The hip-hop ethos can trace its genealogy to the emergence in that decade of a black ideology that equated black strength and authentic black identity with a militantly adversarial stance toward American society. The venom that suffuses rap had little place in black popular culture-indeed, in black attitudes-before the 1960s. By reinforcing the stereotypes that long hindered blacks, and by teaching young blacks that a thuggish adversarial stance is the properly “authentic” response to a presumptively racist society, rap retards black success. Many writers and thinkers see a kind of informed political engagement, even a revolutionary potential, in rap and hip-hop. Rap was a running decoration in their conversation. A couple of his buddies would then join him. So completely was rap ingrained in their consciousness that every so often, one or another of them would break into cocky, expletive-laden rap lyrics, accompanied by the angular, bellicose gestures typical of rap performance. What struck me most, though, was how fully the boys’ music-hard-edged rap, preaching bone-deep dislike of authority-provided them with a continuing soundtrack to their antisocial behavior. These teens clearly weren’t monsters, but they seemed to consider themselves exempt from public norms of behavior-as if they had begun to check out of mainstream society. Only after she called a male security guard did they start slowly making their way out, tauntingly circling the restaurant before ambling off. After repeatedly warning the boys to stop throwing food and keep quiet, the manager finally told them to leave. They were extremely loud and unruly, tossing food at one another and leaving it on the floor.īlack people ran the restaurant and made up the bulk of the customers, but it was hard to see much healthy “black community” here. Since 1) it was 1:30 on a school day, 2) they were carrying book bags, and 3) they seemed to be in no hurry, I assumed they were skipping school. And don’t get your scrunchies in a bunch: Some hair metal definite snuck in.Not long ago, I was having lunch in a KFC in Harlem, sitting near eight African-American boys, aged about 14. From genre-defining works of genius to ear-worm flights of fancy, these are the best songs of the 'Æ0s. But mostly, we curated with maximum enjoyment in mind while limiting the list to one song per artist. In gathering our list of the ’80s very best, there was a lot to consider: Lasting impact, cultural relevance, actual musicianship, catchiness, coolness and, of course, nostalgia. And as the decade wore on, rap’s wave turned into a tsunami that changed the face of pop music. New Wave stalwarts like Talking Heads and Devo found new grooves while transcendent artists like Marvin Gaye and Paul Simon offered up some of the best work of their careers. Pop on most any ’80s playlist and you’re bound to hear the same cycle of kitchy, seemingly alien vintage pop: synthy goth songs, lite hip-hop, the occasional punk infusion and a whole lot of hair metal.īut the '80s sound was so much more than the sum of its eccentricities, and there's a huge difference between an ‘80s song’ and a ‘song from the 80s.’ This is the decade that gave us Prince and Madonna, MJ and NWA.
’80s nostalgia usually focuses on the decade at its most outlandish: big hair, Day-glo shirts, scrunchies, New Coke… call it the Stranger Thingseffect.
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