Show 16: It's 1988, Keep It Straight

My hip-hop history is, admittedly, rather deficient. In 1988 -- at the height of what is the so-called golden era of hip-hop -- I was three years old. I didn't start listening to hip-hop seriously until I was in college. Generally speaking, I have written off the '80s as the nadir of music and culture. Having now listened to what are not only considered some of the best releases of 1988 but also in the entire history of hip-hop itself, I have to rethink my low opinion of the '80s in regard to hip-hop. These are certified classics for a reason. Many of these albums are the records that inspired today's great MCs and DJs and, consequently, have left an indelible mark on hip-hop.

As I've begun to go back and listen to older records, both hip-hop and other genres, I have also begun to gain a new perspective on the music of today. You hear how artists were influenced, how the music has evolved and in what ways it remains the same. I think it's important to have this kind of perspective in order to really appreciate what you're listening to.

On a separate but related note, hip-hop in 1988 was both awfully fun and startling smart. The genre was still in its infancy and if you've ever read "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" by Jeff Chang (an indispensable read for anyone interested in the history of the hip-hop movement) or were around during hip-hop's birth, then you know that the genre got its start in the block and house parties of mid-'80s New York. Even more serious tracks like Boogie Down Production's "Stop the Violence" have an underlying buoyancy to them. If hip-hop knew how to do anything back then, it was how to have a good time.


Show 16 - Flashback to 1988
8 June 2009

1. Big Daddy Kane - "Ain't No Half-Steppin'," Long Live the Kane
2. Mic Break: Bobby McFerrin - "Don't Worry, Be Happy," Don't Worry, Be Happy
3. Ultramagnetic MCs - "Kool Keith Housing Things," Critical Beatdown
4. Biz Markie - "Pickin' Boogers," Goin' Off
5. Eric B. & Rakim - "Microphone Fiend," Follow the Leader
6. Salt-N-Pepa - "Shake Your Thang," A Salt with a Deadly Pepa
7. N.W.A. - "Express Yourself," Straight Outta Compton
8. Mic Break: Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock - "It Takes Two (Instrumental)," It Takes Two
9. Run-D.M.C. - "Mary Mary," Tougher Than Leather
10. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - "Parents Just Don't Understand," He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper
11. Boogie Down Productions - "Stop the Violence," By All Means Necessary
12. The Wee Papa Girl Rappers - "Wee Rule," The Beat, the Rhyme, the Noise
13. Public Enemy - "Bring the Noise," It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back
14. Mic Break: Michael Jackson - "Smooth Criminal (Instrumental)," Bad
15. Slick Rick - "Hey Young World," The Great Adventures of Slick Rick