Rap music in the 1980s: a reference guide

537 Pages·1992·1.16 MB·English

by  Judy McCoy

Page i

Rap Music in the 1980s : A Reference
title:
Guide
author: McCoy, Judy.
publisher: Scarecrow Press
isbn10 | asin: 0810826496
print isbn13: 9780810826496
ebook isbn13: 9780585047133
language: English
Rap (Music)--History and criticism--
subject
Bibliography, Rap (Music)--Discography.
publication date: 1992
lcc: ML128.R28M3 1992eb
ddc: 782.42164
subject: Rap (Music)--History and criticism--
Bibliography, Rap (Music)--Discography.
Rap Music in the 1980s
a reference guide
Judy M Coy
c
The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Metuchen, N.J.,& London
1992
Page ii
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication data available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McCoy, Judy, 1946-
Rap music in the 1980s : a reference guide / by Judy McCoy.
p. cm.
Discography: p.
Includes indexes.
ISBN 0-8108-2649-6 (acid-free paper)
1. Rap (Music)--History and criticism--Bibliography. 2. Rap (Music)--
Discography. I. Title.
ML128.R28M3 1992
782.42164--dc20 92-39684
Copyright © 1992 by Judy McCoy
Manufactured in the United States of America
Printed on acid-free paper
Page iii
This book is dedicated to embattled artists everywhere
and
To those who protect and defend the right for all
viewpoints to be expressed, disseminated, and supported.
Page v
Acknowledgments
There were numerous persons who cheered me along this project, and
without their support and good wishes, I'm not sure I could have
sustained this effort. I wish especially to thank the following
individuals, groups and institutions:
My father, Jim McCoy, who virtually funded this project. That he did
so in spite of its subject matter attests to his generous spirit; and my
mother, Nina McCoy, who was always willing to listen to me talk
about it. My husband, Jim Harper, a fine artist who designed the
graphics; and our good friends, Bob and Janie Miron, who kept me in
office space so this book could actually get written. Pat Henderson,
who designed the layout and typeset this manuscript. All of my
friends who have been there for me even when I was absent from
them. My teachers at the University of North Texas Graduate School
of Library and Information Sciences. No student could ask for
stronger role models. Fort Worth Public Library's Periodicals and
Documents department for the extensive assistance from all of their
staff, especially the excellent pages: Daniel Hererra, who knows the
status of every pop music magazine subscription in the department;
Mary Jane Savage, whose constant interest in this project helped
sustain my own; Carah Jones, who was so clever about keeping the
reader/printer functioning; Yolanda Reed, who graciously pulled
endless issues of magazines and boxes of microfilm for me, and never
once failed to smile. The Fort Worth Public Library, the Dallas Public
Library and the University of North Texas Music Library. They alone
among Texas libraries had the materials necessary to accomplish this
research.
Thanks to the music critics who provided so many hours of mind-
blowing readingI never even knew it was out there! And to MTVwho
dreams up that stuff? Thanks to the rappers for putting their lives and
their talents and their stories on the line for us to use, enjoy, love, hate,
criticize, praise, and never look back to the awesome power they have
to move us, to entertain us, to inspire us, to teach us, to ennoble us
with their great gift.
Page vii
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments v
How to Use This Book ix
Introduction xiii
Chapter 1A Guide to the Literature 1
Chapter 2 A Selected Discography 186
Date Index 221
Subject Index 225
Artist and Personality Index 239
Title Index 249
About the Author 261
About the Illustrator 261
Page ix
How to Use This Book
When Sugarhill Records released the 12-inch single, "Rapper's
Delight," in 1979, rap artists practiced their craft in the clubs and on
the streets of New York. Homemade tapes circulating among
teenagers provided the main source for distributing the music to fans.
No one except kids seemed to enjoy it, and parents and music critics
alike called it a fad and predicted a quick and painless end.
But something happened to rap music on its way to a speedy demise.
In November 1979, "Rapper's Delight" reached the Top 5 on
Billboard's Rhythm and Blues chart, and in January 1980, it broke the
Top 40 on the Hot 100. In August 1980, the Recording Industry
Association of America certified Kurtis Blow's single, "The Breaks,"
a gold record. Rap moved from the streets into the studio, and across
America kids grooved to a new rap language that no authority could
wish away. Prejudice, ignorance, the absence of radio play, biased
reporting on the rap scene, restrictions on performances, and
censorship attempted by everyone from a group of Washington
housewives to the F.B.I. couldn't stop hip hop.
This book is a guide to the literature documenting the rise of rap as a
viable pop music genre. It is divided into two chapters and a four-part
index. Chapter 1 is a bibliography of magazine articles, reviews, news
stories, and books about rap music and its artists, and published
during the years 1980 through 1990. One book, Bring The Noise, by
Havelock Nelson and Michael A. Gonzalez, published in 1991, is
included even though it falls outside this scope because it is such an
important work to the hip hop researcher, or for that matter, to anyone
wanting information about rap artists and their albums.
Each entry in the bibliography contains an annotation briefly
describing the information and/or the purpose and point of view
contained in the work. Entries in this section are generally