The handful of rap songs released in the 1970s opened doors for the onslaught of creative variation that marked rap albums of the 1980s. Diss tracks, party anthems, socially minded material and gangsta rap all had a place in this era, defined by groups and solo efforts that strove to differentiate themselves from one another. Debuts from the likes of MC Lyte, De La Soul, Slick Rick and others kickstarted not only legendary careers, but a wave of innovations that undeniably led to rap’s commercial takeover in the ‘90s.
Hip-hop’s four elements (rap, DJjing, breakdancing and graffiti) grew independently and exponentially in form and acknowledgment in the ‘80s. Seldom was it deemed legitimate in the ‘70s but the ‘80s came with it a realization: that big business and big money could be squeezed from the culture. For better or worse, hip-hop began to lodge itself into the mainstream during this decade.
MTV placements, such as RUN-D.M.C.’s bloated collab with Aerosmith, brought posters into teenagers’ bedrooms and cross promotional ideas to the forefront. Films like as Breakin’ and Beat Street used hip-hop as a dramatic vehicle. And while there was a sense of underlying exploitation, it catapulted hip-hop culture nationally and worldwide. Graffiti was once viewed as vandalism was now on walls and podiums at art galleries, praised as “street art.” Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" seemed light years ago, and there was a palpable sense of maturation and explosion of ideas in the music.
A colorful cast of new artists pushed boundaries of the time. For one, Marley Marl, of the Juice Crew, was an innovator who preceded Wu-Tang as a super producer who surrounded himself with a motley crew of MCs, each with distinct approaches and personalities. He pioneered methods of drum programming and sampling, all of which began as early as 1983 when he was slowly piecing together the collective. Artists at his helm include Biz Markie, Roxanne Shanté, Kool G Rap, and Big Daddy Kane — all of which were innovators in their own right.
We’d be remiss not to cite just a handful of the many adventurous artists whose careers began in the '80s: EPMD, LL Cool J, Ultramagnetic MCs, Ice-T, Jungle Brothers and more. Their work and that of many others ushered in the beginning of hip-hop's golden age, as seen by numerous breakthrough albums in the later part of the decade; 1988 in particular, was a historically fruitful year.
This late ‘80s era encapsulates the genre's most consequential releases, ones that paved the way for rap to be where it is now. The following albums took the genre into warp speed, pushing its creative limitations to where it is today.
RUN-D.M.C - Raising Hell (1986)
RUN D.M.C.’s third studio album, produced by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin, is arguably their greatest — not only in terms of commercial success, but also influence. Their distinct fashion and sound catapulted hip-hop culture (which was still foreign to many at the time) into the commercial realm.
In addition to juggernaut singles "My Adidas," "It’s Tricky," and "You Be Illin," this album featured "Walk This Way," a wildly ambitious crossover single in collaboration with none other than Aerosmith. It was rap’s first leap into another genre, garnering MTV plays and placing the album all over various music charts. It also was the first rap album to go platinum. Their popularity propelled rap albums that followed later in the decade, and also helped hip-hop gain unprecedented attention in the mainstream.
Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded (1987)
KRS-One’s solo career had many highpoints but his early era with BDP is what cements his legacy. While one of the first albums to have true elements of street edge, its approach vastly differed from that of Schoolly D or NWA. KRS lectured more than rap, he was spiritual and scholarly, weaving more stray observations and warnings of street life rather than glamorizing the violence.
Scott LA Rock and Ced Gee’s production was also progressive, opening up the sample palette to rock and obscure soul even further. This was not only their first album but also the only one that featured LA Rock, who was murdered about six months after the album’s release. "9mm Goes Bang" and "The Bridge Is Over" are classics that gave the country a peek into the worldview of New York natives.
Eric B & Rakim - Paid In Full (1987)
It's hard to think of a greater gamechanger in the art of rap than Rakim, a phenom who rightly went as Kid Wizard on tapes before releasing 1986's "My Melody" with Eric B. At a time when MCs were innocently basic, both structurally and lyrically, Rakim added internal rhymes schemes and multi-syllabic rhymes into his sentences. His voice was a calm monotone. His rhymes were writerly, filled with metaphors and a complexity unseen prior. His many one-liners would be referenced and repeated by generations of rappers including Wu-Tang and Jay-Z.
Paid In Full was a debut brimming with bonafide classics, "I Ain't No Joke," "Eric B. Is President," and "I Know You Got Soul." On Paid In Full, Rakim moved the needle miles forward for lyricism, altering every rapper that followed.
Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill (1987)
Just behind RUN-D.M.C.’s Raising Hell, this rap debut from the brothers Beastie was the second to go platinum in the genre. It was also the only rap album by a Jewish hip-hop group to receive the coveted "5 Mic" rating from The Source, a magazine that was the hip-hop bible of its time.
The album was unquestionably hip-hop but was also multi-faceted. The track "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" featured a guitar solo from Slayer’s Kerry King, a call-back to the Beasties original rock roots. Songs like "Brass Monkey," "Paul Revere," "Girls," and "Fight For Your Right" were party anthems that kept his-hop’s positive party ethos afloat during a time when the music was shifting towards more serious directions.
The Beasties were fun, earnest, and distinct — beloved by both purveyors of the culture and fans of it, proving that hip-hop, if done right, is such an inclusionary artform.
Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988)
Public Enemy's second album saw the group vastly mature from their debut, Yo! Bumrush The Show. The Bomb Squad's surgical studio techniques raised the bar for production and what was possible in terms of sample layering.
Chuck D, whose voice is one of the most powerful in all of recorded music, deepened his lyrical content even further, speaking on race, politics, class, power structures, and overall, more socially focused material. Songs like "Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos," "Don't Believe The Hype" and "Rebel Without A Pause" were a gut punch, a jolt of seriousness and bombast unheard prior and unmatched in its era. It Takes A Nation... charted for 47 straight weeks on the Billboard 200 and many of its profound themes arguably are still relevant today.
NWA - Straight Outta Compton (1988)
Eazy-E and company were having a breakthrough moment when this song furthered their ascent into stardom and public infamy. A cacophonous origin story, it gave listeners a worldview most hadn’t heard and a taste of individual talent that was to come. Ice Cube and Dr. Dre soon became huge solo artists thereafter once the group disbanded. As posterboys of the gangsta rap, they had politicians, police, and the FBI all shook.
By 2015, when N.W.A.’s biopic film cemented their place in popular culture, they had long made history as one of the most consequential groups ever, both musically and culturally. Straight Outta Compton was their unflinching first step that had suburbia clutching its pearls en masse.
Slick Rick - The Greatest Adventures of Slick Rick (1988)
The ability to tell a succinct story with engaging detail is what makes an MC truly well rounded. Masters of this, Ghostface, Nas, and Black Thought, all have all cited Slick Rick as highly influential.
This was Rick's solo debut with production from RUN-D.M.C.'s Jam Master Jay as well as the Bomb Squad (of Public Enemy). Greatest Adventures... is forever colorful, anchored by Rick's charisma and ability to spin visual tales. Strikingly imaginative, he raps in different voices and cadences, able to be hilarious and vulgar, making his songs feel like comic strips. "Children's Story" remains a watershed moment of which all future storytelling raps would be measured by.
MC Lyte - Lyte As A Rock (1988)
The involvement of women in hip-hop culture cannot be overstated, despite being historically marginalized. Case in point: MC Lyte’s debut was commercially overlooked but its ripples are still felt today.
With production from Prince Paul, Audio Two and other innovative giants of the time, Lyte’s lyrics addressed drug use, racism, and womanhood. The album’s lead single, "10% Dis," is not only one of the greatest did tracks ever, but was also subsequently sampled and referenced years after, notably by the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Common, Mobb Deep, and Biggie. Here, at prodigious 18 years old, Lyte solidified herself as not just a formidable female artist, but one the all-time greatest MCs.
Too Short - Life Is Too Short (1989)
In 1989, the West Coast certainly didn’t see the same attention or action as the East Coast, but one Todd Shaw a.k.a. Short Dogg a.k.a. Too Short had been around since 1983, selling homemade cassettes from the trunk of his car in Oakland. Life Is was his fifth album, independently released in 1988 but officially re-released on a major label, Jive, with major distribution a year later.
Short's presentation was uniquely his own — part street stories, part party music, part pimp fiction. The production eschewed samples for more keyboard and drum machines. It utilized replayed funk riffs and Short’s lyrics were almost cartoonishly misogynistic and obscene. This album in particular exposed him to a national audience, placing Oakland— and the West Coast — on the map as a new region for rap music.
De La Soul - 3 Feet High & Rising (1989)
Prince Paul opened up a new galaxy of innovations on De La Soul's debut. His sampling of kids' records, doo-wop, and left-field sounds coupled with unconventional son structure made 3 Feet High & Rising kaleidoscopic and sunny.
Paul’s use and insertion of skits became his trademark, adding a movie-like feel to this children’s book of an album. Singles like "Plug Tunin'," "Potholes In My Lawn," and "Me Myself and I" lampooned the gangsta image, making De La's flowery reputation as hip-hop’s hippies even more pronounced.
Their attempt to shed this persona is why their follow-up was called De La Soul Is Dead. The foundational creativity that informs their brilliant career not only forever altered hip-hop, but it started here.
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