Director Tony Silver and producer Henry Chalfant’s 1983 documentary Style Wars was the first documentary on hip-hop culture. Style Wars first premiered on PBS in 1983, the documentary focused on the hip-hop element graffiti but also included the remaining hip-hop elements, DJing, MCing, and breakdancing that was developing in New York City during the late ’70s and early ’80s.
Style Wars won the Grand Prize for Documentaries at the 1983 Sundance Film Festival.
Right after the 1982 opening of The Roxy, The Kitchen Tour in 1982 with Rock Steady Crew, Fab 5 Freddy, Crazy Legs, and DJ Spy became the first U.S. Hip-Hop tour. The billed acts on The Kitchen Tour went to Washington, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, New York, Iowa, Chicago, Michigan, and Toronto, Canada.
Two years after the Kitchen Tour, the 1984 Swatch Watch New York City Fresh Festival Tour happened and brought hip-hop to arenas and coliseums nationwide. The festival tour was headlined by Run-D.M.C. and hosted by Kurtis Blow. The tour billed the Fat Boys, Whodini, Newcleus, the Dynamic Breakers, Magnificent Force, Uptown Express, and more. After it’s 27 dates, the tour grossed $3.5 million, five percent of the tours earnings went to the United Negro College Fund. The success of the first Fresh fest tour made it an annual event.
The “New York City Rap” tour—also known as The Roxy Tour—was the first international hip-hop tour in 1982. The tour brought all of the hip-hop elements together by billing the best Mcees, DJs, B-Boys, Graffiti artists and even Double Dutchers. The tour consisted of DJ Afrika Bambaataa, Fearless Four, Grand Mixer D.ST and the Infinity rappers, The Rock Steady Crew, Futura 2000, Dondi, Phase 2, Fab 5 Freddy, Rammellzee, and the Fantastic Four (a double dutch jump rope team)
Fab 5 Freddy and promoter Kool Lady Blue, in partnership with radio station Europe 1, retail chain Fnac and French record labels Celluloid and Disc’ AZ, organized the 1982 New York City Rap Tour as a way to introduce all of the hip-hop elements to the people in Europe. The tour took the acts to Paris, Lyon, Belfort, Mulhouse, Strasbourg, London, and Los Angeles.
In June of 1983, Video Music Box launched on WNYC-TV in New York City and became the first hip-hop music video TV show. The show aired the freshest hip-hop music videos to the people of New York City. Video Music Box was created by “Uncle” Ralph McDaniels, an engineer at WNYC-TV and Lionel “Vid Kid” Martin. The show started five years before Yo! MTV Raps and ran on WNYC-TV (channel 31) until 1996, when the TV program moved to WNYE-TV (channel 25) after WNYC-TV was sold by the City of New York. The show’s theme song is “Five Minutes of Funk” by Whodini.
Ralph McDaniels and his partner Lionel “Vid Kid” Martin also directed music videos under their company Classic Concepts Video Productions, the first black-owned music video production company. They directed Nas’ music video for “It Ain’t Hard To Tell,” Wu-Tang Clan’s music video for “C.R.E.A.M.,” Black Moon’s music video for “Who Got The Props,” Supa Cat’s music video for “Ghetto Red Hot” and many more.
Music video director Hype Williams got his start at Classic Concepts Video Productions. The show helped break the careers of Whodini, Fat Joe, Jay-Z, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, Mobb Deep, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, The Notorious B.I.G., and many more.
MTV (Music Television Network) launched on August 1, 1981. Blondie‘s music video for Rapture—which released that same year—was the 48th video aired on MTV’s launch day and Rapture became the first music video with a rap aired on MTV. In the music video for Rapture, you see Blondie’s frontwoman Debbie Harry walking through the city of New York with walls covered of the hip-hop element, Graffiti. The music video featured cameos from Fab 5 Freddy (who Debbie Harry shouted out on the song), Jean Michel ‘Basquiat,’ and Lee Quinones.
Rapture by Blondie was the first music video with a rap aired on MTV
Rock Box by Run-D.M.C. was the first hip-hop music video by a rap group aired on MTV
In the summer of 1984, Run-D.M.C.’s Rock Box, the first rap-rock song, became the first official hip-hop music video by a rap group played on MTV. Rock Box was Run-D.M.C.‘s debut music video. Four years after that, MTV devoted an entire show to hip-hop, when they launched Yo! MTV Raps in August 1988.
“‘Rock Box’ was the first rap-rock record. It took Eddie Martinez’s rock guitar to get us on MTV. Our producer, Larry Smith, came up with the idea. People forget about Larry Smith, but Larry Smith owned hip-hop and rap. He produced our first two albums, and he produced Whodini. The rock-rap sound was Larry Smith’s vision, not Rick Rubin’s. Rick changed history, but Larry was there first. Actually, me and Run was against the guitar. We did two versions of ‘Rock Box’ because we didn’t want the guitar version playing in the hood. But when DJ Red Alert played it on his radio show, black people loved the guitar version more than the hip-hop version.” D.M.C.’s told MTV about the music video on I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution.
In 1981, Duffy Hooks III and Jerry Hooks Sr. launched the first West Coast rap label, Rappers Rapp Records. Rappers Rapp Records was founded in Los Angeles, CA. The Gigolo Rap by Disco Daddy & Captain Rapp (Capt. Rapp) was the record label’s first release in 1981.
Shortly after The Gigolo Rap, the first west coast rap song was released, Rappers Rapp Records signed The Rappers Rapp Group, an L.A. rap group with rappers DJ Flash, MC Fosty, Lovin C, King MC, Macker-Moe, and Mr Ice. The Rappers Rapp Group released their first single, “Rappers Rapp Theme” in 1982, which would also make them the first West Coast Rap Group. A year later, the group changed their name to Dark Star and they released the first West Coast Rap EP Sexy Baby on AVI Records.
Years before Yo! MTV Raps or Rap City hit the air, Graffiti Rock aired on June 29, 1984, on WPIX channel 11 in New York City and on 88 syndicated markets across the U.S., making it the first hip-hop television show.
Graffiti Rock was created and hosted by Michael Holman, who was the manager of the popular breakdancing crew, the New York City Breakers. The show starred Run-D.M.C., Kool Moe Dee, DJ Jimmie Jazz, Shannon, Special K of the Treacherous Three, and The New York City Breakers.
Graffiti Rock was a hip-hop version of Soul Train. The show showcased the hip-hop elements including rappers(MCees), breakdancing, graffiti, and DJ’s. Graffiti Rock only received one 23-minute pilot episode.
Flashdance, directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals was the first Hollywood feature film with the hip-hop element, breakdancing. Rock Steady Crew was breakdancing in the 1983 movie and Crazy Legs (Richard Colón) did a lot of the dancing. Flashdance was directed by Adrian Lyne. Irene Cara, who sang the movie’s No. 1 theme song, included a song called “Breakdance” on her album What a Feelin‘. It reached No. 8 Crazy Legs did the backspin for Jennifer Beals at the end of the movie.
