It was twenty years ago today...

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Tomorrow's Pazz and Jop Poll Poll is no ordinary one - it is 1986, era of THE HIP HOP WARS. Now admittedly the Hip Hop Wars had very little if anything to do with the Village Voice but I'm sure we won't let that stop us. To get us in the mood here is an MP3 from each side of the battle lines:

Schooly D - "PSK (What Does It Mean?)" - the 'first gangsta rap' record (so says Wikipedia), Schooly D was championed by certain sections of the NME.

The Bodines - "Therese" - the second single by Glossop indie band The Bodines was included on C86, the legendary compilation put together by certain other sections of the NME.

These should whet your appetites for the feast of commentary (well erm possibly) to be unleashed at lunchtime tomorrow.

Comments

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Isn't this war kind of unfair? I mean in what world could hip-hop NOT win?

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Except it DIDN'T! And that is why Conor McNicholas is now editor of the NME and YOU are NOT!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I think it could be argued that in the WORLD AT LARGE as opposed to a SMALL INDIE OFFICE hip-hop did win!

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

haha i just remembered hiphop's DEFEAT (in this context) involved the flirtation -- by the ENTIRE HIPHOP-HITLER FACTION -- with:
1. the komedy poonk stylins of the DED KENNEDIES!
2. the p0rno-goth daubs of ELP cover-artist H.R.GIGER!!

i shall gather my thoughts abt this: i am unsure of the exact dates that the war flickered into life -- i think in fact schooly d predated it (as koganbot points out, psk came out on an "indie" -- but a version of this very argt raged at the time)

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I picked Schooly D because his front cover was used in the "that was the 80s that was" freebie the mag later did to illustrate the Wars.

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

Although it's fallen from a great height calling the NME "small indie office" is a big much, methinks.