hist of old school splitoff to new school

[Steve Covello]

I am opening a dialog for the following topic: When Old School
split to New School.

First, I am DJ Steevie Weevie from Hoboken NJ. Originally from
Central Nyack, NY in Rockland County, NY (better known as
Cen-Yack). CY was a small hamlet of middle class blue collar
AA families, with several "projects" up around in between.
There was hip-hop culture in the area before there were rap
records, so, in a way, I got to witness some of the birth of
the rap industry. Although it was not the Bronx, Cen-Yack
peops were closely aware of what was going on across the river
and south a little. Everything the DJ's were cutting in the
BX, they also had in CY, Spring Valley, Nyack, or wherever.
So...

The standard setup was the DJ cutting up the
regular repertoir of beats, mixed in with regular records off
t he charts. The MC's would bust out routines, and get call &
response going with the crowd. Some of the standard cuts I
remember (that I can name):

"Dance to the drummers beat" Herman Kelly & Life
"I don't know if it's right" Evelyn Champagne King
"Scratchin'" by ? (also used on Criminal Element "Put the
needle on the record"
"Let's have some fun" Bar-Kays
"Holy Ghost" Bar-Kays
"Boogie Butt" Le Pamplemouse
"Walk this way" Aerosmith
"Rocket in the Pocket" Cerrone
"Funky President" James Brown
"Frisco Disco" ?
"Apache"
"Good Times"
"Supersporm" Captain Sky
and more.... but you get the idea

(Note: for those not aware - the above tracks had instrumental
breaks that could by looped by using two of the same record,
with the DJ re-cuing the break back and forth to open-endingly
continue a break for the MC. Break records were chosen for
this unique, but unintentional distinction.)

When the first rap record came out (or, more appropriately,
the first record to have rap in it) - "King Tim III
(Personality Jock)" by Fatback in 1979, there was a lot of
excitement. Then, when "Rapper's Delight" followed in October,
it seemed "official" that rap was real. The main distinction
of Old School was that it was a LIVE performance medium, which
meant it was designed to go on for as long as possible (a
matter of pride for an MC). Take a look at the running times
of some of the earliest old school rap records:

"Rapper's Delight" 15:00
"Rappin and Rockin the house" 13:15 Funky 4 + 1
"Superappin" 12:03 GM Flash & the Furious five
"Funk you up" 10:30 The Sequence
"Spoonin' Rap" 15:00 Spoonin Gee (counting both sides of 12")
"The adventures of Super Rhyme" 15:30 Super Rhyme (Jimmy Spicer)
"Christmas rappin'" 8:11 Kurtis Blow
"Body Rock" 7:24 The Treacherous 3
"Blowfly's Rapp" 6:44 Blowfly
"Freedom" 8:13 GM Flash....

Interestingly, most of the old school records were designed
with "built in" breaks in them intentionally so they could also be
used as breaks for the DJ to use with live MC's. Clearly,
there was an awareness of the way DJ's used records, and how a
rap record (in the old school) should be made to actually
incorporate itself into the hip-hop style of DJ-ing.

The old school record making style lasted until about 1983.
Up until that point, the party style dominated with tracks like:
"New Rap Language" Spoonie Gee and Treacherous 3
"Jazzy Sensation" Afrika Bambaataa & Jazzy 5
"Disco Dreams" Mean Machine
"Rockin' It" Fearless 4

(Note: I am not too strong in my records at this point --
additional suggestions welcome)

As more rap records came out, there came a departure from the
party style of MC'ing to a more studio oriented style
emphasizing "song" structure and shorter overall
performances. Rap records were no longer "recordings of
rappers," but "rap records". GM Flash & the F5 w/Duke
Bootee's "The Message" is a transitional recording because it
incorporates the freestyle rhyme style with chorus refrains
that you would not ordinarily hear at a party or a party-style
rap record. The one portion of lyrics, "A child is born with
no state of mind, blind to the ways of mankind..." was
performed previously in "Superappin'" several years earlier.

By 1983 and 1984, drum machines and synthesizers were becoming more
sophisticated and affordable. Although many early old school
records had synthetic elements to them, it wasn't until around
this time that records were being made almost entirely without
any acoustic instruments. Companies like Profile Records and
Def Jam Recordings started releasing records that were entirely
studio style using all synthesizers and drum machines.

Examples:
"It's Like That/Sucker MC's/Hard Times" RUN DMC
"I Need A Beat" LL Cool J
Whodini

The last Old School record I can think of is RUN DMC's "Here
we go (Live at the Funhouse)" in 1983, which probably wasn't
intended originally to be released on vinyl. They used Billy
Squire's "Big Beat" as the groove cut.

It was around 1983/84 that hip-hop gained massive recognition
during the Breakdance craze the spawned a few movies and a few
new additions to the mainstream language. But more
importantly, it solidified the studio style of making rap
records because there was a larger market buying them. To me,
this is the "split" that has permanently separated rap talent
between those who were brought up through the local freestyle
talent pool and held status within the party/battle MC ranks,
and those who were good rappers, but ALSO adapted to the
requirements of making marketable records. And today, it is
possible to take someone with NO rap experience (Kriss Kross)
and turn them into stars!

"Marketable records," I believe, is the key point which some
people argue causes some MC's to achieve "undeserved" success
despite their lack of status in the freestyle/battle ranks
(which exists mostly at the grassroots level). In the absence
of a live audience or party, the studio MC has to rely on
different talents to create a record that will be successful.
There is no spontanaity or immediate adaptability to the
situation like the live MC can do. Instead, the studio MC
relies on lyrics that are repeatable and enduring (the ideal
for keeping records on the charts or clubs), and music
arrangements that can stand on their own. The "pre-planned"
aspect of performing can be mastered and rehearsed with
specific timings to programmable music (not unlike old school
with DJ's, except that studios allow re-takes).
Multitrack recording allows more elaborate lyrical styling
that would be otherwise impossible live -- like Slick Rick's
A/B lyric tracks that allow him to layer upon himself.

Around 1985, sampling became a common technique which eroded
the DJ's role in rap. It allowed music arrangements which
would be impossible to do live, but were based on old school
repertoir. There has been less opinion expressed about "studio DJ's"
compared to MC's, but I have heard arguments about famous DJ's
who can't cut as well as half the DJ's around the corner. And
even rap artists/groups who perform live with prerecorded
backing tracks. I have heard that EPMD was one of the few
groups who always used DJ as sole music source.

Hip-hop is unique in that it has become a record-oriented
medium. Records (or adaptations of records) are used in
performance to create other records, which are used to create
tapes or performances, which other performers listen to and use
as reference points in their new material.

I am glad to see renewed interest/emphasis on the old school
party style. "Marketable Records," I think, are the only
barrier to creating a Neo-old school, and less violence
oriented rap that gets more airplay and sales.

Please feel free to comment on anything I may have missed.

DJ Steevie Weevie - hoboken NJ - wee...@ritz.mordor.com

[jon madison]

i ain't even about to comment on everything you said right now,
but i have to say: 'watch it!' some of these folks don't know
where a lot of this stuff started... 'could be brain overload
for some! :)

rockin' it & jazzy sensation-- by far two of the greatest
rap songs of all time, period.

j.

('since you're too young to really remember where it began/
you can never truly understand or know/ where i'm coming from
or where i'm going/ how does it feel not knowing/ what its like/
to hike/ over a mountain of MC's [DJ's]'
--sfc, 'respect')
--
jon madison, se--.
work: j...@indianapolis.sgi.com
elsewhere: j...@iquest.net
web: http://reality.sgi.com/employees/jm (i'm. P.I. sorry.)