50 Fun Facts About Old School Hip Hop

Which Oakland rapper, once an Athletics bat boy, took his stage name from a likeness to Hank Aaron?

MC Hammer was hired at 11 by team owner Charlie Finley, who had seen him doing splits. Players called him Little Hammer for his resemblance to the slugger.

Which Queens trio signed an Adidas endorsement deal after recording a single about the sneakers?

Run-DMC wore the shoes unlaced, and the endorsement deal that followed 'My Adidas' has been described as the beginning of hip hop fashion.

Which New York trio began as a hardcore punk band before releasing the album Licensed to Ill?

Beastie Boys grew out of a hardcore punk outfit called the Young Aborigines. Their 1986 debut became the first rap LP to top the Billboard 200.

Which 1990 rap chart-topper lifted its bassline, at first uncredited, from 'Under Pressure'?

Ice Ice Baby was the first hip hop single to top the Billboard Hot 100. David Bowie and his co-writers got no songwriting credit or royalties until it had become a hit.

Which Staten Island group, assembled in 1992 with RZA as leader, took its name from a kung fu film?

Wu-Tang Clan took the name from the film Shaolin and Wu Tang, then made up backronyms for it such as Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game.

Which group's 'Push It' began as a B-side before a San Francisco DJ's remix made it a hit?

Salt-N-Pepa first tucked it on the flip side of 'Tramp' in 1987. Once the remix took off on radio, their debut album was reissued with it added.

Which rapper joined Digital Underground in 1990 as a roadie and backup dancer before going solo?

Tupac Shakur debuted as 2Pac on the group's January 1991 single 'Same Song', which also led to his first film appearance, in Nothing but Trouble.

Which rapper co-founded the metal band Body Count and later played a detective on Law & Order: SVU?

Ice-T co-founded Body Count in 1990 and stirred national controversy with its track 'Cop Killer'. He joined the police drama in 2000 as Odafin Tutuola.

Which Spike Lee film, set on a sweltering Brooklyn day, used 'Fight the Power' as its musical theme?

Do the Right Thing needed an anthem that director Spike Lee wanted to sound defiant, angry and rhythmic. The film was also the screen debut of Rosie Perez.

Which Atlanta duo, famous for wearing clothes backward, spent eight weeks at number one with 'Jump'?

Kris Kross were spotted at an Atlanta mall by producer Jermaine Dupri, then a teenager himself, who has said neither boy was a rapper when he met them.

Which future Oscar winner shared the first Grammy for Best Rap Performance with DJ Jazzy Jeff?

Will Smith, then billed as the Fresh Prince, won the 1989 award for 'Parents Just Don't Understand'. His Best Actor Oscar came for King Richard.

Which Compton group was sent a warning letter by an FBI assistant director over one of its songs?

N.W.A only gained publicity from the letter, which went to the group's label and distributor. It later went on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Which Long Island group paired its political rhymes with production by a team called the Bomb Squad?

Public Enemy grew out of a mobile DJ crew called Spectrum City, whose members Hank Shocklee, Keith Shocklee and Eric Sadler became the producers.

Which 1979 single reworked Chic's 'Good Times' and first carried hip hop into the US top 40?

Rapper's Delight peaked at number 36 in January 1980. Chic's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards gained songwriting credits after threatening to sue.

Which rap hype man, later a VH1 reality star, became known for wearing a big clock around his neck?

Flavor Flav taught himself piano at the age of five and, by a bandmate's count, is proficient on fifteen instruments.

Which rapper won a Grammy for 'U.N.I.T.Y.' and later an Oscar nomination for the musical Chicago?

Queen Latifah's Black Reign, the album that carried the single, was the first by a solo female rapper to be certified gold.

Which Long Beach rapper broke through on the single 'Deep Cover' before a chart-topping debut album?

Snoop Dogg followed the 1992 soundtrack single with Doggystyle, which entered the Billboard 200 at number one with 806,000 copies sold in a week.

Which Brooklyn rapper followed Sean Combs from Uptown Records to Bad Boy and released Ready to Die in 1994?

The Notorious B.I.G. scored hits from the album with 'Juicy' and 'Big Poppa', and it helped restore East Coast rap's prominence while the West Coast ruled.

Which future film star led the Funky Bunch to number one in 1991 with 'Good Vibrations'?

Mark Wahlberg, then known as Marky Mark, followed it with the top ten hit 'Wildside' before making his film debut in Renaissance Man.

Which Aerosmith song became the first hip hop single in the Hot 100's top five when remade in 1986?

Walk This Way reached number four as a rap remake, higher than the 1975 original had climbed, and sparked a major comeback for the rock band.

Which Queens rapper's 1985 debut Radio was the first LP released by Def Jam Recordings?

LL Cool J's album sold over 500,000 copies in its first five months. The JVC boombox pictured on its cover later went on show at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Which producer started in the World Class Wreckin' Cru in 1984 before making the album The Chronic?

Dr. Dre went on to start the label Aftermath Entertainment and the headphone maker Beats Electronics.

Which Jamaican-born DJ played the 1973 Bronx party that is now celebrated as the birth of hip hop?

DJ Kool Herc hosted it with his younger sister Cindy, who wanted cash for back-to-school clothes. He used two copies of a record to stretch its drum break.

Which 1982 single on inner-city poverty was the first rap record in the National Recording Registry?

The Message was written by Duke Bootee and Melle Mel, partly in response to the 1980 New York City transit strike. The Library of Congress chose it in 2002.

Which producer co-founded Def Jam Recordings in his dormitory room at New York University?

Rick Rubin made the label's first release a single by his own punk band, Hose. Russell Simmons joined him shortly afterward.

Which Seattle rapper won a Grammy for 'Baby Got Back', which MTV would only air after 9 pm?

Sir Mix-a-Lot took the song to number one on the Hot 100 in 1992 and won the Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance the next year.

Which 1990 hit samples the opening riff of 'Super Freak', earning Rick James a songwriting credit?

U Can't Touch This won two Grammys and became the first rap song nominated for Record of the Year.

Which duo, known for a hi-top fade and a kick-step dance, starred in the comedy House Party?

Kid 'n Play brought their trademark Kick Step to the 1990 film's dance-off scene. Kid's haircut stood ten inches high at its peak.

Which Los Angeles label, co-founded by Suge Knight in 1991, released the album All Eyez on Me?

Death Row filed for bankruptcy in 2006. When the contents of its office were auctioned in 2009, the label's electric chair sold for $2,500.

Which rapper, nicknamed the Clown Prince of Hip Hop, hit the top ten with 1989's 'Just a Friend'?

Biz Markie was later sued by Gilbert O'Sullivan over an uncleared sample, and the landmark ruling meant rap samples had to be cleared in advance.

Which Compton rapper, dubbed the Godfather of Gangsta Rap, founded Ruthless Records in 1987?

Eazy-E announced in March 1995 that he had AIDS and died ten days later.

Which Queens group hired jazz bassist Ron Carter to play on its 1991 album The Low End Theory?

A Tribe Called Quest brought Carter in for the track 'Verses from the Abstract' because Q-Tip wanted a straight bass sound from a premier player.

Which Long Island group's 1989 debut 3 Feet High and Rising introduced the playful 'D.A.I.S.Y. Age'?

De La Soul borrowed the album title from the Johnny Cash song 'Five Feet High and Rising'. The daisy motif was meant to signal the group's sunnier, more playful ethos.

Which raspy-voiced Los Angeles rapper scored 1989 hits with 'Wild Thing' and 'Funky Cold Medina'?

Tone Loc reached number two with 'Wild Thing', whose lyrics were written by Young MC over an uncredited Van Halen sample.

Which New Jersey trio's 1991 hit 'O.P.P.' was built on a sample of the Jackson 5's 'ABC'?

Naughty by Nature took the song to number six on the Hot 100, and in 1996 they won the first Grammy for Best Rap Album.

Which London-born rapper with a trademark eye patch recorded the 1988 classic 'Children's Story'?

Slick Rick moved to the Bronx at 11 and in 1986 became the third artist signed to Def Jam.

Which Bronx DJ devised the Quick Mix Theory, looping a record's drum break with two copies?

Grandmaster Flash's method gave rappers and breakdancers a longer bed of beats to perform over. He went on to lead the Furious Five, the first rap group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Which Boogie Down Productions rapper started the Stop the Violence Movement after his DJ was shot?

KRS-One's name is a backronym for Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone, and he kept the group going alone after Scott La Rock was killed.

Which Brooklyn trio, featuring beatboxer Buff Love, starred in the 1987 comedy Disorderlies?

Fat Boys member Darren Robinson was nicknamed the Human Beat Box for his vocal percussion, and four of the trio's albums went gold.

Which rapper, the first signed to a major label, earned rap's first gold single with 'The Breaks'?

Kurtis Blow took the song from his self-titled 1980 debut album, and he was later ordained as a minister.

Which 1982 Afrika Bambaataa single grew out of a shared admiration for the German band Kraftwerk?

Planet Rock was produced by Arthur Baker for Tommy Boy Records, and it swapped the disco backing popular at the time for electronic drum machine beats.

Which 1987 debut album shows Eric B. & Rakim in Gucci-style outfits by Harlem tailor Dapper Dan?

Paid in Full broke from the simple rhyme patterns of early 1980s rap, and Rakim's free-rhythm delivery drew comparisons to Thelonious Monk.

Which graffiti artist, name-checked in Blondie's 'Rapture', became the first host of Yo! MTV Raps?

Fab 5 Freddy bridged the uptown rap scene and the downtown art world, and an idea of his grew into the 1983 film Wild Style.

Which show's 1981 booking of Funky 4 + 1 is credited as a hip hop group's first national TV spot?

Saturday Night Live had Debbie Harry of Blondie as its host that Valentine's Day, and she then asked the group to open for her band on tour.

Which James Brown single holds a Clyde Stubblefield break that is among the most sampled recordings?

Funky Drummer was recorded in Cincinnati in 1969 as an extended vamp, and Stubblefield improvised the famous passage on the spot.

Which New York housing project, the largest in North America, was home to producer Marley Marl?

Queensbridge Houses opened in 1939 with 96 buildings. Known as The Bridge, it became one of the most famous hip hop neighborhoods in the country.

Which rap group's song led to the Supreme Court ruling that a commercial parody can be fair use?

2 Live Crew had parodied Roy Orbison's 'Oh, Pretty Woman' after his publisher refused the group a license, and the justices ruled in 1994.

Which Brooklyn-raised rapper became the first woman to release a solo rap album, in 1988?

MC Lyte's debut, Lyte as a Rock, produced the singles '10% Dis' and 'Paper Thin'. She had recorded her first track at just 14.

Which 1985 film, loosely based on the early days of Def Jam, gave Blair Underwood his screen debut?

Krush Groove renamed Russell Simmons as Russell Walker for Underwood's role, while Simmons himself turned up in a cameo as a club owner.

Which Roland drum machine, a commercial flop in the early 1980s, became a cornerstone of hip hop?

The TR-808 sold only about 12,000 units before Roland stopped making it, yet it ended up on more hit records than any other drum machine.