History

• Rap's emergence in New York City during the 1970s enabled African-Americans to carve out their own presence in the music industry--one that owed nothing to current trends, nor the major labels that lacked the will to document it. Written off as a novelty, the runaway success of songs like the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" galvanized major labels accordingly. By the 1980s, the independent label became the dominant business model for artists, who weren't shy about using success to leverage better terms from their major label patrons--often relegating them to pressing and distribution chores, while retaining total creative control.
  
  

Time Frame

• By the mid-1980s, hip-hop's faster, more aggressive and lyrically complex rhythms had essentially overtaken the old scene. Upstart artists like KRS-One, LL Cool J, Public Enemy and Run-DMC rallied fans where it mattered most--on the record charts. As scholar Ranford Reese notes, the teenagers who had grooved to Guns 'N' Roses now cranked out Jay-Z and Outkast--two of 1998's top-selling albums--from their ghetto blasters. An early indication of the genre's staying power came in the reception given to films like "Krush Groove," which earned $17 million worldwide, while the soundtrack album went gold, Reese noted.
  
  

"Black America's CNN"

• Songs like "The Message" freed rap from its image as mindless part music
  
  Rap and hip-hop artists played a big role in redefining the medium as a vehicle for social commentary, or what Public Enemy's frontman, Chuck D, has famously described as "Black America's CNN." The turning point came in 1982, when "The Message"--Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's scathing indictment of urban ills--scored on the pop and rhythm and blues charts, as well as leading rock critics. Since that time, artists like NWA, Public Enemy and Run-DMC have drawn fire for harsh takes on police brutality, social inequality, and race relations. Other times, the group can become the lightning rod, as 2 Live Crew's First Amendment legal battles proved during the 1990s.
  
  

Breaking Down Cultural Barriers

• For most chroniclers, the hip-hop scene's ability to transcend boundaries and language barriers is the most positive aspect of all. One-off collaborations--such as Aerosmith's and Run-DMC's teamup on the former band's funky classic, "Walk This Way"--broke down the unspoken cultural barriers against mixing rap and hard rock. This marriage grew even more pronounced on "Bring The Noise," featuring Anthrax and Public Enemy, or individual tracks like "No Sleep Till Brooklyn"--where Slayer's guitarist, Kerry King, contributed a frantic, shredded-sounding solo. The licensing of these songs in major films like "Do The Right Thing" and "Judgment Night" became yet another marker in the genre's popular acceptance.
  
  

Economic Impact

• The militant stance of groups like Public Enemy is a touchstone of hip-hop culture
  
  The explosion of interest in hip-hop culture--one that fueled a 150 percent increase in record sales by 2000, Reese notes--forced corporate America to reach out accordingly. Tellingly, while conservative commentators and politicians continued to shun the genre, businesses increasingly courted its multi-racial market through films, sitcoms and clothing lines. The Adidas endorsement deal that netted $1 million in 1986--which the group clinched by asking a concert audience to hold up their sneakers--is now a common feature of the hip-hop landscape. Not since rock 'n' roll's birth during the 1950s have African-American audiences been exposed to as many voices like themselves on the big screen, and the airwaves, which is the old school scene's most important legacy.