Hip-hop and rap's history may be short in the scheme of things — going back to the late '60s — but once it took hold, it spread fast, with pioneers of the genre giving way to a vast catalogue of musical legends and today's chart-toppers.
James Peterson, known as the "hip-hop scholar", shares his overview of the evolution of rap, from its beginnings with Jamaican immigrants, basketball and James Brown through to today's "Dionysian exploits".
The Old School Era
1967: Clive Campbell aka DJ Kool Herc, hip-hop's first DJ, emigrates to the West Bronx in NYC from Jamaica.
1968: Rucker Park, a basketball court in Harlem, New York, is a must-stop for top college and pro basketball stars, eager to prove themselves. Julius Erving, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul Jabar establish the legacy maintained by the likes of Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Ron Artest, and Elton Brand. The Rucker Tournament, the Rucker Pro League and the Entertainer's Basketball Classic are legendary touchstones for hip-hop's love affair with athletics.
1968: James Brown records and releases Funky Drummer, one of the most sampled drum tracks in hip-hop history, and Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud).
1969: Greek-born Demetrius, from 183 Street in the Bronx, makes himself famous by "tagging" Taki 183 throughout the five boroughs of NYC.
1973: DJ Kool Herc (above) DJs his first party.
1974: Afrika Bambaataa leaves the Black Spades (one of the largest and most violent gangs in New York) to form hip-hop's first organisation, the ZULU Nation.
1974: Busy Bee Starski, DJ Hollywood, and/or Afrika Bambaataa coin the term "hip-hop".
1975: Grand Wizard Theodore discovers the scratch.
1976: The first pieces (graffiti-like murals) appear on NYC subway trains.
1977: Bronx B. Boys, Jimmy D. and Jojo establish the legendary Rock Steady Crew, joined by Crazy Legs and Lenny Len in 1979.
1979: Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight spends 12 weeks on the Billboard chart, ushering in the era of the MC with all of its lyrical battles and authorial challenges.
1980: The Times Square Graffiti Show indicates the mainstream's brief love affair with hip-hop's visual art.
1980: The High Times Crew is arrested for breakdancing. The first photos of breakdancing enter mainstream circulation.
1980: The first rap radio show debuts on WHBI, Mr. Magic's Rap Attack.
The Golden Age
1983: Run DMC's Sucka MC's signals the end of the old school era and the dawn of hip-hop's first "pop stars".
1984: Roxanne Roxanne is released by UTFO, spawning hundreds of response "dis" records. KDAY becomes LA's and the US' first rap-formatted radio station.
1984: Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons form Def Jam, the record label, in a dorm room. Their first release is by LL Cool J.
1986: Run DMC's Walk this Way enters heavy rotation on MTV.
1988: NWA's first album, Straight Outta Compton, introduces gangsta rap to the mainstream (ICE-T, Schoolly D, and BDP had defined the genre earlier for hip-hop culture).
1988: Basquiat, the first hip-hop visual artist to be recognised by "high culture" art circles, dies from a heroin overdose at the age of 27.
1989: Public Enemy scores Spike Lee's film, Do the Right Thing (the single is entitled Fight the Power) positioning political rap and the director at the centre of urban culture.
1990: 2 Live Crew is arrested for performing songs from As Nasty as They Wanna Be. First Amendment advocates testify on their behalf and they are released, but explicit lyrics labelling is born.
1990: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air debuts on NBC, marking the first sitcom starring a rapper.
1991: Soundscan technology becomes widespread and rap music usurps pop/rock as America's most eagerly consumed music.
1991: Rapper/actor Ice Cube, actors Cuba Gooding Jr, Lawrence Fishburne and Morris Chesnut star in the film Boyz N the Hood, directed by John Singleton.
1991: Lyricist Lounge in NYC starts their open mic sessions.
1992: FUBU Clothing is launched.
1992: Karl Kani begins production of his distinctively logoed, loose-fitting, street-chic sportswear. Within two years, aided by ads that feature artists like Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tupac Shakur, the company will earn between $30 million (Dh110 million) and $40 million.
The Now Age
1993: Hip-hop's greatest producer releases his first masterpiece, The Chronic, featuring Snoop Dogg and Tha Doggpound. Dr Dre also produced NWA's first two albums as well as various R&B artists prior to this release.
1993: Vibe magazine is launched with Snoop Doggy Dogg on the cover. Snoop subsequently appears on the September 30 Rolling Stone cover (with Dr Dre), even though his highly anticipated Doggy Style debut hasn't come out yet.
1994: Sean Puffy Combs establishes Bad Boy Records. The Notorious B.I.G. releases Ready to Die (Bad Boy).
1994: Wu Tang Clan release their debut album Enter The Wu Tang (36 Chambers).
1994: Snoop Dogg releases his debut album Doggy Style.
1995: The Roots album, Do You Want More, brings live instruments back into hip-hop popularity.
1996: On September 13, Tupac Shakur dies after being shot at while driving through Las Vegas with Death Row Records CEO, Suge Knight.
1997: Rapper Notorious B.I.G. dies of gunshot wounds after being shot while sitting in his car after attending a Vibe magazine industry party.
1998: Dr Dre discovers Eminem and produces Em's debut album, on Interscope Records, The Slim Shady LP (1999).
2000 — present: Popular hip-hop artists reduce lyrics to Dionysian exploits and experiences. Jay-Z and DMX supplant Biggie and Tupac as the MCs of hip-hop culture. The well-recorded battle between Nas and Jay-Z coupled with the popularity of Hollywood's version of Eminem's life story (8 Mile) reinvigorate the dominance of MCs in hip-hop and popular culture.
James Peterson, known as the "hip-hop scholar", shares his overview of the evolution of rap, from its beginnings with Jamaican immigrants, basketball and James Brown through to today's "Dionysian exploits".
The Old School Era
1967: Clive Campbell aka DJ Kool Herc, hip-hop's first DJ, emigrates to the West Bronx in NYC from Jamaica.
1968: Rucker Park, a basketball court in Harlem, New York, is a must-stop for top college and pro basketball stars, eager to prove themselves. Julius Erving, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul Jabar establish the legacy maintained by the likes of Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Ron Artest, and Elton Brand. The Rucker Tournament, the Rucker Pro League and the Entertainer's Basketball Classic are legendary touchstones for hip-hop's love affair with athletics.
1968: James Brown records and releases Funky Drummer, one of the most sampled drum tracks in hip-hop history, and Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud).
1969: Greek-born Demetrius, from 183 Street in the Bronx, makes himself famous by "tagging" Taki 183 throughout the five boroughs of NYC.
1973: DJ Kool Herc (above) DJs his first party.
1974: Afrika Bambaataa leaves the Black Spades (one of the largest and most violent gangs in New York) to form hip-hop's first organisation, the ZULU Nation.
1974: Busy Bee Starski, DJ Hollywood, and/or Afrika Bambaataa coin the term "hip-hop".
1975: Grand Wizard Theodore discovers the scratch.
1976: The first pieces (graffiti-like murals) appear on NYC subway trains.
1977: Bronx B. Boys, Jimmy D. and Jojo establish the legendary Rock Steady Crew, joined by Crazy Legs and Lenny Len in 1979.
1979: Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight spends 12 weeks on the Billboard chart, ushering in the era of the MC with all of its lyrical battles and authorial challenges.
1980: The Times Square Graffiti Show indicates the mainstream's brief love affair with hip-hop's visual art.
1980: The High Times Crew is arrested for breakdancing. The first photos of breakdancing enter mainstream circulation.
1980: The first rap radio show debuts on WHBI, Mr. Magic's Rap Attack.
The Golden Age
1983: Run DMC's Sucka MC's signals the end of the old school era and the dawn of hip-hop's first "pop stars".
1984: Roxanne Roxanne is released by UTFO, spawning hundreds of response "dis" records. KDAY becomes LA's and the US' first rap-formatted radio station.
1984: Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons form Def Jam, the record label, in a dorm room. Their first release is by LL Cool J.
1986: Run DMC's Walk this Way enters heavy rotation on MTV.
1988: NWA's first album, Straight Outta Compton, introduces gangsta rap to the mainstream (ICE-T, Schoolly D, and BDP had defined the genre earlier for hip-hop culture).
1988: Basquiat, the first hip-hop visual artist to be recognised by "high culture" art circles, dies from a heroin overdose at the age of 27.
1989: Public Enemy scores Spike Lee's film, Do the Right Thing (the single is entitled Fight the Power) positioning political rap and the director at the centre of urban culture.
1990: 2 Live Crew is arrested for performing songs from As Nasty as They Wanna Be. First Amendment advocates testify on their behalf and they are released, but explicit lyrics labelling is born.
1990: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air debuts on NBC, marking the first sitcom starring a rapper.
1991: Soundscan technology becomes widespread and rap music usurps pop/rock as America's most eagerly consumed music.
1991: Rapper/actor Ice Cube, actors Cuba Gooding Jr, Lawrence Fishburne and Morris Chesnut star in the film Boyz N the Hood, directed by John Singleton.
1991: Lyricist Lounge in NYC starts their open mic sessions.
1992: FUBU Clothing is launched.
1992: Karl Kani begins production of his distinctively logoed, loose-fitting, street-chic sportswear. Within two years, aided by ads that feature artists like Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tupac Shakur, the company will earn between $30 million (Dh110 million) and $40 million.
The Now Age
1993: Hip-hop's greatest producer releases his first masterpiece, The Chronic, featuring Snoop Dogg and Tha Doggpound. Dr Dre also produced NWA's first two albums as well as various R&B artists prior to this release.
1993: Vibe magazine is launched with Snoop Doggy Dogg on the cover. Snoop subsequently appears on the September 30 Rolling Stone cover (with Dr Dre), even though his highly anticipated Doggy Style debut hasn't come out yet.
1994: Sean Puffy Combs establishes Bad Boy Records. The Notorious B.I.G. releases Ready to Die (Bad Boy).
1994: Wu Tang Clan release their debut album Enter The Wu Tang (36 Chambers).
1994: Snoop Dogg releases his debut album Doggy Style.
1995: The Roots album, Do You Want More, brings live instruments back into hip-hop popularity.
1996: On September 13, Tupac Shakur dies after being shot at while driving through Las Vegas with Death Row Records CEO, Suge Knight.
1997: Rapper Notorious B.I.G. dies of gunshot wounds after being shot while sitting in his car after attending a Vibe magazine industry party.
1998: Dr Dre discovers Eminem and produces Em's debut album, on Interscope Records, The Slim Shady LP (1999).
2000 — present: Popular hip-hop artists reduce lyrics to Dionysian exploits and experiences. Jay-Z and DMX supplant Biggie and Tupac as the MCs of hip-hop culture. The well-recorded battle between Nas and Jay-Z coupled with the popularity of Hollywood's version of Eminem's life story (8 Mile) reinvigorate the dominance of MCs in hip-hop and popular culture.
