Raiders & Hip-hop: Ties, History, & Outlaws
Before hip hop and rap took hold in the United States, spoken-word poetry occasionally worked its way into jazz performances. Many history-minded rappers also connect their art to "The Last Poets" a Harlem-based group, and "The Watts Prophets" out of Los Angeles. Both emerged in the late-1960s and paired political poetry with improvisational jazz. Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” resembled rap before it got it's name in 1971.
August 11, 1973 is widely considered the day hip hop was born. DJ Kool Herc performed at a back-to-school party. The location was 1520 Sedgwick Avenue west Bronx New York City. There, Herc introduced new techniques that are now considered the foundation of hip hop. He extended the instrumental beat, or "break" of a song to create a "break beat" & used a technique called the "merry-go-round" to quickly shift between breaks.
In 1979, a trio of MCs rapped over the break from Chic’s “Good Times.” The result was The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” rap’s first hit. One year later, in 1980, Kurtis Blow released "The Breaks" which was raps first Gold record. Three years later, in 1983, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five released The Message. These were the first times hip-hop was commercialized and repeatedly played on the airwaves.
From 1979 to 1988, New york had basically held the belt for close to a decade before anyone could even contend with it. Those years saw the rise of Run DMC, Eric. B & Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy, Afrika Bambaataa, Biz Markie, Slick Rick, & basically every other father of rap music. New York was unfuckable during that stretch, even as Ice T & NWA started to make noise.
In 1987, "N.W.A and The Posse" was released along with Ice T's "Rhyme Pays". On August 8, 1988, N.W.A's second album "Straight Out of Compton" changed West Coast hip-hop entirely. It was finally mainstreamed and televised as it perfectly aligned with the community's sentiment and uproar with what was happening in Los Angeles with police brutality. At this defining time, the Raiders being based in Los Angeles, was fundamentally instrumental.
The Raiders were viewed as outlaws. It was the name, the pirate on the helmet & in many ways hip-hop. Especially with what was then called gangsta rap, which was very much outlaw music. The Raiders were the streets team. N.W.A. firmly forged the enduring ties between rap and the Raiders. With South Central Los Angeles and the Coliseum but a few miles removed, they both served as a bullhorn that amplified the voice of an inner-city community that was done being quiet. Raiders clothing become the de rigeur attire and attitude of hip-hop’s most explosive act. “N.W.A. chose the colors of black-and-white to just kind of be neutral in gangland L.A. territory" - Ben Westhoff
The world was in a tough space & “They gave people the sense of belonging to that world... You could be a kid from Beverly Hills rocking Raiders gear and you were somehow tougher" - Jon Weinbach
“You can’t turn on MTV now without seeing a Raiders jacket,” former Raiders marketing director turned NFL director of club marketing Michael Ornstein told The New York Times in 1991.
The world wouldn't become seriously acquainted with Bay Area rappers until 1990, when MC Hammer told everyone what they couldn't touch. Take in mind, Too Short had already released his first rap album "Don't Stop Rappin" on cassette in 1985. Other notable releases by Too Short were "Born To Mack" & "Players" which were both released in 1987 & "Life Is... Too $hort" which was originally released in 1988 by Dangerous Music but later re-released with wider distribution by Jive Records on January 31, 1989.
Now i understand that underground close circuited local bay area rappers before 1988 were presumably already repping The Raider Nation since their geographical location was essentially tied to Oakland, but in all seriousness. There's no other rapper or rap group that defined Hip-hop like N.W.A.
Before hip hop and rap took hold in the United States, spoken-word poetry occasionally worked its way into jazz performances. Many history-minded rappers also connect their art to "The Last Poets" a Harlem-based group, and "The Watts Prophets" out of Los Angeles. Both emerged in the late-1960s and paired political poetry with improvisational jazz. Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” resembled rap before it got it's name in 1971.
August 11, 1973 is widely considered the day hip hop was born. DJ Kool Herc performed at a back-to-school party. The location was 1520 Sedgwick Avenue west Bronx New York City. There, Herc introduced new techniques that are now considered the foundation of hip hop. He extended the instrumental beat, or "break" of a song to create a "break beat" & used a technique called the "merry-go-round" to quickly shift between breaks.
In 1979, a trio of MCs rapped over the break from Chic’s “Good Times.” The result was The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” rap’s first hit. One year later, in 1980, Kurtis Blow released "The Breaks" which was raps first Gold record. Three years later, in 1983, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five released The Message. These were the first times hip-hop was commercialized and repeatedly played on the airwaves.
From 1979 to 1988, New york had basically held the belt for close to a decade before anyone could even contend with it. Those years saw the rise of Run DMC, Eric. B & Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy, Afrika Bambaataa, Biz Markie, Slick Rick, & basically every other father of rap music. New York was unfuckable during that stretch, even as Ice T & NWA started to make noise.
In 1987, "N.W.A and The Posse" was released along with Ice T's "Rhyme Pays". On August 8, 1988, N.W.A's second album "Straight Out of Compton" changed West Coast hip-hop entirely. It was finally mainstreamed and televised as it perfectly aligned with the community's sentiment and uproar with what was happening in Los Angeles with police brutality. At this defining time, the Raiders being based in Los Angeles, was fundamentally instrumental.
The Raiders were viewed as outlaws. It was the name, the pirate on the helmet & in many ways hip-hop. Especially with what was then called gangsta rap, which was very much outlaw music. The Raiders were the streets team. N.W.A. firmly forged the enduring ties between rap and the Raiders. With South Central Los Angeles and the Coliseum but a few miles removed, they both served as a bullhorn that amplified the voice of an inner-city community that was done being quiet. Raiders clothing become the de rigeur attire and attitude of hip-hop’s most explosive act. “N.W.A. chose the colors of black-and-white to just kind of be neutral in gangland L.A. territory" - Ben Westhoff
The world was in a tough space & “They gave people the sense of belonging to that world... You could be a kid from Beverly Hills rocking Raiders gear and you were somehow tougher" - Jon Weinbach
“You can’t turn on MTV now without seeing a Raiders jacket,” former Raiders marketing director turned NFL director of club marketing Michael Ornstein told The New York Times in 1991.
The world wouldn't become seriously acquainted with Bay Area rappers until 1990, when MC Hammer told everyone what they couldn't touch. Take in mind, Too Short had already released his first rap album "Don't Stop Rappin" on cassette in 1985. Other notable releases by Too Short were "Born To Mack" & "Players" which were both released in 1987 & "Life Is... Too $hort" which was originally released in 1988 by Dangerous Music but later re-released with wider distribution by Jive Records on January 31, 1989.
Now i understand that underground close circuited local bay area rappers before 1988 were presumably already repping The Raider Nation since their geographical location was essentially tied to Oakland, but in all seriousness. There's no other rapper or rap group that defined Hip-hop like N.W.A.