The journey from the turntables of DJ Kool Herc to the addictive, meme-ified sounds of Megan Thee Stallion and Lil’ Nas X was long, but hip hop is here to stay. And it has become a truly global phenomenon, crossing ethnic, linguistic, and geographical boundaries. Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer Prize for his 2018 album DAMN. Young Thug has created a wake of imitators that span genres and sounds. Hip-hop has become a dominant cultural force, driving conversations about music, literature, and entertainment forward. The genre’s dominance of radio waves, streaming numbers, and billboard charts is undeniable, not to mention its influence on everything from avant-garde electronica to the DNA of mainstream pop music from artists like Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Ariana Grande.īut it’s more than that. Rapper’s Delight wasn’t the first hip-hop song, but it was the genre’s commercial Big Bang, and a sign that this music born in the housing project hallways and public parks of the Bronx was more than a passing fad. Then the song started moving units in the millions and climbed its way up the US Billboard charts, peaking at number 36 in 1980, and at number three on the UK Singles Chart. When Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight came out 40 years ago, it was dismissed by many tastemakers as a gimmicky track made to make money.
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