral arrangements added another level to their sound, creating an unprecedented success during live performances with P-Funk crew.
Through the 1980s, Parliament-Funkadelic continued to have hits on R&B charts; however, legal disputes surrounding PolyGram’s acquisition of Parliament-Funkadelic’s label led them to part ways with both names, creating solo careers for Clinton while continuing to release albums under one banner.
Today, they remain an influential force in hip hop music, inspiring the next generation of rappers with their sound and being part of today’s g-funk scene. Indeed, it would be hard to imagine life without P-Funk music!
Grandmaster Flash
Grandmaster Flash was perhaps one of the most influential 60’s rappers and DJ/producers, best known for leading hip hop group Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and pioneering relationships between DJs and rappers as well as making sampling an integral component of hip hop music. He was honored with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
Flash began his music career with DJ Kool Herc, who established rap as a vocal style by delivering poetry verses over funk music breaks influenced by Jocko Henderson’s Rocket Ship Show of 1950 (rhymes with and includes elements of scat singing). Flash then took these elements to block parties in the Bronx where other MCs such as Melle Mel, Cowboy Scorpio and Kid Creole added their voices – this became known as hip hop as musical form and it quickly became hugely successful!
Later, Flash would collaborate with the Sugarhill Gang to produce some of the first mainstream rap hits, thereby propelling hip hop’s mainstream popularity and being an influence on subsequent artists like The Pharcyde, The Last Poets, Jurassic 5, People Under the Stairs and Tha Alkaholiks who continued this style with more complex rhyme schemes and deeper themes.
Noteworthy is also that many rock and oldies musicians have been heavily influenced by rap. One notable instance is The Shadows song Apache from 1960 which hit number 1 after it was covered by Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band with heavy influences from both rap and disco music, becoming one of the earliest instances of a song with rap influences reaching number one in 1981.
OutKast, Arrested Development and Goodie Mob have played a critical role in expanding hip hop’s influence further across the South, particularly its roots in rap music. Through their influence, hip hop has become much more diverse; thus proving that it has meaning and significance beyond simply loud noise.