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["Hip-Hop" by Dead Prez playing]
♪ Uh, uh, uh, 1, 2, 1, 2 ♪
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♪ Uh, uh, 1, 2, 1, 2, uh, uh ♪
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♪ One thing 'bout musicwhen it hit, you feel no pain ♪
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♪ White folks sayit controls your brain ♪
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♪ I know better than that, that's game ♪
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♪ And we ready for thatTwo soldiers, head of the pack ♪
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♪ Matter of fact, who got the gat? ♪
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♪ And where my army at?
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♪ Rather attack and not react ♪
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♪ It's bigger than a hip-hopHip-hop, hip-hop, hip ♪
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♪ It's bigger than a hip-hopHip-hop, hip-hop ♪
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[sirens wailing]
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[drum beats]
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[Shad] Hip hop's story in the 1970swas all about overcoming.
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Overcoming poverty,violence and neglect.
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But the '80s heldan entirely different promise for hip hop:
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success.
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The early hits turnedhip hop into a business,
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rappers into stars
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and put money ineveryone's pockets.
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And it was a kid from Queenswho would envision hip hop's future
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and become its first mogul.
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["I Need A Beat"
by LL Cool J playing]
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♪ I need a beat,I need a beat ♪
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♪ I need a beatI need a beat ♪
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♪ I need a beatI need a beat ♪
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[music playing]
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[intercom] Hello.
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Hey, it's Shad
for Russell Simmons.
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♪ I need a beat,I need a beat ♪
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♪ I need a beatI need a beat ♪
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♪ I need a beatI need a beat ♪
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[Shad] Thanks for your time, Russell.
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I'd love to start by askingyou about Hollis, Queens.
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I grew up in Hollis, Queens.
Um, when I moved in it was
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mostly a black neighborhood.
There were few white families left,
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and the community wasa lower middle class
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African-American neighborhood.
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It quickly becamethe heroin capital of Queens,
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and it destroyedthe fabric of the community.
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And... and that was right
there on our corner.
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That corner drew a lot of us to it,
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and some of us didn't
all sell heroin and take heroin.
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Some of us sold weed.
I was one of them.
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I was fortunate enough to escape.
Most of my friends didn't.
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Eventually, I got
shipped off to City College,
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which was a big dealfor me going there
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to Harlem and discoveringthe hip hop world.
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♪ Grandmaster Caz, you are the Cap ♪
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♪ So get on the mic and show 'emyou're the lord of rap ♪
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[Russell Simmons] About 1977I saw Eddie Cheba Rap.
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And D.J. Hollywoodand the Cold Crush Brothers
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and Melle Mel and the Furious 5.Them names were fantastic.
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I never seen nothing like it.
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It was the next generation
ushering in a new idea.
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Everything was uncharted.
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I didn't know what I wanted except,you know, to be cool for that moment.
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And the music, I wantedto give it to everybody.
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Instead of selling drugs,I started promoting parties,
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and that was a real shift.
You know, I had aspiration to survive.
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♪ You hear myYou hear my ♪
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♪ You hear myYou hear my voice ♪
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[Sal Abbatiello]
Russell really liked to party.
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But in the day,
when he was straight,
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never got high in the day.
He only got high at night.
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He wasn't into today.He was into tomorrow.
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Russell was alwayslooking forward.
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[Bill Adler] Not onlywas he granted access everywhere,
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but he wanted to go everywhere
and he was welcome everywhere.
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[music playing]
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[Russell Simmons]
I remember the first party I gave,
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Kurtis Blow performedat the Hotel Diplomat.
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I brought Grandmaster Flash downtown.
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Flash came aloneand let Kurtis be his MC.
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I remember exactlywhat he said,
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"People in the placethey base in the face
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you're about to seefirst place in the rap race.
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Sounds you hear so good
to ear, have no fear,
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Kurtis Blow is here."
It was electrifying.
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["Christmas Rappin’â€
by Kurtis Blow playing]
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♪ Don't you giveme all that jive ♪
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♪ About things you wrotebefore I's alive ♪
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♪ 'Cause this ain't 1823Ain't even 1970 ♪
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I met Russell in college.
Russell was a promoter.
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And so I told him aboutwhat I wanted to do,
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breaking into the music industry,
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make records, then dofilms and all that stuff.
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He looked and he realized,
"Wow, this kid is serious."
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So, Russell becamemy manager shortly after that.
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♪ Now I'm the guynamed Kurtis Blow ♪
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♪ And Christmasis one thing I know ♪
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♪ So every year justabout this time ♪
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♪ I celebrate it with a rhyme ♪
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[Kurtis Blow]
After we made Christmas Rap,
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we went out to22 different labels
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trying to sell this record.They said no.
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So, we knew
that Frankie Crocker
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was the number one DJin New York City, WBLS.
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We found out Frankieused to hang out after work
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at a club called Leviticus.
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Russell said, "Look this
is what we gonna do.
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We gonna take this record
and we'll pay the DJ.
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When Frankie
comes in and sits at the bar,
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gets his first drink,
we want the DJ to play the record,
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we gonna have
a whole college crew
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in the house
and we just gonna lose our mind
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when that record comes on."
Russell said, "Now, let's go,"
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and the DJ threw on"Christmas Rap."
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[singing "Christmas Rap" intro]
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♪ Don't you giveme all that jive ♪
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♪ About things you wrotebefore I's alive ♪
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The crowd went crazy!
Whoa, whoa! Whoa!
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Everybody's dancingand doing their best move.
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Frankie's like...
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"What is this?"
He got up, went over to the DJ,
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he said,
"What's the name of that song?"
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The guy says,
"It's 'Christmas Rap.'
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It's the artist right there,
Kurtis Blow."
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He shook my hand and,
"Nice to meet you, young Kurtis."
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[Russell Simmons]
And on Christmas morning,
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Frankie Crocker played the record.
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I couldn't believe it. I was upstairs,
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I was smoking a joint in the attic.
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"Oh, shit." I ran downstairs
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and there it was,
"Christmas Rappin'" on the radio.
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Next thing I know, I wason a plane going to Amsterdam.
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The record was playingall over Europe,
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and I couldn't believe it.I'd never been on a plane.
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I had to get offthe plane in Amsterdam,
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and it was
Kurtis Blow and myself
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and it was like,
"What do you want, Mr. Simmons?
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I knew we made it
'cause they can call you Mr. Simmons.
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I said, "I'd like some
cocaine and some pussy."
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And I knew made it
when he said, "Of course."
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♪ And the drummer playedat a solid pace ♪
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♪ And a tasteof the bass was in my face ♪
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[Bill Adler] Kurtis Blowis the first solo MC
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of the recorded era.Here comes a Christmas record
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and they're still playing it
in February and March.
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Kurtis Blow had a lot of pop appeal.
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He was good looking,he was well spoken,
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he had charisma,but there was nothing about him,
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except for the fact that he rapped,
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that represented a huge break
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with the R&B
that had preceded him.
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♪ And the guitar playerlaid down a heavy layer ♪
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♪ Of the funky junkyrhythm of the disco beat ♪
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[Nelson George] Russell's big fightduring the Kurtis Blow era.
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He was in the studiowhen they were making those records,
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and he kept saying itwas too much music.
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But he didn't havea lot of creative input.
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Russell reallywanted to make a record
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that really reflected the sound
that he heard in his head
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from the street.
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[music playing]
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[train whistle]
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[Shad] "Christmas Rap"was Russell Simmons' first hit,
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but it wasn't the hit he wanted.
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Russell wanted to makehip hop on his own terms.
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He wanted to takehip hop back to its roots,
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and he'd findthe right kids to do this
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in his own backyard.
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He formed a groupthat would eventually become known
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as the Beatles of Hip Hop.
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[heavy beats]
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-[Shad] Thanks for the time.
-Thank you. Glad to be here, man.
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[Shad] I'd love to ask you
about the development of RUN-D.M.C.
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[Darryl 'D.M.C.' McDaniels]
I met Joseph Simmons.
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We went to the sameelementary school.
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Joe was a veteran already.
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He DJ'd for Kurtis Blowsince he was 12 years old.
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He said "Yo, my brother'sRussell Simmons," this and that.
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Now I knew his brotherwas managing Kurt
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and doing all of that.Then one particular day,
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Run found all my rhymes
that I was writing
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just pretending to be the Cold Crush.
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So, he saw that. He was like, "Darryl,
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you wrote all these rhymes?"
And I was like, "Yeah, it's like
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fucking school work.
I'm a brainiac. Yes, I'm a genius."
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And I remember the day
he said, this was ninth grade,
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he looked at me and said,
"Whenever Russell lets me make a record,
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I'm putting you in my group."
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It was like he was speaking
a foreign language to me.
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I said, "What the fuck did he just say?"
and didn't think none about it.
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[Russell Simmons]
My brother Joey was a very good DJ.
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He used to cut records in the attic
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and he cut so fast
he just between the music.
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That was an amazing
thing to watch him do.
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Kurtis would say, "Fasterthan a speeding bullet from a gun,
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my disco son, DJ Run,"and he would cut the records.
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He rapped also with Kurtis a lot,
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so, Joey kept honing
his craft until one day
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he played me some ideas and stuff,
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and I thought maybe
he could make a record.
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Joey brought his man, D.M.C.Well, he's a great rapper.
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And this DJ Jam Master Jay,
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and he convinced me
that they would make a record.
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And we did.
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[heavy beats]
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[Russell Simmons] When we made"Sucker M.C.'s," everybody's saying,
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"Uh, okay then, tomorrow
we put the bass and guitars in."
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"No, man, we ain't fucking with
no bass and no guitar, it's done."
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And they were like,
"It's done? There's no music."
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I said, "Yeah, it's done."
And at the time,
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no one, no engineer,no one understood.
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I said, "No, it's done.Why would it not be done?
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It's dope, right?"
"Yeah, it's dope."
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"Well, what the fuck,
what do you want to do it?"
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-♪ Now scream! ♪
-[audience] Oh!
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♪ Two years ago a friend of mine ♪
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♪ Asked me to saysome MC rhymes ♪
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♪ So I said this rhymeI'm about to say ♪
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♪ The rhyme wasDef-Jam Master Jay ♪
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[Russell Simmons]
So doing that, without music,
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without anythingbut the scratch on it,
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it seems like a pretty
simple thing to do,
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but at the time it seemed
like a very hard thing to do.
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♪ And Jay cut the recorddown to the bone ♪
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[Darryl 'D.M.C' McDaniels]
Everybody's perception was,
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"Nobody's gonna wanna listen to...
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empty beats with a dude
rhyming about chicken
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and collard greens
and St. John's University."
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♪ I'm D.M.C.in the place to be ♪
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♪ I go to St. John's University ♪
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♪ And since kindergartenI acquired the knowledge ♪
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♪ And after 12th gradeI went straight to college ♪
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♪ I'm light-skinnedFrom Hollis, Queens ♪
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♪ And I love eatin' franksand pork n' beans ♪
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♪ I dress to kill ♪
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Run-D.M.C. did
what we was doing in the parks.
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That was hip hop to me.
All the other stuff was just,
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you know, on records
they would take the hot R&B song
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and put some rhymes over it.
It wasn't "The Message."
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It wasn't "Planet Rock."It wasn't a sample of a hot R&B song,
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00:10:02,899 --> 00:10:06,701
and so, to the hood,it was like, "That's that shit,"
238
00:10:06,785 --> 00:10:10,957
'cause it's familiar. It was different
to the commercial, live...
239
00:10:11,041 --> 00:10:13,301
No, it was different
to the civilized world.
240
00:10:13,385 --> 00:10:16,179
And to everybody uncivilized,
it was that familiar thing.
241
00:10:16,263 --> 00:10:17,322
That's why it worked.
242
00:10:17,406 --> 00:10:20,019
♪ Huh ha, one, two ♪
243
00:10:20,103 --> 00:10:22,316
[DJ Premier]
When "Sucker M.C.'s" came out,
244
00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:24,817
it was just a new sound, period,
245
00:10:24,901 --> 00:10:27,690
like, most things were
instrumentations, you know,
246
00:10:27,749 --> 00:10:29,459
all the Sugar Hill records were bands,
247
00:10:29,542 --> 00:10:31,836
and even the Grandmaster Flash& The Furious Five records
248
00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:35,715
all that stuff was bands.
But when it came down to,
249
00:10:35,799 --> 00:10:37,926
you know, Run-D.M.C.
and Jam Master Jay,
250
00:10:38,026 --> 00:10:40,703
like, it was justa drum machine.
251
00:10:40,787 --> 00:10:42,105
To just hear that,
even that drum roll.
252
00:10:42,180 --> 00:10:44,432
♪ Boom-da-da-da-da-da-da-da ♪
253
00:10:44,516 --> 00:10:47,185
[music playing]
254
00:10:47,269 --> 00:10:48,478
It just sounded big.
255
00:10:48,561 --> 00:10:51,231
It sounded like
your shoes were oversized
256
00:10:51,314 --> 00:10:53,191
and every time youwalked the Earth shook.
257
00:10:53,300 --> 00:10:55,428
♪ We have, we have, we have ♪
258
00:10:56,695 --> 00:11:01,366
♪ A whole lot of superstarson this stage here tonight ♪
259
00:11:01,475 --> 00:11:03,726
♪ But I want y'allto know one thing ♪
260
00:11:03,810 --> 00:11:06,204
♪ This is my house ♪
261
00:11:06,288 --> 00:11:08,523
[Russell Simmons] Run-D.M.C.did things that made them pop
262
00:11:08,963 --> 00:11:10,562
by sticking to their roots.
263
00:11:10,646 --> 00:11:12,026
You know,the whole idea of keeping it real
264
00:11:12,110 --> 00:11:13,778
was something that Run-D.M.C.
265
00:11:13,862 --> 00:11:16,781
did because people dressedlike where they were being accepted,
266
00:11:16,865 --> 00:11:18,350
and they were accepted and loved
267
00:11:18,434 --> 00:11:20,090
by the peoplewho just were from the street
268
00:11:20,174 --> 00:11:21,369
and loved it because
it was their music.
269
00:11:21,453 --> 00:11:23,621
♪ Ah, once again, my friendNot a trend for then ♪
270
00:11:23,705 --> 00:11:26,249
♪ They said, rap was crapBut never had this band ♪
271
00:11:26,333 --> 00:11:27,576
♪ Till the ruler came ♪
272
00:11:27,660 --> 00:11:30,315
[Russell Simmons] Their costumewas the hood uniform that they wore.
273
00:11:30,399 --> 00:11:32,404
The letter suits,the black velour hats,
274
00:11:32,488 --> 00:11:35,007
the shell toes, all that.That was Hollis, Queens.
275
00:11:35,091 --> 00:11:36,217
That was Brooklyn.
276
00:11:36,301 --> 00:11:39,150
You know, and so it
resonated as a real outfit.
277
00:11:39,234 --> 00:11:42,314
[Nelson George] Russell hadan innate understanding of that stuff.
278
00:11:42,398 --> 00:11:43,524
You know,
the most important thing
279
00:11:43,608 --> 00:11:44,762
he might have done
in his whole career
280
00:11:44,846 --> 00:11:46,777
was to get Run-D.M.C.
out of those jackets.
281
00:11:46,861 --> 00:11:48,438
They were wearing thosecheck jackets on stage.
282
00:11:48,522 --> 00:11:50,473
You see the picturesof them at The Disco Fever.
283
00:11:50,557 --> 00:11:53,707
Put them in the Adidas stuffand make them more street.
284
00:11:54,539 --> 00:11:56,088
That was a game-changer.
285
00:11:56,172 --> 00:11:58,322
[Kevin Powell] All of a sudden,you have a group that comes along
286
00:11:58,406 --> 00:11:59,837
who dresses the way you dress.
287
00:11:59,921 --> 00:12:01,367
You know, we wereall wearing Adidas
288
00:12:01,451 --> 00:12:04,617
or Puma sneakerswith fat shoelaces or no shoelaces.
289
00:12:04,701 --> 00:12:07,833
We were wearing Kangol hatsand Lee jeans or, you know,
290
00:12:07,917 --> 00:12:10,251
jean suitsas you called them back then.
291
00:12:10,335 --> 00:12:13,053
They dress like you, they talk like you,
292
00:12:13,137 --> 00:12:15,472
and it was explosive.
293
00:12:15,556 --> 00:12:18,050
♪ Well, my name is D.M.C.The all-time great ♪
294
00:12:18,134 --> 00:12:20,511
♪ I bust the most rhymesin New York state ♪
295
00:12:20,595 --> 00:12:23,097
♪ Reporters clawProducers die ♪
296
00:12:23,181 --> 00:12:25,224
♪ They want to bedown with the king! ♪
297
00:12:25,308 --> 00:12:27,789
When I first seen
that they did that, I was like,
298
00:12:27,873 --> 00:12:29,698
"Why the fuck
would you do something like that?"
299
00:12:29,782 --> 00:12:32,206
You know, we had, like,thousand-dollar leather outfits.
300
00:12:32,290 --> 00:12:36,351
We had a tailor. You know,you know, no leather, no knee-high boots
301
00:12:36,435 --> 00:12:38,279
'cause we wantedto compare our self
302
00:12:38,363 --> 00:12:40,406
to what was going on,you know, to Rick James
303
00:12:40,490 --> 00:12:44,516
and Cameo, the Bar-Kays,Con-Funk-Shun, Zapp.
304
00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:46,187
You know, we wanted to
compare ourselves to that,
305
00:12:46,262 --> 00:12:47,972
and then when it just
got down to the point,
306
00:12:48,056 --> 00:12:51,684
okay, you just got on a Kangol
and some sneakers and shit
307
00:12:51,768 --> 00:12:54,979
it's like, "Come on, man, you-y'all,
you just fucked the game up."
308
00:12:55,063 --> 00:12:56,940
[Grandmaster Caz]
They didn't invent anything.
309
00:12:57,046 --> 00:12:59,634
They just dressed the way we dressed
310
00:12:59,692 --> 00:13:00,944
before we get on the stage.
311
00:13:01,027 --> 00:13:05,281
We were trying to be superstars,you know, with a fox tail
312
00:13:05,390 --> 00:13:08,392
hanging around your neckwith seven belts,
313
00:13:08,476 --> 00:13:10,250
two chains hangingfrom your shit,
314
00:13:10,334 --> 00:13:13,147
two pairs of panties
on this shoulder, right,
315
00:13:13,231 --> 00:13:16,827
and a patch over your eye
with a fucking cowboy hat on, ya.
316
00:13:18,153 --> 00:13:21,860
A'ight? It was like, "Okay,
I think we've gone a little too far."
317
00:13:23,925 --> 00:13:26,010
♪ Who's house? ♪
318
00:13:26,094 --> 00:13:28,388
♪ Run's house! ♪
319
00:13:28,471 --> 00:13:31,516
♪ Run, Run, Run, Run, Run ♪
320
00:13:31,933 --> 00:13:33,101
-♪ Run ♪
-[vinyl scratching]
321
00:13:33,184 --> 00:13:35,520
We going to wear Adidas
'cause that's what we always wore.
322
00:13:35,618 --> 00:13:37,387
They got all the colors
and all the styles.
323
00:13:37,471 --> 00:13:39,549
Black and white, white with black stripe.
324
00:13:39,633 --> 00:13:41,801
♪ The ones I like to wearwhen I rock the mic ♪
325
00:13:41,885 --> 00:13:43,277
[Nelson George]
At some point they realized,
326
00:13:43,361 --> 00:13:45,281
"We're selling a lotof sneakers for Adidas.
327
00:13:45,739 --> 00:13:47,959
Maybe there's a way for us
to make money off this."
328
00:13:48,043 --> 00:13:51,690
[Bill Adler] Russell understoodwhat these sneakers meant
329
00:13:52,131 --> 00:13:56,524
and how emblematic
they were of the culture at large,
330
00:13:56,608 --> 00:14:00,067
so, he suggested to Run
and to D that they make
331
00:14:00,151 --> 00:14:02,989
a song called "My Adidas."
332
00:14:04,033 --> 00:14:06,033
[Nelson George]
And they got some representatives
333
00:14:06,117 --> 00:14:09,288
from Adidas to come to a concertat Madison Square Garden.
334
00:14:09,912 --> 00:14:13,165
And they asked the audience
to hold up their Adidas sneakers.
335
00:14:13,249 --> 00:14:15,347
♪ Come on, put 'em up in the air ♪
336
00:14:16,703 --> 00:14:18,379
[Darryl 'D.M.C.' McDaniels]
Madison Square Garden,
337
00:14:18,463 --> 00:14:20,271
packed, 20,000 people.
338
00:14:20,799 --> 00:14:23,009
Hold it up. What is that?
339
00:14:23,093 --> 00:14:29,832
♪ My... ♪
340
00:14:29,916 --> 00:14:36,455
♪ My... ♪
341
00:14:37,023 --> 00:14:38,146
♪ Adidas! ♪
342
00:14:38,230 --> 00:14:39,891
♪ Walk throughconcert doors ♪
343
00:14:39,975 --> 00:14:42,361
♪ And roam all overcoliseum floors ♪
344
00:14:42,445 --> 00:14:44,947
♪ I stepped on stage at Live Aid ♪
345
00:14:45,031 --> 00:14:47,617
♪ All the people gavean applause that paid ♪
346
00:14:47,701 --> 00:14:49,452
[Darryl 'D.M.C.' McDaniels]
Everybody had on new Adidas.
347
00:14:49,536 --> 00:14:51,287
It was nothing but
three stripes in there
348
00:14:51,371 --> 00:14:54,082
and that made Adidas say,
"Yo, we giving y'all a deal."
349
00:14:54,166 --> 00:14:56,667
♪ My Adidas and meClose as can be ♪
350
00:14:56,751 --> 00:14:59,045
♪ We make a mean teamMy Adidas and me ♪
351
00:14:59,129 --> 00:15:01,757
♪ We get around togetherWe're down forever ♪
352
00:15:01,841 --> 00:15:04,258
♪ And we won't be madwhen worn in bad weather ♪
353
00:15:04,342 --> 00:15:05,560
♪ My Adidas ♪
354
00:15:05,644 --> 00:15:09,021
♪ Yo, what's the name of this jam? ♪
355
00:15:09,105 --> 00:15:11,687
[Darryl 'D.M.C' McDaniels] It wasthe first time a non-athletic entity
356
00:15:11,771 --> 00:15:15,323
got an endorsement
from an athletic apparel company.
357
00:15:15,407 --> 00:15:17,965
♪ Got blue and black'cause I like to chill ♪
358
00:15:18,049 --> 00:15:20,508
♪ And yellow and greenwhen it's time to get ill ♪
359
00:15:20,592 --> 00:15:21,848
[Kevin Powell]
Run-D.M.C. was the first group
360
00:15:21,932 --> 00:15:24,570
to show the power of branding.
361
00:15:24,654 --> 00:15:27,073
They actually influenced
how kids talked, walked,
362
00:15:27,157 --> 00:15:29,450
what they dressed,
what they eat, everything.
363
00:15:29,534 --> 00:15:33,496
[music playing]
364
00:15:33,580 --> 00:15:35,498
[Shad] With the successof Run-D.M.C.,
365
00:15:35,582 --> 00:15:37,291
Russell Simmonswas beginning to realize
366
00:15:37,375 --> 00:15:40,144
his visionfor the future of hip hop.
367
00:15:40,228 --> 00:15:43,340
Keep it street and makethe masses come to you,
368
00:15:43,772 --> 00:15:47,051
and he would find an allyin the unlikeliest of characters.
369
00:15:47,135 --> 00:15:49,840
A white punk rock collegekid from Long Island
370
00:15:49,924 --> 00:15:51,910
who became obsessedwith this new sound
371
00:15:51,994 --> 00:15:53,474
coming from the New York clubs.
372
00:15:53,558 --> 00:15:56,560
[scratching beats]
373
00:15:56,644 --> 00:15:59,480
[music playing]
374
00:15:59,564 --> 00:16:01,939
[Jazzy Jay] I used to playat Danceteria every Thursday.
375
00:16:02,023 --> 00:16:04,026
Danceteria was-was
one of those clubs
376
00:16:04,110 --> 00:16:08,214
that had a crazy atmosphere
because it was multi-racial.
377
00:16:08,298 --> 00:16:10,593
You had blacks,Hispanics, whites,
378
00:16:11,083 --> 00:16:13,160
and I was the weeklyDJ on the Thursday,
379
00:16:13,244 --> 00:16:15,426
and every weekthis big white dude
380
00:16:15,510 --> 00:16:17,498
just comes and stand
in front of the booth.
381
00:16:17,582 --> 00:16:20,376
I mean, every week he'd stand
there in front of the booth
382
00:16:20,460 --> 00:16:24,088
from the time I'd get
there until the end.
383
00:16:24,172 --> 00:16:26,308
Then one day he came up
and introduced himself.
384
00:16:26,392 --> 00:16:27,495
He said that, you know,
385
00:16:27,579 --> 00:16:29,760
he wanted to break intothe music business,
386
00:16:29,844 --> 00:16:31,432
that he wanted to produce.
387
00:16:31,855 --> 00:16:33,639
He had a songthat he wanted to do,
388
00:16:33,723 --> 00:16:36,932
so he invited meand T La Rock to help him do it.
389
00:16:37,016 --> 00:16:39,396
Me and Rick kind of
programmed the beat,
390
00:16:39,872 --> 00:16:43,566
got it tight,
I did all of the orchestration,
391
00:16:43,650 --> 00:16:46,652
putting everything together and choo.
392
00:16:46,736 --> 00:16:48,779
♪ Commentating, illustrating ♪
393
00:16:48,863 --> 00:16:51,215
♪ Description giving, adjective expert ♪
394
00:16:51,299 --> 00:16:52,765
[Russell Simmons] Rick,he had made a record that was,
395
00:16:52,849 --> 00:16:55,919
"It's Yours," was so dope
and I remember, "Commentating.
396
00:16:56,003 --> 00:16:57,872
Illustrating, description
giving, adjective expert,
397
00:16:57,956 --> 00:17:00,041
analyzing, surmising,
musical myth-seeking people."
398
00:17:00,125 --> 00:17:01,792
I remember
that shit like, "Holy shit."
399
00:17:01,876 --> 00:17:03,669
Must have smoked a lot of dust
while listening to that record
400
00:17:03,753 --> 00:17:06,655
'cause I remember that shit.
It was a phenomenal record
401
00:17:06,738 --> 00:17:08,622
and it was the only thingon the radio at that time
402
00:17:08,706 --> 00:17:10,524
and it wasn't mineand that record,
403
00:17:10,608 --> 00:17:12,426
I-I assumed it was
a Sugar Hill record.
404
00:17:12,510 --> 00:17:15,599
I started calling aroundand Jazzy Jay told me what it was.
405
00:17:16,516 --> 00:17:18,559
♪ DJ Jazzy Jay, Jay, Jay ♪
406
00:17:18,643 --> 00:17:20,244
[Jazzy Jay] Russellcame into Danceteria,
407
00:17:20,328 --> 00:17:21,504
begging to get his records played
408
00:17:21,588 --> 00:17:23,314
like he usually do back in those days,
409
00:17:23,398 --> 00:17:24,649
and Rick was like,
410
00:17:25,471 --> 00:17:28,027
"That's Russell Simmons."
I'm like, "Yeah."
411
00:17:28,111 --> 00:17:29,279
"Think you could introduce?"
412
00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:32,546
"Hey yo, Russell.
This is my boy, Rick.
413
00:17:32,630 --> 00:17:34,225
Yo, Rick, Russell Simmons."
414
00:17:34,309 --> 00:17:36,020
Russell can't believe
that Rick is white
415
00:17:36,104 --> 00:17:38,093
because he was sure
that the person who made that record
416
00:17:38,177 --> 00:17:41,421
was black,
but they hit it off very well.
417
00:17:41,905 --> 00:17:43,457
[Jazzy Jay] They satat the bar. They talked.
418
00:17:43,958 --> 00:17:45,777
By the end of the night
they was friends.
419
00:17:45,861 --> 00:17:48,025
He invited Russelldown to the studio.
420
00:17:48,109 --> 00:17:50,063
[Russell Simmons] Rick hada drum machine full of hits.
421
00:17:50,147 --> 00:17:52,302
Drum machines
were fairly new.
422
00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,012
Nobody had
a drum machine full of hits.
423
00:17:55,096 --> 00:17:57,765
He did. And he was
a member of the band,
424
00:17:57,849 --> 00:18:00,267
the Beastie boys.He's DJ Double R,
425
00:18:00,351 --> 00:18:02,436
and he's just a kid
who loved hip hop
426
00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:04,576
and who had really
good-good ears
427
00:18:04,660 --> 00:18:06,649
and was talented beyond belief.
428
00:18:06,733 --> 00:18:09,130
And he had the best logoI ever seen in my life.
429
00:18:09,214 --> 00:18:11,593
[Dan Charnas] Rick proposesthat they throw in together
430
00:18:11,677 --> 00:18:13,240
and Russell doesn't want to do it.
431
00:18:13,324 --> 00:18:15,274
He doesn't want to be in
business with some college kid.
432
00:18:15,358 --> 00:18:18,744
He's trying to get a big
distribution deal from a major label
433
00:18:18,828 --> 00:18:20,566
like EMI, right?
434
00:18:21,041 --> 00:18:22,947
But Rick is very persistent.
435
00:18:23,031 --> 00:18:26,168
So, he brings inthe demo for LL Cool J.
436
00:18:26,252 --> 00:18:27,670
♪ There's no-no glo-glory ♪
437
00:18:27,754 --> 00:18:29,228
♪ For this story-story ♪
438
00:18:29,312 --> 00:18:31,371
♪ It-it rock-rock inany territory-tory ♪
439
00:18:31,455 --> 00:18:33,045
[LL Cool J]
What's up, my man? Thank you.
440
00:18:33,129 --> 00:18:34,988
Pleasure.
Glad to be here, man.
441
00:18:35,072 --> 00:18:36,971
Can you tell us that story
of hooking up with Def Jam,
442
00:18:37,055 --> 00:18:38,317
-calling Rick?
-[LL Cool J] Every day?
443
00:18:38,401 --> 00:18:40,641
-Every day.
-You know, I went to the store.
444
00:18:40,700 --> 00:18:44,704
Um, I bought a song,
um, "It's Yours" by T La Rock,
445
00:18:44,787 --> 00:18:45,621
um,
446
00:18:45,716 --> 00:18:48,036
and Rick Rubin'snumber was on it.
447
00:18:48,120 --> 00:18:52,361
His number in his dorm.212-420-8666.
448
00:18:52,862 --> 00:18:54,026
So, I took a drum machine,
449
00:18:54,110 --> 00:18:55,489
and I went overto my man Frankie's house
450
00:18:55,573 --> 00:18:58,075
and we created this demo,
sent it in to Rick.
451
00:18:58,159 --> 00:19:00,370
Um, I called Rick
every day, every day, every day
452
00:19:00,454 --> 00:19:01,871
to see if he'd heard it. He hadn't.
453
00:19:01,955 --> 00:19:05,457
Finally, one thing
led to another and somehow
454
00:19:05,516 --> 00:19:08,227
Ad Rock from the Beastie Boys,
it piqued his interest.
455
00:19:08,753 --> 00:19:11,342
He listened to the demoand then he let Rick hear it,
456
00:19:11,426 --> 00:19:13,591
-and then Rick called me back.
-[Shad] And then you go
457
00:19:13,649 --> 00:19:15,401
and you meet Rick for the first time.
458
00:19:15,485 --> 00:19:17,028
What was that experience like?
459
00:19:17,121 --> 00:19:18,262
When he first
walked out I was like,
460
00:19:18,346 --> 00:19:21,140
"Oh, I thought you were black."
He said, "Cool," you know,
461
00:19:21,224 --> 00:19:24,018
then we walked upstairs,
went to his dorm
462
00:19:24,076 --> 00:19:25,828
and started immediately
working on a song.
463
00:19:25,912 --> 00:19:29,207
We went over crosstown to Russell,played it for Russell.
464
00:19:29,290 --> 00:19:30,958
He was like,
"Ah, it's the same old thing."
465
00:19:31,042 --> 00:19:33,669
Me and Rick went back in the studio
and made "I Need A Beat."
466
00:19:33,753 --> 00:19:36,881
[music playing]
467
00:19:36,964 --> 00:19:39,467
[Jazzy Jay]
Rick used to listen to it upstairs
468
00:19:39,550 --> 00:19:41,344
and if he didn't like it,
he would come downstairs,
469
00:19:41,427 --> 00:19:43,137
pop the cassette in the car.
470
00:19:43,221 --> 00:19:46,516
I had a 1979 Chevy Caprice Classic.
471
00:19:46,891 --> 00:19:50,394
I had this sound systemin there that was ridiculous.
472
00:19:50,504 --> 00:19:54,506
[heavy beats]
473
00:19:54,590 --> 00:19:56,842
[Jazzy Jay] It was likea block party on wheels.
474
00:19:56,926 --> 00:20:00,363
If he played it in my carand it sounded right to him,
475
00:20:00,447 --> 00:20:02,053
he was good.He played it in the car
476
00:20:02,137 --> 00:20:03,682
and it didn't meet
his standards,
477
00:20:03,766 --> 00:20:05,768
he'd go back upstairs
and keep on mixing it
478
00:20:05,852 --> 00:20:08,043
until it sounded right inside my car,
479
00:20:08,127 --> 00:20:09,404
I kid you not.
480
00:20:09,488 --> 00:20:12,274
♪ They hear me, they fear meThey hear me, they fear me ♪
481
00:20:12,358 --> 00:20:14,694
♪ I'm improving the conditionsof the rap industry ♪
482
00:20:14,778 --> 00:20:16,737
[Russell Simmons]
When I first heard "I Need A Beat,"
483
00:20:16,821 --> 00:20:18,047
it was amazing.
484
00:20:18,131 --> 00:20:21,031
I had a deal bloomingalready to go at EMI,
485
00:20:21,115 --> 00:20:23,619
based on the success
of Run-D.M.C. and other groups.
486
00:20:23,703 --> 00:20:25,329
You know, I enjoyed
working with Rick more
487
00:20:25,413 --> 00:20:27,330
than I thought having
a second company made sense,
488
00:20:27,414 --> 00:20:29,625
so, I threw it all in with Rickand Rick and I went to work
489
00:20:29,709 --> 00:20:30,816
and we built Def Jam.
490
00:20:30,900 --> 00:20:32,920
♪ When Gangbangers fightingYou'll be fighting with six dudes ♪
491
00:20:33,004 --> 00:20:35,538
-♪ Don't fight, play fair ♪-♪ They don't fight by the rules ♪
492
00:20:35,622 --> 00:20:37,091
[reporter] This is the office
of Russell Simmons
493
00:20:37,175 --> 00:20:39,984
-of Def Jam label.
-[rapper] Yeah, we wanna meet him.
494
00:20:40,391 --> 00:20:43,555
Def Jam was a very small office
495
00:20:43,639 --> 00:20:46,711
on Elizabeth street.
The four of us had
496
00:20:47,113 --> 00:20:49,895
three desks and two phones
that we had to share.
497
00:20:49,979 --> 00:20:52,231
And there wasno air conditioning
498
00:20:52,315 --> 00:20:54,831
and there were lots of crackheads across the street,
499
00:20:54,915 --> 00:20:57,657
but it was great
because all we wanted to do
500
00:20:57,741 --> 00:20:59,105
was be around hip hop.
501
00:20:59,530 --> 00:21:02,192
The Def Jam artistsat the time were: LL Cool J,
502
00:21:02,276 --> 00:21:04,511
Slick Rick,the Beastie Boys.
503
00:21:04,595 --> 00:21:06,680
Rick was the visionaryin terms of making the music,
504
00:21:07,081 --> 00:21:08,376
and Russell was the visionary
505
00:21:08,460 --> 00:21:10,602
in terms of wherethings were going to go,
506
00:21:10,686 --> 00:21:11,960
and I think that's
why the two of them
507
00:21:12,044 --> 00:21:13,507
worked so well together.
508
00:21:13,591 --> 00:21:17,131
If you look at wherethe industry was in the mid '80s,
509
00:21:17,215 --> 00:21:18,633
Russell could foresee a time
510
00:21:18,717 --> 00:21:20,890
when it was going to bebigger than what it was.
511
00:21:21,193 --> 00:21:22,278
[Russell Simmons]
Rappers represented
512
00:21:22,361 --> 00:21:25,281
the voices and aspirations
of broke niggas
513
00:21:25,368 --> 00:21:28,099
that were not saleable
to mainstream white America
514
00:21:28,159 --> 00:21:30,828
or black America or everyone else,
we don't want to hear that shit,
515
00:21:30,912 --> 00:21:35,041
but alternative kids,
the white boys who liked new,
516
00:21:35,127 --> 00:21:38,174
creative, innovative musicgave rap its props.
517
00:21:38,567 --> 00:21:40,749
So, with that reality,
there's a hole in the market,
518
00:21:40,833 --> 00:21:43,640
there's a white space, and so...
519
00:21:43,716 --> 00:21:46,844
we wanted to sellour shit into that space.
520
00:21:46,928 --> 00:21:48,179
♪ Kick it! ♪
521
00:21:48,262 --> 00:21:51,974
["(You Gotta) Fight For Your
Right (To Party)" by Beastie Boys playing]
522
00:21:52,058 --> 00:21:55,186
[music playing]
523
00:21:55,273 --> 00:21:58,817
♪ You wake up late for schoolMan, you don't want to go ♪
524
00:21:59,398 --> 00:22:01,275
[Nelson George] Russell'dalready been kind of in search
525
00:22:01,365 --> 00:22:04,011
for that audiencethat Rick kind of represented.
526
00:22:04,095 --> 00:22:07,746
Rick was a punk guy,and so, both of them saw this
527
00:22:08,342 --> 00:22:10,407
as a kind of a punk thing.
528
00:22:10,491 --> 00:22:14,607
The soft R&B stuff,
they don't want us anyway,
529
00:22:15,021 --> 00:22:16,023
so fuck 'em.
530
00:22:16,107 --> 00:22:17,858
♪ You gotta fight ♪
531
00:22:17,942 --> 00:22:19,437
♪ For your right ♪
532
00:22:20,111 --> 00:22:23,243
♪ To party ♪
533
00:22:23,327 --> 00:22:25,949
[Bill Adler]
Rick was very influential
534
00:22:26,033 --> 00:22:29,427
in helping the Beastie Boysbecome the Beastie Boys
535
00:22:29,511 --> 00:22:33,540
that emerged on Licensed to Ill.
536
00:22:33,624 --> 00:22:37,045
The bombastic, beer guzzling,
537
00:22:37,593 --> 00:22:39,755
comical Beastie Boys
538
00:22:39,839 --> 00:22:43,050
that blew up that group persona
539
00:22:43,134 --> 00:22:45,344
was imagined by Rick.
540
00:22:45,428 --> 00:22:47,263
♪ Aw, Mom, you're just jealous ♪
541
00:22:47,347 --> 00:22:48,595
-♪ It's the ♪-♪ Beastie ♪
542
00:22:48,679 --> 00:22:49,710
♪ Boys! ♪
543
00:22:52,034 --> 00:22:53,658
♪ You gotta fight ♪
544
00:22:54,353 --> 00:22:55,725
♪ For your right ♪
545
00:22:56,189 --> 00:22:58,972
♪ To party ♪
546
00:22:59,542 --> 00:23:01,527
[Russell Simmons] When Rick came on,he was perfect as a partner,
547
00:23:01,611 --> 00:23:03,278
because he wasa rock and roll guy.
548
00:23:03,362 --> 00:23:05,239
He had no interestin playing an R&B bassline
549
00:23:05,323 --> 00:23:07,255
on a record either,or anything like that.
550
00:23:07,339 --> 00:23:10,995
We hated Michael Jackson.
We hated anything pop.
551
00:23:11,079 --> 00:23:13,529
Hated pop niggas more
than we hated pop white boys.
552
00:23:14,030 --> 00:23:17,139
We just hated niggas
because they hated us,
553
00:23:17,223 --> 00:23:18,861
and we wanted to makesure that we made records
554
00:23:18,945 --> 00:23:20,854
that shoved it in their face.
555
00:23:20,938 --> 00:23:22,282
That was the purpose of hip hop.
556
00:23:22,366 --> 00:23:26,819
New generation, new music,our shit, keep your shit,
557
00:23:26,903 --> 00:23:29,763
and I felt that that was
a kind of the fuck you attitude
558
00:23:29,847 --> 00:23:30,993
that rap deserved.
559
00:23:31,077 --> 00:23:36,186
[intro to "Walk This Way']
560
00:23:36,270 --> 00:23:38,498
[Shad] With LL Cool Jand the Beastie Boys,
561
00:23:38,582 --> 00:23:41,067
Def Jam put a wholenew face on hip hop.
562
00:23:41,677 --> 00:23:43,769
But hip hop had stillnot fully crossed over
563
00:23:43,853 --> 00:23:47,114
into the mainstream.But that would all change
564
00:23:47,173 --> 00:23:48,758
with a single song.
565
00:23:48,841 --> 00:23:52,053
[intro to "Walk This Way']
566
00:23:52,161 --> 00:23:54,288
[Darryl 'D.M.C.' McDaniels]
Aerosmith's "Walk This Way"
567
00:23:54,372 --> 00:23:57,689
was one of the recordsthat I heard on the tapes,
568
00:23:57,773 --> 00:24:01,256
Afrika Bambaataa
and the Zulu Nation rhymed over it,
569
00:24:01,340 --> 00:24:02,309
Treacherous Three,
570
00:24:02,393 --> 00:24:05,621
[beatboxing "Walk This Way" intro]
571
00:24:05,705 --> 00:24:07,726
♪ Yes, yes, y'all, to the beat, y'all ♪
572
00:24:07,810 --> 00:24:10,251
♪ On the two traingoing up to Lennox Ave. ♪
573
00:24:10,855 --> 00:24:13,051
So, we were sampling"Walk This Way."
574
00:24:13,135 --> 00:24:14,409
It was originally going to be...
575
00:24:14,493 --> 00:24:17,812
[beatboxing]
576
00:24:17,896 --> 00:24:18,939
Back to the beginning.
577
00:24:19,914 --> 00:24:22,251
I personally never heard the singing,
578
00:24:22,335 --> 00:24:24,067
'cause Jay would never
let it play that far.
579
00:24:24,151 --> 00:24:26,601
I never knew there was
fucking singing on the record
580
00:24:26,685 --> 00:24:29,072
so Rick was like, "Yo, the name
of the group is Aerosmith,
581
00:24:29,156 --> 00:24:31,271
big rock band.They went through drug problems,
582
00:24:31,355 --> 00:24:32,783
whatever, whatever."And then Rick goes like this,
583
00:24:33,258 --> 00:24:35,537
"Y'all should make the record over.
Fuck you think we gonna do?
584
00:24:35,621 --> 00:24:37,080
We're going to sample
the motherfucker,
585
00:24:37,164 --> 00:24:38,257
loop it and rhyme on it."
586
00:24:38,341 --> 00:24:40,554
[intro to "Walk This Way"]
587
00:24:40,638 --> 00:24:44,171
Rick goes, "No. You should do
the record over as is."
588
00:24:44,255 --> 00:24:45,570
Jay, rest in peace, Jay.
589
00:24:45,654 --> 00:24:48,675
Jay goes, "Yo, that
might be a crazy idea."
590
00:24:48,759 --> 00:24:50,594
Me and Run go,
"Hold on, hold on, hold up.
591
00:24:50,678 --> 00:24:53,030
You're all taking this
rock/rap thing too far."
592
00:24:53,114 --> 00:24:54,929
So, Rick says take the record,
593
00:24:55,013 --> 00:24:57,439
and write down the lyrics
so y'all can learn it
594
00:24:57,523 --> 00:24:58,972
to do the record
over, so true story,
595
00:24:59,056 --> 00:25:00,308
we put the needle on the record.
596
00:25:00,392 --> 00:25:05,082
[beatboxing]
597
00:25:05,166 --> 00:25:07,202
♪ Backstroke loverHot underneath the cover ♪
598
00:25:07,286 --> 00:25:10,105
♪ Talk to my Daddy, say... ♪
"Oh, hell, no"
599
00:25:10,189 --> 00:25:12,514
We get on the phone with Russell,me and Run was like,
600
00:25:12,598 --> 00:25:16,161
"Oh, fuck hell, no. Oh, hell, no.
This is fucking Hillbilly gibberish.
601
00:25:16,245 --> 00:25:20,582
This is some fucking moonshine,
country bumpkin bullshit.
602
00:25:20,666 --> 00:25:23,263
You're going to ruin our careers.Oh, fuck hell, no"
603
00:25:23,347 --> 00:25:25,712
Russell's screaming,
"Fuck you, Joey, this and that D,
604
00:25:25,796 --> 00:25:27,564
you stupid motherfucker.
You listen to..."
605
00:25:27,648 --> 00:25:28,943
We hung up the phone.
606
00:25:29,027 --> 00:25:30,893
It went like that
for a whole week.
607
00:25:30,977 --> 00:25:33,798
A week later,
Jay calls from the studio.
608
00:25:33,882 --> 00:25:35,637
You can still hear Russellscreaming in the back,
609
00:25:35,721 --> 00:25:37,129
"Yo, stupid Joey!"
And Jay goes,
610
00:25:37,213 --> 00:25:38,921
"Yo Russell,
stop screaming at 'em
611
00:25:39,005 --> 00:25:40,811
'cause you know
they're stupid, young kids."
612
00:25:40,895 --> 00:25:43,522
So, Jay just basically says,
"Yo, listen to this."
613
00:25:43,606 --> 00:25:46,943
[scratching beats]
614
00:25:47,726 --> 00:25:49,524
It was like,
"Yo, what's up?" Um, Jay was like,
615
00:25:49,608 --> 00:25:52,614
"Yo, we're in the studio. Rick wentto Boston and brought Aerosmith here."
616
00:25:52,698 --> 00:25:56,735
["Walk This Way" beats]
617
00:25:56,819 --> 00:25:58,200
[Darryl 'D.M.C' McDaniels]
So we finally come back,
618
00:25:58,284 --> 00:26:00,245
we make the versionof Aerosmith the way it is,
619
00:26:00,329 --> 00:26:03,725
came out like you hear it.
It's us doing the original lyrics
620
00:26:03,809 --> 00:26:05,106
on "Walk This Way."
621
00:26:06,129 --> 00:26:08,589
♪ Backseat loverThat's always undercover ♪
622
00:26:08,673 --> 00:26:10,486
♪ And that'swhat the people say ♪
623
00:26:10,570 --> 00:26:12,968
♪ I said, you ain't seen nothing'Till you're down on the muffin ♪
624
00:26:13,052 --> 00:26:15,011
♪ Then you're sureto be a-changin' ways ♪
625
00:26:15,095 --> 00:26:16,555
[Darryl 'D.M.C.' McDaniels]
But the crazy shit was this.
626
00:26:16,639 --> 00:26:18,515
Even after that,
they finish, you know,
627
00:26:18,599 --> 00:26:20,424
we got the,
we pass the demo stage,
628
00:26:20,508 --> 00:26:23,376
it's a keeper. Me and Run
turn to Russell, Rick,
629
00:26:23,460 --> 00:26:24,887
um, their label, Jay and we say,
630
00:26:24,971 --> 00:26:27,265
"Y'all mother fuckers
can be happy as you want.
631
00:26:27,349 --> 00:26:29,506
You better not put
this out as a single."
632
00:26:29,989 --> 00:26:32,822
They put it out
as a single, changed my life.
633
00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:35,368
♪ See-saw swingin'with the boys in school ♪
634
00:26:35,452 --> 00:26:37,541
♪ And her feet areflyin' up in the air ♪
635
00:26:37,625 --> 00:26:39,995
♪ Singin' hey diddle-diddlewith the kitty in the middle ♪
636
00:26:40,079 --> 00:26:41,952
♪ You be swingin' likeyou just don't care ♪
637
00:26:42,036 --> 00:26:44,375
♪ So I took a big chanceat the high school dance ♪
638
00:26:44,459 --> 00:26:46,416
♪ With a lady whowas ready to play ♪
639
00:26:46,500 --> 00:26:47,618
♪ It wasn't me she was foolin'? ♪
640
00:26:47,702 --> 00:26:48,993
♪ 'Cause she knewwhat she was doin' ♪
641
00:26:49,077 --> 00:26:50,714
♪ When she taught mehow to walk this way ♪
642
00:26:50,798 --> 00:26:53,133
-♪ She told me to ♪-♪ Walk this way ♪
643
00:26:53,217 --> 00:26:54,885
[Kevin Powell] When they madethe record "Walk This Way,"
644
00:26:54,969 --> 00:26:56,680
it brought them intomainstream America
645
00:26:56,764 --> 00:26:59,222
in a different kind of waybecause now all these other kids
646
00:26:59,306 --> 00:27:00,870
beyond the blackand Latino communities
647
00:27:00,954 --> 00:27:02,931
that created itand loved Run-D.M.C.
648
00:27:03,015 --> 00:27:05,979
They literally crossed over.I mean, people don't understand
649
00:27:06,063 --> 00:27:08,036
how big that was.First rap group
650
00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:09,661
on the coverof Rolling Stone magazine.
651
00:27:09,745 --> 00:27:11,582
First rap group on
Dick Clark's American Bandstand.
652
00:27:11,627 --> 00:27:13,545
They were the firstin so many different ways.
653
00:27:13,629 --> 00:27:16,340
They just busted downso many different doors
654
00:27:16,449 --> 00:27:19,785
and yeah, that was as exciting
to us as all those kids
655
00:27:19,869 --> 00:27:22,154
a generation before
who sat in front of their TV shows,
656
00:27:22,221 --> 00:27:24,265
watching the Beatles on Ed Sullivan.
657
00:27:25,291 --> 00:27:27,407
♪ School girl sleazywith the classy kinda sassy ♪
658
00:27:27,491 --> 00:27:29,228
♪ Little skirt hangingway up her knees ♪
659
00:27:29,312 --> 00:27:31,154
We're here to jam
to the best tunes in the world,
660
00:27:31,238 --> 00:27:34,007
that mean a lot to us.
Run-D.M.C. is awesome.
661
00:27:34,091 --> 00:27:37,836
-It's fresh.
-It's good, it's bad and it's nice!
662
00:27:38,345 --> 00:27:45,345
[music playing]
663
00:27:48,012 --> 00:27:51,233
[Shad] With "Walk This Way,"hip hop had finally crossed over
664
00:27:51,317 --> 00:27:53,705
and Def Jam's visionof transforming hip hop
665
00:27:53,789 --> 00:27:56,029
into an identitywith worldwide appeal
666
00:27:56,113 --> 00:27:57,557
was fully realized.
667
00:27:58,254 --> 00:28:00,801
But even though"Walk This Way" was a massive hit,
668
00:28:00,885 --> 00:28:03,910
in the hip hop underground,it was Run-D.M.C.'s early,
669
00:28:03,994 --> 00:28:06,691
stripped-down soundthat inspired the next generation
670
00:28:06,775 --> 00:28:07,830
of hip hoppers.
671
00:28:07,914 --> 00:28:10,544
[heavy beats]
672
00:28:10,628 --> 00:28:12,693
[Shad] And it wasa radio DJ from Queens
673
00:28:12,777 --> 00:28:14,122
who would light the spark
674
00:28:14,206 --> 00:28:17,099
and introduce a toolthat would forever redefine
675
00:28:17,183 --> 00:28:18,425
hip hop music.
676
00:28:18,509 --> 00:28:20,660
[music playing]
677
00:28:20,744 --> 00:28:22,676
[Marley Marl]
Oh, you made it!
678
00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:23,765
What's up, man?
679
00:28:23,849 --> 00:28:25,267
Welcome to the lab.
Let's go, man.
680
00:28:25,351 --> 00:28:27,310
♪ His beats, my rhymesCombined make force ♪
681
00:28:27,394 --> 00:28:30,067
♪ Marley, can we hear yourfunky fresh scratchin' again? ♪
682
00:28:30,151 --> 00:28:32,608
[music playing]
683
00:28:32,692 --> 00:28:34,926
[Shad] Honor to meet you.
[Marley Marl] No doubt, no doubt.
684
00:28:35,010 --> 00:28:37,214
Honor to have you
up in the spot. That's real.
685
00:28:37,645 --> 00:28:41,575
Um, I'd love to start with Run-D.M.C.,
what was your first reaction to them?
686
00:28:41,659 --> 00:28:44,619
Uh, Run-D.M.C. was
definitely influential to me
687
00:28:44,703 --> 00:28:47,036
because I heard "Sucker M.C.'s"
688
00:28:47,988 --> 00:28:50,011
and I loved it.
689
00:28:50,095 --> 00:28:53,108
"Sucker M.C.'s"changed hip hop.
690
00:28:53,608 --> 00:28:57,363
When I first heard the record,I heard the grittiness from the streets.
691
00:28:57,447 --> 00:28:59,134
That's why I had to bring it back
692
00:28:59,218 --> 00:29:01,720
to the gritty soundwhen I first started sampling.
693
00:29:01,804 --> 00:29:04,014
[tape rewinding]
694
00:29:04,098 --> 00:29:06,535
[Marley Marl] My first set upwas really real wack,
695
00:29:06,619 --> 00:29:10,479
corny little set up in the crib,
but I was able to make do with it.
696
00:29:10,563 --> 00:29:13,064
My reel to reel had
different drum sounds on it.
697
00:29:13,148 --> 00:29:17,027
I would have kick,
white leader, snare,
698
00:29:17,111 --> 00:29:19,605
white leader,
high hat, white leader.
699
00:29:19,689 --> 00:29:22,532
This was all edited together
on a reel to reel tape.
700
00:29:22,616 --> 00:29:25,619
[heavy beats]
701
00:29:25,703 --> 00:29:26,996
[Shad] What's most known is
702
00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:28,660
you were chopping
up the break beats.
703
00:29:28,744 --> 00:29:30,438
-Right.
-[Shad] So could you tell us about
704
00:29:30,522 --> 00:29:32,980
-maybe that first moment?
-Well, basically,
705
00:29:33,064 --> 00:29:35,295
one time in the studio,
I was sampling the record
706
00:29:35,379 --> 00:29:38,472
and when I hit the samplerand I hit the snare played.
707
00:29:39,133 --> 00:29:40,776
Then I started playingthe snare along with the track
708
00:29:40,860 --> 00:29:42,386
and I realized like, "Wow,
709
00:29:42,470 --> 00:29:45,254
I could take myfavorite drum sounds
710
00:29:45,338 --> 00:29:46,556
and make my own patterns."
711
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:50,989
[heavy drum beats]
712
00:29:51,073 --> 00:29:53,248
That's like,
it just blew my mind.
713
00:29:53,332 --> 00:29:55,883
I was probably in a daze
for a week after that.
714
00:29:55,967 --> 00:29:59,361
So I started putting differentdrum sounds in my sampler
715
00:29:59,445 --> 00:30:01,488
kicks, snaresthat I grabbed because I knew
716
00:30:01,572 --> 00:30:04,125
that they was hot from being a DJ.
717
00:30:04,209 --> 00:30:06,190
If I was the DJ last night
718
00:30:06,274 --> 00:30:08,745
and it made the crowd
react the way it did,
719
00:30:08,829 --> 00:30:11,782
what I would do
is take that kick and the snare.
720
00:30:11,866 --> 00:30:13,523
[music playing]
721
00:30:13,607 --> 00:30:15,419
[Marley Marl] I would putthat in my sampler,
722
00:30:15,503 --> 00:30:19,673
most likely the next day,
and instant crowd reaction.
723
00:30:19,757 --> 00:30:23,243
[crowd cheering]
724
00:30:23,327 --> 00:30:27,305
Marley's way of cooking it up
was just different.
725
00:30:27,389 --> 00:30:29,180
You just... It just,
726
00:30:29,264 --> 00:30:31,468
no one was doing it
the way he was doing it.
727
00:30:31,552 --> 00:30:34,948
He was recreating the songslike "Impeach the President"
728
00:30:35,032 --> 00:30:37,107
and taking the snarefrom "Impeach the President"
729
00:30:37,191 --> 00:30:39,144
and taking the kick
from "Impeach the President,"
730
00:30:39,228 --> 00:30:41,194
and then replaying
it in his own style,
731
00:30:41,278 --> 00:30:42,779
beyond the drummachine sound.
732
00:30:42,863 --> 00:30:45,782
You know, it was likeactually taking the sounds
733
00:30:45,866 --> 00:30:47,906
and making your
own drum machine.
734
00:30:47,990 --> 00:30:49,879
[Prince Paul] The amazingthing about what he did
735
00:30:49,963 --> 00:30:52,692
was everybody was usingstandard stock drum machines
736
00:30:53,145 --> 00:30:55,584
and whatever's the stock sounds
in a drum machine.
737
00:30:55,668 --> 00:30:57,248
[drum beats]
738
00:30:57,332 --> 00:30:59,504
Pretty lame if you think
about it, you know,
739
00:30:59,588 --> 00:31:01,840
and-and you'd hear
that song after song after song.
740
00:31:01,924 --> 00:31:03,383
When you heard
a Marley Marl song...
741
00:31:03,467 --> 00:31:05,552
[scratching and sampling]
742
00:31:05,636 --> 00:31:07,387
You're like, "What is that?
743
00:31:07,471 --> 00:31:10,265
Like, where did that snare,
where did that kick come from?"
744
00:31:10,349 --> 00:31:13,351
[scratching]
745
00:31:13,435 --> 00:31:15,437
And they were
always distorted. You know...
746
00:31:15,521 --> 00:31:17,606
[beatboxing]
747
00:31:17,690 --> 00:31:19,433
But it was just so funky.
748
00:31:19,517 --> 00:31:23,662
He just had that sound
to me that was just, like, real street.
749
00:31:23,746 --> 00:31:28,147
Marley Marl brought a,
brought an era to hip hop.
750
00:31:28,231 --> 00:31:31,620
Like, some people made hot records
and made a name for themselves,
751
00:31:31,704 --> 00:31:36,933
but he brought an era
that totally changed the whole style
752
00:31:37,017 --> 00:31:38,835
of how records were being made.
753
00:31:38,919 --> 00:31:42,650
[funky beats]
754
00:31:44,909 --> 00:31:47,217
[Shad] Like Grandmaster Flashyears earlier,
755
00:31:47,301 --> 00:31:49,514
Marley Marl wasa sonic revolutionary.
756
00:31:49,953 --> 00:31:53,516
His sampling techniqueschanged the sound of hip hop forever
757
00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:56,574
and ignited the careersof a new guard of MC's.
758
00:31:57,372 --> 00:32:01,034
Among them, a kid from Brooklynwith a deep baritone
759
00:32:01,083 --> 00:32:03,377
who went by the nameof Big Daddy Kane.
760
00:32:03,460 --> 00:32:05,629
♪ Well, excuse meTake a few minutes ♪
761
00:32:05,713 --> 00:32:06,646
♪ To mellow out ♪
762
00:32:06,713 --> 00:32:09,883
♪ Big Daddy Kane ison the mic and I'mma tell about... ♪
763
00:32:09,967 --> 00:32:11,552
[Shad] Thank you for coming in.
764
00:32:11,635 --> 00:32:12,866
Glad to be here.
765
00:32:12,950 --> 00:32:14,702
[Shad] I know you did
a lot of work with Marley Marl,
766
00:32:14,786 --> 00:32:16,485
but how did you get your start?
767
00:32:16,957 --> 00:32:22,799
I started rapping back in '82.
It's like right after junior high.
768
00:32:22,883 --> 00:32:27,050
My introduction to MC'ingstarted as a battle rapper.
769
00:32:27,134 --> 00:32:29,010
Eventually, I met Biz Markie.
770
00:32:29,094 --> 00:32:31,800
We battled, and I was using
my battle rhymes,
771
00:32:31,884 --> 00:32:33,470
Biz sort of, you know,
772
00:32:33,554 --> 00:32:35,316
like, he couldn't do nothing there,
773
00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:38,952
so, what Biz did was try
to go into funny rhymes about girls.
774
00:32:40,163 --> 00:32:42,867
And then I spit some
funny rhymes about girls,
775
00:32:42,951 --> 00:32:45,068
and Biz in that crazy voice,
you know, he goes,
776
00:32:45,152 --> 00:32:48,738
[laughs] "That was so,
that was dope."
777
00:32:48,822 --> 00:32:51,344
You know, and you know,we became friends,
778
00:32:51,428 --> 00:32:53,868
and he was like, "Yo, if you
stick with me and listen to me,
779
00:32:53,952 --> 00:32:56,496
I promise you,
we gonna make a record one day.
780
00:32:56,580 --> 00:32:57,873
You gonna be a star."
781
00:32:57,957 --> 00:32:59,943
♪ So listento the man of the hour ♪
782
00:33:00,027 --> 00:33:02,964
♪ Flow and go to a slowtempo and you know ♪
783
00:33:03,048 --> 00:33:05,338
♪ Sing ho, swing lowThen yo, the show ♪
784
00:33:05,422 --> 00:33:07,507
♪ Will go on, as I perform ♪
785
00:33:07,591 --> 00:33:10,176
♪ Transformin' on stagelike a Decepticon ♪
786
00:33:10,260 --> 00:33:12,725
[Big Daddy Kane] I wantto have some hard rhymes
787
00:33:12,809 --> 00:33:14,305
where, you know,
you're spitting lyrics
788
00:33:14,389 --> 00:33:17,079
that's making someone
want to rewind
789
00:33:17,163 --> 00:33:19,878
and listen to, you know,
the last line again.
790
00:33:19,962 --> 00:33:22,673
But what I likedto do was connect words,
791
00:33:23,181 --> 00:33:25,941
real slick 'cause, like, you're seeing it.
792
00:33:26,402 --> 00:33:29,098
Now they can visualize
what you're saying
793
00:33:29,182 --> 00:33:31,156
'cause of the comparison
you just made.
794
00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:33,419
♪ The B-I-GD-A-double-D-Y-K-A-N-E ♪
795
00:33:33,503 --> 00:33:34,647
♪ I'm good and plenty ♪
796
00:33:34,731 --> 00:33:36,745
♪ Servin' manyand any competition ♪
797
00:33:36,803 --> 00:33:38,555
♪ Wishin' for an expedition ♪
798
00:33:38,639 --> 00:33:40,724
♪ I'm straight up dissin'and dismissin' ♪
799
00:33:40,842 --> 00:33:44,473
♪ Listen, rappers actso wild, and love to profile ♪
800
00:33:44,557 --> 00:33:46,681
♪ Frontin' hardbut ain't got no style ♪
801
00:33:46,765 --> 00:33:50,091
The attitude, the way he bragged
802
00:33:50,175 --> 00:33:54,155
and then his punchlines
were just so, so seriously,
803
00:33:54,571 --> 00:33:56,239
just smack after smack.
804
00:33:56,323 --> 00:33:57,699
It was like somebody
just kept smacking you
805
00:33:57,822 --> 00:33:58,985
and smacking you,
and every time you wanted
806
00:33:59,068 --> 00:34:02,144
to regroup and punch back,
you got smacked again.
807
00:34:02,229 --> 00:34:06,378
Kane put together
all the principles of a great MC,
808
00:34:06,461 --> 00:34:09,486
which was cadence,
you understand what I'm saying?
809
00:34:09,570 --> 00:34:12,614
Which was, just the level
of coolness on the mic
810
00:34:12,698 --> 00:34:15,313
when he delivered
his stuff and punchlines.
811
00:34:15,396 --> 00:34:18,032
♪ I give nightmaresto those who compete ♪
812
00:34:18,115 --> 00:34:20,246
♪ Freddy Kreugerwalkin' on Kane Street ♪
813
00:34:20,329 --> 00:34:21,791
[Roxanne Shante]
He made it sexy.
814
00:34:22,399 --> 00:34:25,608
He just gave it class.
You know, you knew when Kane
815
00:34:25,693 --> 00:34:27,586
was around 'cause Kane
was just so calm.
816
00:34:27,671 --> 00:34:29,742
He just made
everything so calm.
817
00:34:29,827 --> 00:34:30,930
[Shad] Yeah.
818
00:34:31,014 --> 00:34:33,728
You know, he made it where
you say what you're going to say
819
00:34:33,812 --> 00:34:35,559
and you do it lyrically,
and then after you finish,
820
00:34:35,612 --> 00:34:38,657
you just drop the mic
and walk away. [laughs]
821
00:34:39,057 --> 00:34:41,704
♪ I make it real goodlike Dr. Feelgood ♪
822
00:34:41,788 --> 00:34:44,233
♪ To make surethat my point is understood ♪
823
00:34:44,316 --> 00:34:46,665
♪ That when it comes to thisthere's none greater ♪
824
00:34:46,749 --> 00:34:50,254
♪ Sincerely yoursThe smooth operator ♪
825
00:34:51,665 --> 00:34:53,988
[Shad] So, you were partof this new generation of rappers
826
00:34:54,072 --> 00:34:56,715
but Rakim was coming up
at the same time.
827
00:34:56,799 --> 00:34:58,090
What did you think of him?
828
00:34:58,174 --> 00:35:00,370
I thought that Rakim
was dope when I first heard him.
829
00:35:00,454 --> 00:35:03,456
You know, I was like,
"Okay, here, you know,
830
00:35:03,540 --> 00:35:06,501
we had another dope MC out."
You know, I mean,
831
00:35:06,585 --> 00:35:09,004
he's one of, you know,
the greatest MC's.
832
00:35:09,088 --> 00:35:11,016
You know, you know,
to ever do it, you know.
833
00:35:11,100 --> 00:35:13,002
Can't fuck with me,
but, you know,
834
00:35:13,086 --> 00:35:15,598
he's one of the greatest
MC's to ever do it.
835
00:35:19,196 --> 00:35:21,850
[Shad] Kane can laugh today,but in the mid-'80s,
836
00:35:21,934 --> 00:35:25,520
Rakim was his only rivaland for good reason.
837
00:35:25,604 --> 00:35:27,730
An enigmatic brotherfrom Long Island,
838
00:35:27,814 --> 00:35:30,859
Rakim's rhyme stylewould single-handedly set the tone
839
00:35:30,943 --> 00:35:32,652
for what hip hophas become today.
840
00:35:32,736 --> 00:35:36,427
[heavy dance beats]
841
00:35:36,511 --> 00:35:38,635
[music playing]
842
00:35:38,719 --> 00:35:39,952
[Rakim] Coming up in Long Island,
843
00:35:41,081 --> 00:35:43,653
it was a little distant from,
you know, the boroughs
844
00:35:43,722 --> 00:35:45,557
so we was kind of
on the outside looking in.
845
00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:47,225
Being on the outside looking in,
846
00:35:47,309 --> 00:35:49,686
we had to visualizewhat was going on.
847
00:35:49,770 --> 00:35:52,355
Especially myself,
I was only in the fourth, fifth grade.
848
00:35:52,439 --> 00:35:54,107
I was too young to get on the mic.
849
00:35:54,194 --> 00:35:55,903
Nah'mean,
I remember a couple times
850
00:35:55,987 --> 00:35:57,720
asking DJ's, "Oh, could I get...?"
851
00:35:58,260 --> 00:36:00,722
They would look at me like,
"Yo, who let him in here, man?
852
00:36:00,806 --> 00:36:02,432
Who let him under the ropes, man?"
853
00:36:02,491 --> 00:36:04,743
I didn't know I was too young.You know what I mean?
854
00:36:04,826 --> 00:36:06,953
So it was just likea good feeling, man,
855
00:36:07,055 --> 00:36:10,122
just trying to, you know,let everybody know I had skills,
856
00:36:10,206 --> 00:36:12,227
and, you know, it took a while for me
857
00:36:12,311 --> 00:36:13,998
to finally punch through
and somebody said,
858
00:36:14,082 --> 00:36:17,029
"Yo, give shorty the mic, man,"
and, you know,
859
00:36:17,113 --> 00:36:18,907
it was history after that, man.
860
00:36:18,991 --> 00:36:20,955
♪ Thinkin' of a master plan ♪
861
00:36:21,392 --> 00:36:23,786
♪ Def with the recordDef with the record ♪
862
00:36:23,870 --> 00:36:25,705
♪ Thinkin' of a master plan ♪
863
00:36:25,789 --> 00:36:28,188
♪ This ain't nuthin' butsweat inside my hand ♪
864
00:36:28,272 --> 00:36:30,627
♪ So I dig into my pocketAll my money is spent ♪
865
00:36:30,711 --> 00:36:32,983
♪ So I dig deeperbut still comin' up with lint ♪
866
00:36:33,067 --> 00:36:35,707
♪ So I start my missionLeave my residence ♪
867
00:36:35,791 --> 00:36:37,859
♪ Thinkin' how could I getsome dead presidents ♪
868
00:36:37,943 --> 00:36:40,262
♪ I need moneyI used to be a stick-up kid ♪
869
00:36:40,346 --> 00:36:42,710
♪ So I think of allthe devious things I did ♪
870
00:36:42,794 --> 00:36:44,766
[Shad] And on the stylisticside of things,
871
00:36:44,850 --> 00:36:48,323
people talk about
the musicality of your flow.
872
00:36:48,407 --> 00:36:51,147
People have even said that flow
wasn't even really a thing
873
00:36:51,231 --> 00:36:53,246
people talked about before, so...
874
00:36:53,330 --> 00:36:55,710
-Okay.
-Where did that influence come from?
875
00:36:55,794 --> 00:36:57,612
And a big influence
from that, man,
876
00:36:57,696 --> 00:37:00,531
was, um, John Coltrane.
877
00:37:00,615 --> 00:37:03,553
I grew up on jazz,playing the saxophone,
878
00:37:03,637 --> 00:37:06,475
so when hip hop came out,to me it was simple.
879
00:37:06,559 --> 00:37:09,827
It was...
[vocalizing beats]
880
00:37:09,911 --> 00:37:11,742
So, you know,
listening to John Coltrane,
881
00:37:11,826 --> 00:37:16,192
it was more like...
[singing beats]
882
00:37:16,732 --> 00:37:20,367
[Rakim] If I can rhymelike John Coltrane played the sax,
883
00:37:20,451 --> 00:37:24,756
then I know the rhythmsand the intricacy of it will be crazy.
884
00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:28,304
So, I incorporated it
and it popped off, man.
885
00:37:28,388 --> 00:37:30,200
♪ I used to roll upThis is a hold up ♪
886
00:37:30,284 --> 00:37:31,996
♪ Ain't nuthin' funnyStop smiling, be still ♪
887
00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:33,520
♪ Don't nuthin' move but the money ♪
888
00:37:33,604 --> 00:37:37,777
[DJ Premier] Word play,voice, delivery, flow,
889
00:37:37,861 --> 00:37:42,240
he just wasn't doing patterns
that were normal to MC's
890
00:37:42,324 --> 00:37:46,028
that were making records.
You know, it just was not normal.
891
00:37:46,112 --> 00:37:49,566
[Cheo H. Coker]
He rhymes visually. He rhymes clearly.
892
00:37:49,956 --> 00:37:53,236
Rakim is basicallydoing what Hemingway would do.
893
00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:57,488
Hemingway's power was
the power of short, clear, concise
894
00:37:57,572 --> 00:38:00,067
visual sentences. That's Rakim.
895
00:38:00,151 --> 00:38:03,011
♪ Me and Eric Band a nice big plate of fish ♪
896
00:38:03,095 --> 00:38:04,804
♪ Which is my favorite dish ♪
897
00:38:04,888 --> 00:38:07,306
♪ But without no moneyit's still a wish ♪
898
00:38:07,390 --> 00:38:10,018
[Shad] In additionto the rhythmic musicality,
899
00:38:10,102 --> 00:38:12,782
people talk about
the level of consciousness
900
00:38:12,866 --> 00:38:14,480
that you were incorporating
in your rhymes.
901
00:38:14,564 --> 00:38:18,634
Oh, no doubt. No doubt.
I wanted to give 'em what I knew,
902
00:38:18,718 --> 00:38:20,837
my experiences.What I learnt.
903
00:38:20,921 --> 00:38:23,698
The more that I read,the more that I learnt,
904
00:38:23,782 --> 00:38:27,637
I wanted to pass it onand it quickly became who I was,
905
00:38:27,719 --> 00:38:29,679
and the more thingsthat I experienced
906
00:38:29,763 --> 00:38:32,307
opened people's eyes
to certain things
907
00:38:32,390 --> 00:38:34,184
and it kind of made me a better rapper
908
00:38:34,267 --> 00:38:36,436
by incorporating conscious lyrics.
909
00:38:36,519 --> 00:38:39,147
♪ But now I've learnedto earn 'cuz I'm righteous ♪
910
00:38:39,230 --> 00:38:41,274
♪ I feel greatso maybe I might just ♪
911
00:38:41,358 --> 00:38:43,151
♪ Search for a nine to five ♪
912
00:38:43,234 --> 00:38:45,820
♪ If I striveThen maybe I'll stay alive ♪
913
00:38:45,904 --> 00:38:48,156
I remember in my Cadillac,
914
00:38:48,239 --> 00:38:50,575
coming off the road,
got more money than God.
915
00:38:51,395 --> 00:38:53,642
Everywhere I go
people know who I am
916
00:38:54,148 --> 00:38:58,197
and then, my sound man
gets in my car at McDonald's
917
00:38:58,249 --> 00:39:03,046
and goes, jokingly,
"D, I know somebody better than you."
918
00:39:03,129 --> 00:39:06,383
And he gets in my carand he puts in this guy called Rakim.
919
00:39:06,466 --> 00:39:07,717
♪ So I walk up the street ♪
920
00:39:07,826 --> 00:39:10,036
♪ Whistlin' thisFeelin' out of place ♪
921
00:39:10,095 --> 00:39:11,429
♪ 'Cuz, man, do I miss ♪
922
00:39:11,513 --> 00:39:14,557
I kicked him out my car.
I kept it. "Get the fuck out of my...
923
00:39:14,641 --> 00:39:15,976
Get the fuck..."
924
00:39:16,059 --> 00:39:19,062
We were something else.Hip hop was them.
925
00:39:19,145 --> 00:39:21,064
We were something else by then.
926
00:39:21,147 --> 00:39:22,315
[Shad] So what was
on your mind at that moment?
927
00:39:22,436 --> 00:39:23,435
Am I over?
928
00:39:23,519 --> 00:39:25,343
♪ Feelin' out of place'Cuz, man, do I miss ♪
929
00:39:25,427 --> 00:39:27,912
♪ A pen and a papera stereo, a tape of me... ♪
930
00:39:27,996 --> 00:39:30,890
It's a time
where the consciousness of hip hop
931
00:39:30,974 --> 00:39:33,816
is very, very tapped into
what's actually happening
932
00:39:33,900 --> 00:39:37,793
with the people that love our music.There's a movement that's happening
933
00:39:37,877 --> 00:39:41,633
amongst the MC's that sayswe have to say something.
934
00:39:41,717 --> 00:39:43,778
We have to be morethan, "Yes, yes, y'all."
935
00:39:43,862 --> 00:39:45,530
It has to go into another direction.
936
00:39:45,614 --> 00:39:48,032
It's changed.
The game has changed.
937
00:39:48,116 --> 00:39:52,464
[groovy beats]
938
00:39:52,548 --> 00:39:56,582
[music playing]
939
00:39:56,666 --> 00:39:58,876
[Shad] Rakim and otherMC's of his generation
940
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:02,256
did more than add flowand complexity to rapping.
941
00:40:02,340 --> 00:40:05,698
They also represented a newconsciousness in young, black America.
942
00:40:06,307 --> 00:40:08,142
And it was a groupof socially-minded kids
943
00:40:08,226 --> 00:40:10,570
at a suburban college radio station
944
00:40:10,654 --> 00:40:12,994
who would take thisconsciousness to the masses.
945
00:40:13,078 --> 00:40:19,962
[music playing]
946
00:40:20,046 --> 00:40:23,359
I was born in 1960,
so the whole decade of the 1960s,
947
00:40:23,443 --> 00:40:25,857
as a young kid,you saw everything,
948
00:40:26,238 --> 00:40:28,781
from the assassinationof the president
949
00:40:28,865 --> 00:40:31,117
and it seemed likeanybody that was anybody
950
00:40:31,201 --> 00:40:34,108
seemed to be getting killedwith Vietnam going on,
951
00:40:34,192 --> 00:40:37,436
the Black Panther party,which I was part of the lunch program
952
00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:38,971
that this movement had,
953
00:40:39,055 --> 00:40:41,661
wanted to look outfor the neighborhood and the people.
954
00:40:41,745 --> 00:40:45,715
These things had a direct effect
on our beginnings and our base.
955
00:40:45,799 --> 00:40:48,708
[radio static]
956
00:40:48,792 --> 00:40:50,595
♪ Dance to the funky groove ♪
957
00:40:50,679 --> 00:40:52,278
♪ That'll make your body move ♪
958
00:40:52,362 --> 00:40:54,063
[Chuck D] The radio station WBAU,
959
00:40:54,147 --> 00:40:56,923
which was program directedby Bill Stephney,
960
00:40:57,007 --> 00:40:58,584
broadcast out
of Delphi University.
961
00:40:58,668 --> 00:41:01,877
That was the hub
for hip hop music
962
00:41:01,961 --> 00:41:04,842
going out to Long Islandand going out to Queens.
963
00:41:04,926 --> 00:41:07,987
I was part of Spectrum City,
we as mobile DJ's,
964
00:41:08,071 --> 00:41:12,120
Spectrum, that's Hank Shockley,
Keith Shockley, Professor Griff.
965
00:41:12,204 --> 00:41:14,577
We wanted to be
hip hop radio DJ's,
966
00:41:14,661 --> 00:41:17,997
and we were able to get on WBAU
playing other people's music.
967
00:41:18,081 --> 00:41:21,828
[vintage recording] This is Spectrum Cityand my name is Chucky D, y'all.
968
00:41:22,393 --> 00:41:23,812
[Bill Stephney]
First and foremost there was, um,
969
00:41:23,895 --> 00:41:27,148
Chuck D who was,you know, sort of the visionary.
970
00:41:27,242 --> 00:41:30,508
And there was this one guy,
who used to come up to BAU,
971
00:41:31,096 --> 00:41:35,056
who was a musician
and a DJ and an MC
972
00:41:35,115 --> 00:41:38,368
and he had this hat,
MC DJ Flavor Flav.
973
00:41:38,451 --> 00:41:40,328
A lot to put on a hat.
974
00:41:40,437 --> 00:41:44,424
This guy wasa very unique figure and character.
975
00:41:44,508 --> 00:41:46,359
[vintage recording]
What did you say your name was?
976
00:41:46,443 --> 00:41:50,946
[Flavor Flav] It's Flavor! [echoing]
977
00:41:51,030 --> 00:41:54,242
[Chuck D] Here you got two guyswho was from the same neighborhood
978
00:41:54,326 --> 00:41:56,564
but were, like, totally different people.
979
00:41:56,648 --> 00:41:58,136
But, you know,we would hang out together,
980
00:41:58,220 --> 00:42:01,124
we would snap together and joke.At that time we would make tapes
981
00:42:01,208 --> 00:42:03,417
to compensatefor the lack of records we had.
982
00:42:03,501 --> 00:42:05,586
And so I saw Flavor
when I started making tapes
983
00:42:05,670 --> 00:42:08,273
as having a great use
to introing the tape.
984
00:42:08,357 --> 00:42:10,899
♪ We got a fresh, fresh clubIt's called the Flavor Drum ♪
985
00:42:10,983 --> 00:42:13,554
♪ We party hardy at our partyuntil the crack of dawn ♪
986
00:42:13,638 --> 00:42:17,597
[Bill Stephney] MC DJ Flavor Flavand Chuck record a brag and boast
987
00:42:18,029 --> 00:42:21,936
freestyle rap called
"Public Enemy Number One."
988
00:42:22,020 --> 00:42:25,483
This guy named Rick Rubinhears "Public Enemy number One"
989
00:42:25,567 --> 00:42:30,479
and really just, you know,
goes crazy over Chuck's voice.
990
00:42:30,563 --> 00:42:32,488
Rick calls meand says well, you know,
991
00:42:32,572 --> 00:42:36,492
"How can we get Chucky D?"
But Chuck is completely reluctant.
992
00:42:36,576 --> 00:42:39,779
Rick Rubin had asked me
for, like, almost two years
993
00:42:40,734 --> 00:42:43,804
to come along to Def Jam.
But that didn't interest me.
994
00:42:43,888 --> 00:42:46,403
I said, "It's gotta besomething that's better
995
00:42:46,487 --> 00:42:51,907
than me making recordsat Def Jam as Chuck D, a solo guy."
996
00:42:51,991 --> 00:42:55,411
I was more interested in makingwords and music mean something.
997
00:42:55,879 --> 00:42:59,091
We were clambering
for power and peace because...
998
00:42:59,646 --> 00:43:01,425
there was a dynamicgoing on in the east,
999
00:43:01,509 --> 00:43:02,563
and especially in New York,
1000
00:43:02,647 --> 00:43:05,062
of black peoples treatedlike crap overtly.
1001
00:43:05,146 --> 00:43:08,750
You know, black folkswho are always being looked down upon
1002
00:43:08,834 --> 00:43:11,844
and I thought that somethinghad to be able to give
1003
00:43:11,928 --> 00:43:15,649
upward motion
and strength and-and... and pride.
1004
00:43:15,733 --> 00:43:17,762
[Bill Stephney]
It really took sitting down
1005
00:43:17,846 --> 00:43:20,636
and coming up with a conceptthat was bigger than just,
1006
00:43:20,720 --> 00:43:22,663
"We're going to bethe next rap group on Def Jam
1007
00:43:22,747 --> 00:43:24,290
and everything will be fantastic."
1008
00:43:24,374 --> 00:43:29,492
You know, thinking of what was going onin England with The Clash,
1009
00:43:29,576 --> 00:43:31,549
you thought,"Well, you know, what if The Clash
1010
00:43:31,633 --> 00:43:34,384
and Run-D.M.C.,you know, somehow merged?
1011
00:43:34,468 --> 00:43:36,469
What would that look like?What would that sound like?"
1012
00:43:36,553 --> 00:43:39,832
[intro to "Fight The Power"]
1013
00:43:39,916 --> 00:43:44,769
[music playing]
1014
00:43:44,853 --> 00:43:47,070
♪ 1989 the number ♪
1015
00:43:47,121 --> 00:43:48,748
♪ Another summer (get down) ♪
1016
00:43:48,831 --> 00:43:50,291
♪ Sound of the funky drummer ♪
1017
00:43:50,375 --> 00:43:52,961
♪ Music hittin' your heart'cause I know you got soul ♪
1018
00:43:53,044 --> 00:43:54,796
♪ Brothers and sisters, hey! ♪
1019
00:43:54,879 --> 00:43:56,510
♪ Listen if you're missin' y'all ♪
1020
00:43:56,594 --> 00:43:58,299
♪ Swingin' while I'm singin' (Hey!) ♪
1021
00:43:58,383 --> 00:43:59,259
♪ Givin' what you're gettin' ♪
1022
00:43:59,342 --> 00:44:03,388
[Cheo H. Coker] Public Enemy were ableto take that '60s and '70s rage,
1023
00:44:03,471 --> 00:44:06,933
put it with hip hop and articulate both
1024
00:44:07,475 --> 00:44:11,312
the rage of the past
and the present and future rage
1025
00:44:11,396 --> 00:44:15,233
of a generation that's seeingpolice corruption and seeing
1026
00:44:15,341 --> 00:44:17,176
things that are happeningall over New York City
1027
00:44:17,235 --> 00:44:19,862
and other places where policehave overstepped bounds.
1028
00:44:19,946 --> 00:44:21,614
♪ Fight The Power ♪
1029
00:44:21,726 --> 00:44:23,516
[Kevin Powell] For someone to makea song like "Fight The Power"
1030
00:44:23,574 --> 00:44:25,702
and in the middleof the song you say,
1031
00:44:25,785 --> 00:44:28,788
"Elvis was a hero to most,
but he never meant to me."
1032
00:44:28,871 --> 00:44:30,957
♪ Elvis was a hero to most ♪
1033
00:44:31,040 --> 00:44:32,667
♪ But he never meantshit to me, you see ♪
1034
00:44:32,750 --> 00:44:34,168
♪ Straight up racist... ♪
1035
00:44:34,252 --> 00:44:35,920
[Kevin Powell] And thenFlavor Flav jumps in with,
1036
00:44:36,004 --> 00:44:38,089
"Mother-- himand John Wayne too."
1037
00:44:38,172 --> 00:44:39,632
♪ Mother [beep] himand John Wayne ♪
1038
00:44:39,722 --> 00:44:41,450
[Kevin Powell]
That's saying that I'm rejecting
1039
00:44:41,534 --> 00:44:45,137
your racist notions of what a hero is,
because that hero doesn't look like me.
1040
00:44:45,221 --> 00:44:46,601
None of your heroes
look like me.
1041
00:44:46,685 --> 00:44:48,905
♪ Most of my heroesdon't appear on no stamps ♪
1042
00:44:48,989 --> 00:44:50,626
♪ Sample a look backyou look and find ♪
1043
00:44:50,710 --> 00:44:53,354
♪ Nothing but rednecksfor 400 years if you check ♪
1044
00:44:53,438 --> 00:44:55,494
[Kevin Powell]
We were like, "Wow,"
1045
00:44:55,578 --> 00:44:57,171
because they werespeaking for all of us
1046
00:44:57,255 --> 00:44:59,677
who didn't even havethe courage to say something like that.
1047
00:44:59,761 --> 00:45:04,957
Chuck and Public Enemyrepresented a resistance, finally.
1048
00:45:05,033 --> 00:45:08,286
It was almost like he was, like,you know, our Superman, you know.
1049
00:45:08,369 --> 00:45:10,955
We're going to stand up
and say what we actually want.
1050
00:45:11,064 --> 00:45:12,356
We're going to fight the power.
1051
00:45:12,440 --> 00:45:14,191
♪ I'll make everybody see ♪
1052
00:45:14,275 --> 00:45:16,313
♪ In order to fightthe powers that be ♪
1053
00:45:16,397 --> 00:45:17,389
♪ Let me hear you say ♪
1054
00:45:17,473 --> 00:45:19,504
[Chuck D] Hip hop could bea vehicle for angry black voices.
1055
00:45:19,588 --> 00:45:21,875
Number one, hip hopwith its use of words
1056
00:45:21,959 --> 00:45:23,905
can be a vehicle for any voice.
1057
00:45:23,989 --> 00:45:26,579
And I just thoughtduring the time of R&B
1058
00:45:26,663 --> 00:45:29,707
and as Reagan and Bushthat hip hop as an angry voice
1059
00:45:29,791 --> 00:45:33,217
could speak out againsta malfeasance that was taking place.
1060
00:45:33,856 --> 00:45:37,273
Why not?
You got words, you got a voice.
1061
00:45:37,357 --> 00:45:38,361
Use it.
1062
00:45:38,445 --> 00:45:39,762
♪ Fight the Power ♪
1063
00:45:40,202 --> 00:45:41,761
♪ Fight the Power ♪
1064
00:45:41,845 --> 00:45:44,193
♪ We gotta fightthe powers that be ♪
1065
00:45:44,277 --> 00:45:45,396
♪ Come on! ♪
1066
00:45:45,480 --> 00:45:48,658
[Shad] The 1980s wasa decade of change for hip hop.
1067
00:45:48,742 --> 00:45:52,368
It began with Kurtis Blow rappingabout Christmas in corduroy
1068
00:45:52,452 --> 00:45:55,739
and ended with Public Enemyfighting the power in fatigues.
1069
00:45:56,757 --> 00:46:00,863
Hip hop was now a sound,an industry and a movement.
1070
00:46:00,947 --> 00:46:04,132
It had finally realizedits potential and its power.
1071
00:46:04,621 --> 00:46:06,160
And this potentialwas being realized
1072
00:46:06,244 --> 00:46:08,302
beyond the bordersof New York City,
1073
00:46:08,830 --> 00:46:11,893
on another coast,three thousand miles away.
1074
00:46:11,977 --> 00:46:14,795
Hip hop was speakingto a totally different reality.
1075
00:46:15,478 --> 00:46:17,105
In a placethat needed hip hop
1076
00:46:17,188 --> 00:46:19,899
even more thanthe boroughs that birthed it.
1077
00:46:19,982 --> 00:46:26,531
-[sirens wailing]
-[heavy beats]
96660
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