-
(police sirens)
-
♪ ("Renegades of Funk" by Afrika Bambaataa
& Soulsonic Force) ♪
-
♪ From a different solar system
many, many galaxies away ♪
-
♪ We are the force of another creation ♪
-
♪ A new musical revelation ♪
-
♪ And we're on this musical message ♪
-
♪ To help the others listen ♪
-
♪ Improve momentum and ♪
-
♪ seek the electronic chance ♪
-
♪ - Like
- Astrology ♪
-
♪ - Like
- Technology ♪
-
♪ - Like
- God's Creation ♪
-
♪ - Like
- The Zulu station ♪
-
♪ - Like
- To the nation ♪
-
♪ - Like
- Destroy all nations ♪
-
♪ - Like
- Militants ♪
-
♪ - (Like
- Down in sand ♪
-
♪ - (Like!)
- Through changes, ♪
-
♪ nothing stays the same ♪
-
♪ Oh renegades ♪
-
(music)
-
♪ I got some more. ♪
-
(Narrator) "The Renegades of Funk -
Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force.
-
Well, good evening and welcome to another
GBE—a Gary Bird experience—
-
as the funky forces of the universe
come together
-
for us to bring another set of
Big Apple jams your way.
-
In a few minutes my engineer Jonathan E
at Master Control and I gonna go
-
looking for something perfect,
the perfect beat for you,
-
especially if you are up at Planet Rock,
The Bronx, or the Zulu Nation,
-
as in dance formation tonight.
-
Speaking of dance, have you heard about
he WLIB breakdance contest?
-
You have a chance
to win a trip to the mother country,
-
the place that sent Afrika Bambaataa
into a galaxy far, far away.
-
Who knows? You could be on your way
-
into the land of the pyramids,
checking it all out."
-
♪ ("Planet Rock - Instrumental"
by Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force) ♪
-
(robotic voice)
Rock, rock to Planet Rock, don't stop
-
(robotic voice)
Rock, rock to Planet Rock, don't stop
-
("Planet Rock" music continues)
-
(robotic voices)
-
("Planet Rock" music continues)
-
What if were to just settle down here?
-
Well, it's a little old fashioned
(voice fades out)
-
("Planet Rock" music continues)
-
(Narrator's voice fades in)
"...planets, especially Venus and Jupiter,
-
can be seen in the sky
not long after sunset.
-
With the glow of twilight
still lingering,
-
and a dash of near-sightedness,
and some good old human imagination,
-
and some well-intentioned people
will even claim 'it's shooting off sparks,
-
it's as big as a basketball, it has
landing lights', and so on.
-
Hard to believe?
-
Well, the most frequently reported
UFOs on record
-
are the planets Venus and Jupiter -
-
IFOs, once you know a little about the
autokinetic illusion and the night sky.
-
July 24, 1948.
An Eastern Airlines flight is en route
-
from Houston to Atlanta, when suddenly...
(otherworldly electronic noise)
-
The flight crew, all intelligent, trained
observers, reported the—"
-
(strange beeps and sounds)
-
(banging on timpani)
-
(robotic voice)
"I am the funk overlord.
-
I have come to take control
of your flight.
-
Who controls the present,
controls the past.
-
Who controls the past,
controls the future.
-
Funk!"
-
♪ (music from Bambaataa's
"Looking for the Perfect Beat") ♪
-
(Narrator)
"So this is how Bam sends 'em
-
to the street, hip hoppin',
lookin' for the perfect beat."
-
♪ (music from Bambaataa's
Looking for the Perfect Beat) ♪
-
Rappin', scratchin', breakin', shakin',
the success of hip hop is in the making.
-
♪ (music from Bambaataa's
Looking for the Perfect Beat) ♪
-
(Narrator) "On TV and on radio,
you hear and see it, wherever you go."
-
♪ (music from Bambaataa's
Looking for the Perfect Beat) ♪
-
(Narrator) "Graffiti began on the walls,
and now it's sold in stores and malls."
-
♪ (music from Bambaataa's
Looking for the Perfect Beat) ♪
-
(Narrator) " From uptown to Fifth Avenue,
the journey took a heck of a crew,
-
from a neighborhood and a street scene
-
all around the world
to the silver screen."
-
♪ ("The Hitler Rap") ♪
♪ Hi there people, you know me ♪
-
♪ I used to run a little joint
called Germany ♪
-
♪ I was number one
The people's choice ♪
-
♪ And everybody listened to
my mighty voice ♪
-
♪ My name is Adolf,
I'm on the mic ♪
-
♪ Gonna hip you to the story
of the New Third Reich ♪
-
♪ It all began down in Munich town
& pretty soon ♪
-
♪ Word started gettin' around ♪
-
♪ I said to Martin Boorman,
I said "Hey Marty," ♪
-
♪ "Why don't we throw a little
Nazi party?" ♪
-
♪ So we had an election,
well, kinda sorta ♪
-
♪ And before you knew it,
hello new order! ♪
-
♪ To all those mothers in the Fatherland ♪
-
♪ I said "Achtung baby!
I got me a plan." ♪
-
♪ "Whatcha got, Adolf?
Whatcha gonna do?" ♪
-
♪ I said "How about this one?
World War Two." ♪
-
♪ To be or not be ♪
-
♪ Oh baby ♪
♪ Can't you see ♪
-
(music fades, record scratching)
-
All that scratchin' is makin'
me itch!
-
♪ (mixed-up music) ♪
-
♪ Duck Duck Duck ♪
♪ Duck Duck Duck ♪
-
(Narrator)
"What once was in the underground
-
has now, by elements, been found
-
like anywhere you see fresh meat,
the culture vultures come to eat.
-
Now with hip hop on his lip,
Malcolm McLaren begins his trip,
-
how he went to the Planet Rock
and came back to Britain in future shock,
-
'cuz though he thought punk was the top,
he found the groove was in hip hop."
-
Let me outside...
-
♪ (hip hop music) ♪
-
Break dance, break dance...
-
That's a pretty good job down there Jimmy
-
We oughta dance and dance differently...
-
So with me you're dancing—
-
(Malcolm McLaren)
"I was, uh...
-
working with a group called
Bow Wow Wow.
-
I came over there because they were
selling some RCA records
-
and I was looking to put them on
in a hole in Manhattan somewhere,
-
but the terrible thing was I was really
stuck for a responsible
-
and interesting and exciting
kind of opening act.
-
And nothing was happening in New York.
-
Then a friend of mine introduced me
to a guy who I met on the street,
-
somewhere down 5th Avenue.
He told me about an incredible scene
-
that was happening not in Manhattan, but
out in a suburb known as the South Bronx.
-
He said if I liked,
I could come on a Saturday night
-
to a big party where I would see something
-
that couldn't possibly have
ever existed in England.
-
And, I decided to actually pitch up
with him on Saturday night.
-
Upon arriving, the party
-
—unknown to me,
I thought it would be indoors—
-
was actually out in the open,
in a wasteland,
-
surrounded by these huge
fired out condominiums.
-
There, in the midst of it, was about
thousand kids and I couldn't believe it.
-
I was very, very worried being
the only white guy there and
-
the cab driver signaled me
to put my dollars in my socks.
-
(stammers, laughs) Nevertheless,
I escorted myself across the road
-
with this guy, made my way through
the crowd, pushing and shoving
-
until I got to the decks where
the music was coming from,
-
shook hands with this huge fat guy,
who later became known to me
-
as a guy called Afrika Bambaataa.
-
And what I witnessed was a various
group of different young kids,
-
who were popping in and out amongst
the decks, messin' about with records.
-
What l saw was extraordinary,
because the sound
-
coming out was totally inarticulate.
It was a load of rough noises
-
that sounded a little like a guitar,
but sort of like a concrete chisel sound.
-
And the sound, I realized,
was actually coming from the way they were
-
messin' with their hands on the decks,
moving records backwards and forwards.
-
They weren't just doing it with
one record, but with two,
-
and they were mixing across one
to the other.
-
In fact, it was making music
out of other people's music."
-
♪ (mixed music plays, repeating) ♪
-
As time went on and I stuck around
for an hour or so,
-
the crowd was extremely volatile
jumping into pitch battles at times.
-
But at one point or another, people
would move to the side,
-
and a group of kids would start
freaking out in the middle,
-
doing all this incredible
gymnastic dancing.
-
♪ (distorted, choppy music plays
over beat) ♪
-
(Narrator)
"What McLaren saw was called 'hip hop',
-
energy and motion that you could not stop.
-
Demanding all of your imagination
if you were to share in the celebration.
-
It wasn't enough to just be good,
you had to be super bad,
-
'cuz when you hit that floor,
-
your reputation was just about
all you had."
-
(McLaren) "I think hip-hop is
being in control of your body,
-
that's the whole art of it,
understanding that
-
you're much bigger than you are,
a demo of your prowess.
-
If you're penniless,
the one thing you can do
-
on Madison Avenue is spin on your head
and show all the white honkies
-
moving out of the Chase Manhattan Bank
on their lunch time and say, 'Well
-
beat that, and if you can't, here's
my cap. Give me a few dollars.' "
-
(train moving, faint commotion)
-
(Narrator)
"But the story of hip-hop doesn't belong
-
in New York, LA, or London, that's wrong.
-
The true story begins in devastation,
bad housing, gang wars, and desperation,
-
in the Bronx ghetto, or Planet Rock.
-
Let's take a minute - turn back the clock.
♪ ("Space Cowboy" by Jonzun Crew) ♪
-
To the first hero of the hip hop groove,
the man who made the people move.
-
♪ ("Space Cowboy" music) ♪
-
From Jamaica he came with
a sense of rhythm,
-
and what he brought to the Bronx
was a sound system.
-
Music he played made life work,
and made him a legend:
-
Kool DJ Herc."
-
♪ (Space Cowboy music) ♪
-
♪ He's bad! ♪
-
♪ (Space Cowboy music) ♪
-
♪ Space Cowboy ♪
-
♪ (Space Cowboy music) ♪
-
When Kool Herc have a party,
everybody be there.
-
Lot of people say I'm fun, big fun.
-
That was the talk for the whole weekend
or the whole summer,
-
"Where did you party?"
-
"I was partying with Kool Herc, man.
Ghetto block party, you know,
-
tennis court, disco...
a lot of other things, too."
-
♪ ("Space Cowboy" music) ♪
-
♪ He's bad! ♪
-
♪ He's mean! ♪
-
♪ He's a Space Cowboy
in the spacey jeans ♪
-
♪ He's bad! ♪
-
I like to buy my records...
right over here.
-
But now it's not there no more,
called "Sounds and Things."
-
There used to be a ballroom up there,
I used to play, matter of fact,
-
I play up there for the transit authority
dinner, one time, and...
-
Mario Cuomo was there
before becoming governor.
-
Basically, right here.
-
A place called "Galaxy 2000."
-
♪ ("Space Cowboy"
plays in the background) ♪
-
They had a big shootout here one time.
-
Same time I played at Bronx River.
-
I came back,
I'd seen the canopy knocked down,
-
the fire escape was let down,
and I knew something was wrong.
-
The Bronx is on the uplift.
-
♪ ("Space Cowboy" music) ♪
-
A lot of places are being rehabilitated.
-
♪ ( Traffic sounds
and "Space Cowboy" music) ♪
-
I think there's still more
that could be done - a whole lot.
-
♪ with the laser gun! ♪
-
All those unforgettable promises...
-
♪ Yippey-Yi, Yippey-Yi ♪
-
From the South Bronx
when the Carters came over.
-
Made out of iron, right?
-
♪ Yay... A Space Cowboy... (beats)
Yippey-Yi, Yippey-Yi, Yippey-Yi, Yay ♪
-
Well, I never left the Bronx,
and I love the Bronx.
-
(music and trafic)
-
I don't wanna leave.
-
(music and trafic)
-
♪ (upbeat funky music) ♪
-
(Narrator)
"What Herc did was throw down the sound
-
of forgotten heroes, like James Brown,
-
and separate the good stuff from the junk,
with the emphasis on a lot of funk.
-
And in the middle of a funky sound,
-
Coke La Rock, his rapper,
would go to town.
-
The music was hot, very loud,
with participation to excite the crowd.
-
Then Herc would drop a mighty blast
with a golden oldie from music past."
-
(motor rumbling)
-
Um ... Sedgwick, 1520...
-
(motor rumbling)
-
over 10 years ago...
-
(motor rumbling)
-
(Woman) "Ooh, look at that medallion,
what happened to that?"
-
(motor rumbling)
-
It got stolen.
That was my badge, like a sheriff.
-
(motor rumbling)
-
Place was packed.
-
(motor rumbling)
-
(Woman) "How was it?"
(motor rumbling)
-
(Kool Herc)
"It was pretty good.
-
Everybody showed up,
had a good time.
-
(motor rumbling)
-
Everybody put on their best that day.
-
(motor rumbling)
-
All of the sudden—
I don't know, all of the sudden...
-
(motor rumbling)
-
Something happened, made it so that we
didn't get into the parties no more.
-
(motor rumbling)
-
(sound fades out)
-
I got injured. I got stabbed.
Fatally stabbed, though.
-
And that just put a hole
through the whole thing.
-
I walk right into it, and I just...
-
I didn't know where the knife came from.
-
I just literally walk into it.
I was hit four times.
-
The last of them pierced my hand,
and it went all the way through.
-
It shouldn't have happened.
-
And that does draw me a show,
you know?
-
I just stopped. I stopped playing for—
I didn't accept a gig, I wasn't...
-
I was not out in the public eyes
too much.
-
(music and beats)
-
That was the rise of a lot of DJs.
-
Herc wasn't on the scene,
this is our chance.
-
And a lot of them dashed in and
capitalized on it.
-
DJs and the music that they used to come
to hear at my party was all over now.
-
(beats)
-
Kool Herc is not a stepping stone,
he's a horse that can't be rode,
-
and a bull that can't be stopped,
there ain't a disco I can't rock. Rock on.
-
It could've been on my obituary -
-
that this was the guy who started this,
this was what he did."
-
♪ (Hip-hop music beats) ♪
-
(Narrator)
"Though he may be a fallen hero,
-
all will forever say
that in the history of hip hop,
-
he was its number one DJ.
-
You see, Herc had started something
that not even his enemies wanted to stop.
-
Kool DJ Herc had launched the birth of
a movement called hip hop.
-
In the middle of Savage Skulls and on
the top of the hill with the Seven Crowns,
-
the gangs were in the Bronx
and they were seriously getting down.
-
It was little Vietnam, where even the
police watched out for raids,
-
and where the baddest of them all was a
street gang known as the Black Spades.
-
And from them emerged a boy
who became the adopted father
-
of the hip hop generation,
a Zulu, Afrika Bambaataa."
-
I got into street gangs, the Black Spades.
-
I was in a lot of other groups
before I became a Spade.
-
P.O.W.E.R Grounds, Savage Nomads...
-
and um,
-
but Spades was one of the groups
that I really loved a lot.
-
There was a lot of unity in the group.
(clears throat).
-
It was one of the most hated groups
in the whole city
-
cause all it was about was um,
trouble and stuff and aesthetic.
-
But it was one of the most organized
Black youth groups.
-
As for, if you mess with them,
they would mess with you.
-
Plus in that year, 1975, um,
one of the brothas that was close to me,
-
that lived with me for about two years,
by the name Solsky,
-
got shot by the police on Pelham Bay,
-
with some other members of the Spades.
-
And um, he died and this other member died
and one survived.
-
♪ (hip hop music plays in background) ♪
-
(Narrator)
"The violent death of Bam's best friend,
-
marked for him the end of the line.
-
And he went back to a vision
that once had occurred
-
inside of his youthful mind.
-
A way to fight, yet maintain peace.
-
An impossible situation,
-
unless you could create something powerful
-
like his memory of the Zulu nation."
-
[People chant over
the sound of hip-hop music on TV]
-
I say violence is necessary.
-
Violence is a part of America's culture,
-
it is as American as Cherry Pie
-
American calls for Black people
to be violent.
-
We will use that violence
to get ourselves up.
-
[voice fades to hip hop music]
-
(Martin Luther King Jr) "Former slaves
and the sons of former slave owners...
-
Will they be able to sit down together
at the table of brotherhood?
-
I have a dream...
-
One day..."
-
(KKK member)
"Basically, uh, my goal
-
in the clan is to bring about
a unification
-
of all of the Anglo-saxon, Protestant,
American citizens
-
into a bond of unity to counter-act
the philosophies of the minority and..."
-
(Nelson Mandela)
"There are many people who feel
-
that it is useless and futile
-
for us to continue talking
peace and non-violence
-
against a government whose reply is only
-
savage attacks on an unarmed,
defenseless people."
-
[radio static]
♪ (hip hop music) ♪
-
(Nelson Mandela) "We are not human beings
unless we ourselves, band together
-
and do whatever, however,
whenever, is necessary
-
to see that our lives and our property
is protected,
-
and I doubt that any person in here
would refuse to do the same thing,
-
were he in the same position.
-
Or I should say,
were he in the same condition."
-
♪ (hip hop music) ♪
-
Narrator: "It was with the vision
of the Zulu nation,
-
a trip to Africa, and a death situation,
-
that produced a man who put on Zulu dress
-
and began to transform a violent mix."
-
♪ (Malcolm X's, "No Sell Out"
echoes in the background) ♪
-
(Narrator)
"Bambaataa was always a music man,
-
a record collector who was a DJ jammed.
-
Now he saw a new idea to use
stand and prow in his career,
-
to put the Bronx in a music trance
-
and move from violence to Zulu dance..."
-
♪ (hip-hop music) ♪
-
(Narrator)
"And so it became hip to hop
-
in the land known as Planet Rock,
-
where gangs used to
fight in the street every day,
-
now they began to compete
in a different way.
-
As the DJ's music made the house shake,
-
the dancers would begin to break.
-
Some electric boogie to move like toys,
-
others would spin and became b-boys."
-
♪ (hip hop beat and breakdancing) ♪
-
There you go. Hey you guys ready?
-
- Yeah.
- Let's go.
-
(Narrator)
"The breakers know what they have got
-
from electro-boogie to street robot.
-
They dance off the anger
in a street or room...
-
Who needs a gang when the beat goes boom"
-
(The Breakers talking and laughing)
-
♪ (The Wildstyle by Afrika Bambaataa) ♪
-
♪ It ain't nothin' ♪
-
♪ It ain't nothin' but the wildstyle ♪
-
♪ The wildstyle ♪
-
♪ Hit me! ♪
-
♪ You can do it, do it, do it, do it,
do it, do it. The wildstyle ♪
-
♪ The wildstyle ♪
-
♪ Get down! ♪
-
♪ So funky ♪
-
♪ What Bootsy said?
To the bridge mother! Do it, do it ♪
-
♪ Do it ♪
-
B-Side, rock on
-
♪ Do it, do it ♪
-
♪ B-Side, rock on ♪
-
♪ Shout shout ♪
-
♪ People over here
People over there ♪
-
♪ Dancin' in the street
And dancin' to our beat ♪
-
♪ Poppin' in the door
And breakin' on the floor ♪
-
♪ Checkin' out the feet
that's movin' to a beat. Do it ♪
-
♪ Do what? ♪
-
♪ The wildstyle ♪
-
♪ Motivator ♪
-
♪ Motivator ♪
-
♪ Motivator ♪
-
♪ Motivator ♪
-
♪ Can you funk?
Do it, do it ♪
-
♪ Can you funk?
Do it ♪
-
♪ Do it. Break it down! Down! ♪
-
♪ Break it down! Down! Shout! ♪
-
♪ Life is so hard
Tryin' to get a job ♪
-
♪ Employee so new,
no cash money green ♪
-
♪ The systеm is mean
Destroying all dreams ♪
-
♪ Flying to thе moon
Nobody's in the schools ♪
-
♪ Do it ♪
-
♪ Do what? ♪
-
♪ It's the wildstyle
C'mon. The wildstyle ♪
-
♪ Do it, do it, do it, do it,
do it, do it, do it, do it ♪
-
♪ Do it, do it ♪
-
♪ Shout ♪
-
♪ Shout ♪
-
♪ Good God! ♪
-
♪ Shout ♪
-
♪ Good Good Good Good! ♪
-
♪ Shout ♪
-
♪ Do it ♪
-
♪ Shout ♪
-
♪ Shout ♪
-
♪ It's the wildstyle ♪
-
♪ The wildstyle ♪
-
♪ Talk about rap ♪
-
♪ Talk about funk ♪
-
♪ Talk about rock ♪
-
♪ Talk about life ♪
-
♪ It's the wildstyle ♪
-
♪ The wildstyle ♪
-
♪ My heart is beating fast
I'm running out of gas ♪
-
♪ No not the Zulu style
With your own sense of style. Do it ♪
-
♪ Do it
It's the wildstyle ♪
-
♪ Do do do the wild
style-style-style-style-style ♪
-
♪ Do it ♪
-
♪ Do it ♪
-
♪ C'mon, everybody! ♪
-
♪ In life, you got to fight ♪
-
♪ In life, you're not always right ♪
-
♪ In life, if the tone is right ♪
-
♪ In life, stop thinkin' you're Christ! ♪
-
♪ Do it ♪
-
♪ B-Side ♪
-
♪ B-Side ♪
-
♪ Speak your mind ♪
-
♪ C'mon, speak your mind ♪
-
♪ B-Side ♪
-
♪ To the bridge! ♪
-
♪ In the land of Oz
People on Mars ♪
-
♪ Livin' in a timezone ♪
-
♪ Tryin' not to be alone ♪
-
(Narrator) "The elements of hip-hop
go beyond the dance
-
to the streets where artists take a chance
-
and the Bronx where young men on the go
-
paint trains and walls like Picasso
-
Graffiti is what they call their art
-
and it's here where they get their start
-
Though you may think these policemen bars,
-
they battle kids like Brim
and graffiti wars."
-
Stickers were used as settlements
-
Those kids were locked up on the graffiti
-
(Sergeant)
"Art versus transit... fame...
-
The new king of all offenders...
-
Uh...the rest of you got your assignments?
Yeah all right.
-
Hickey and Ski,
I want you to stay half the roll call.
-
I have a special assignment
for you on a graffiti.
-
All right, thank you both."
-
(Hickey)
"You watch it one day, right sarge?"
-
(Sarge) "We have some information that
they cut the fence on the Jerome yards
-
That's the new fence and
they cut it right open again."
-
(Narrator)
"Let's take a look inside the machine
-
and watch New York's finest
on the graffiti scene."
-
(sound of a train moving)
-
What does this look like to you?
-
Does this look like something
that'd be in a city?
-
This looks like a jail, a prison
with all this barbed wire around you.
-
What kind of feeling...
-
I wonder how the people
that live around here feel
-
with all this wire and stuff around them.
-
Looks like something from Germany
the Nazis and all that.
-
Kryolan, astounding. I feel like
I'm doing a commercial for these things.
-
Here's the best can of paint on the market
which they'll invariably go out and steal!
-
They never pay for the paint,
they'll steal it.
-
The only way I can figure it -
-
that Mayor Koch and the Head of the MTA...
It's not that they don't like graffiti.
-
It's that they don't like something
they can't control.
-
This is vandalism. That's what it is.
-
They're defacing
somebody else's property.
-
I wouldn't want them coming to my house
and painting it up, nor my car.
-
Mayor Koch tried to get us
to make a deal with him -
-
that he would give us 10 cars to paint
-
and we would stop with the graffiti.
-
But it doesn't work like that because _
-
Even if I accepted the deal, I can't stop
someone else who wants to paint the train
-
'cos they got to express their feelings
the same way I got to express mine.
-
I'm not gonna tell someone, "You can't
express your feelings, only I can."
-
You know that's not the way it works
-
Like I said there's tens of thousands
of these kids doing graffiti.
-
Only a handful of them are really good
but whether they're good or bad,
-
they have no business being down here.
It's dangerous, they can get hurt
-
and it's not their property.
-
(Brim) "As long as there's something to
be said in the ghetto
-
there'll be graffiti.
-
If it's in a building or it's in a train,
wherever something has to be said
-
you know, in New York city
that's the way we express ourselves
-
It might seem silly to someone else but
-
in New York city that's the way,
we express ourselves."
-
(Hip hop music and graffiti)
-
All this just makes me madder
and makes me wanna go painting more.
-
When I see this you know it burns me up,
I wanna go out and paint
-
and I wanna show them that they can't win
because they can't
-
The war against graffiti been like 10 yrs
and they haven't won nothing.
-
(Hip hop music)
-
It took them 10 years
to put this fence on.
-
It'll just take us another year
to get into them
-
Just give us some time. We'll return.
-
(Hip hop music)
-
Now we are here today in order to induct
into the rapper's Hall of Fame
-
just a few of the greatest rappers
who ever made rapping their life and fame.
-
It didn't start with the Sugarhill Gang,
it didn't start with Kurtis Blow
-
nor with Flash or the Furious Five,
you can take it from me, I know.
-
We're going back to where it all began
-
at radio stations all over the land
-
with Jocko, Hot Rod and Montague -
DJs who rap like DJs do
-
with names like Hatter and Dr.Jive
in the 50s and 60s keeping rap alive.
-
Just a step for our tradition
for rap to take on a social mission.
-
Rap gives kids a whole new way
-
to express themselves and sometimes pay.
-
You might've been told you were no good,
with rap, you're king of the neighborhood.
-
(Muhammad Ali)
"Man can't fake, he's a Geechee...
-
Hey he's Joe Frazier.
-
Joe Frazier
-
Joe Frazier"
-
(Narrator)
"People of the world, the man you see
-
was the world's greatest rapper
Muhammad Ali
-
and the days when he was Cassius Clay
was the first national rapper in the USA."
-
(Muhammad Ali) "He's going around saying
that he's a championship fighter
-
but when he meets me
he'll fall 20 pounds lighter.
-
He thinks he's a real heavyweight champ
After I'm finished he'll just be a tramp.
-
Now I'm not sayin' just to be funny,
-
but I'm fightin' Ernie because
he needs the money." (laughter)
-
I decided to let him make a little bread
but to catch his I must whip his head.
-
I understand he wants to stand toe to toe
and with me trade blow for blow
-
but if he's hip he'll take a dip
because I plan to bust his lip.
-
From the northeast to the northwest,
from the southeast to the west coast,
-
from the northwest to the mid-west
every rapper thinks he can rap the most.
-
But it all began in Aka-Bo land
many many moons ago
-
It was among the vibes, the powerful vines
from which our roots do grow
-
The Yoruba and the Bantu,
the Sotho and the Gotha,
-
the Akan people of Ghana,
the Rwanda and the Hausa,
-
they engaged in a form of praise
done by griots or a chosen bard.
-
Today we call it throwing down, or,
maybe rapping hard.
-
- Who are you?
- Who am I? Who are you?
-
- Who am I? Who are you?
- Who am I? Who are you?
-
Who am I? I'm Caz!
-
Oh what what do that mean?
-
That I'm the baddest MC lover
on the Hip Hop Scene
-
J.D.L big deal, what does that prove?
-
That I'm the MC that make the people move.
-
I'm Easy!
Easy who and what is your game?
-
I'm Easy A D
I bet your girls know my name.
-
I'm Jay-Z,
-
That's your business, what you gotta say?
-
That I can rock you anywhere
anytime anyday.
-
What chasing to the DJs?
What do they wanna do?
-
Bring in the funky record
when you give us the cue
-
Like 10, 9, 8-7-6, 5-4-3-2-1
-
Have fun!
-
Who's that now?
-
(artists talking among themselves)
-
Oh no girls, no!
All risks!
-
No!
Heartbreakers, then. Got a nice one there.
-
I know you has the cold cause
whats the Heartbreakers supposed to mean?
-
(artists talking and laughing
amongst themselves)
-
.,,all in your mind.
-
Would you actually tell her
what Heartbreakers mean?
-
We'll promise you the world
and won't deliver
-
A broken heart is what we'll give ya
-
Make you feel like a million
by the things we say
-
And make you feel like a fool
the very next day
-
We're heartbreakers ha-ha.
We're heart-heart-heartbreakers.
-
(phone rings)
-
Hello, Yeah girl, it's me, the captain,
with some raps for you
-
So listen up, don't talk
until I'm through
-
Now you're sweet, you're fine,
and you got class
-
But I feel things are going way too fast
-
It's not that I don't enjoy
having you around
-
But I'm the kind of man
that can't be tied down
-
Thanks for all the joy
that you brought to me
-
And I hope you understand
that I gotta be free
-
We're heart-breakers
And this is how we break your heart
-
Ask them a simple question,
they're gonna come out the face,
-
- try talk what it's all about.
- You see the problem?
-
Caz guy were on the phone,
he was talkin to the girl,
-
- and he jested like that?
- Martha, he was a saint. Ha ha ha ha.
-
Eh ben, il s'opérait pas bien,
comment aller?
-
Ah, Sophisticated queen MC
-
Yes of course, that's me,
mistress of ceremony
-
The one that's gonna
take it to the top of the key
-
Introducing myself, MC Lisa Lee
-
The blast from the past,
superb in every word
-
Supest female rapper,
yes, the best you heard
-
Lisa Lee is known to be
the people's choice
-
I get parties rocking
with my sensuous voice
-
And when you see the queen
walking up the street
-
I'm not souped up, conceited,
just incognit'
-
I make the fellas sweat
'coz I keep their bodies hot
-
It's a woman's world,
you gotta give what you got.
-
I'm Sha, party people,
and I'm ready to rock
-
If you wanna be down,
you gotta gimme what you got.
-
My fellas in the place,
I won't steer you wrong
-
You gotta give it up or le-leave it alone
-
So get ready for this,
get ready for this
-
Party people in the place,
get ready for this
-
To you!
-
So what you gonna do?
-
Do you wanna rock the house
and turn this mutha out?
-
Fly girls, are you with us?
-
And if you're ready to rock,
-
to help me turn it out
-
Let the world know
-
what we're talkin about
-
To all the ladies
-
Yeah!
-
I want you to listen dana-da-dan
-
Hey, ladies!
-
Yeah!
-
1980! dana-da.
-
Watch out for the fellas, yeah!
That'll drive you crazy dana-da.
-
Look out!
-
Hey, you better abide
-
While we rock your ass on the solo side
-
Grandmaster Caz, you are the Cap
-
Get on the mic
Show 'em you're the lord of rap
-
Well I'm the Cap of the Four, MC exec
-
And I don't come at all
if it ain't correct
-
Don't have to bite, not necessary
-
The Grandmaster Caz got a rhyme library
-
Rhyme from now until the break of day
-
Don't have a big mouth, just a lot to say
-
So if you run out of rhymes,
start sounding dumb
-
Come see me, me, me, G.M.C
-
I am the Captain of the Four
-
And I'm guaranteed to sell you some
-
A-Duracell J.D.L.,
you're the number one flaker
-
Get on the mic
Show 'em you're the hut maker
-
You hear my (twice)
You hear my (twice)
-
You hear my (twice)
You hear my (twice)
-
You hear my voice on cassettes
and on 8-track
-
Next step is to have it put on wax
-
On the radio station to make the jam sell
-
I came to you again on WJDL
-
Doing worldwide tours, TV of course
-
Plus my own line of products
which I endorse
-
Financial clout, a piece of the rock
-
And 600 shares, 6,000 shares,
6,000,000 shares of IBM stock
-
Now Easy A.D. making your girl scream
-
Get on the mic and show 'em
why you're Supreme
-
I'm girl-taker A.D.
at the top of the chart
-
I'm not a thief but known to
steal your heart
-
Won't be too long before I'm seen
-
In the cover of Life Magazine
-
'Cause I see it in your eyes
when I start rappin'
-
You know I'm the man
that makes things happen
-
Furthermore, if you want company
-
Here's my number & a dial
so you can call me
-
And Almighty Kay Gee,
you're the last, not least
-
So get on the microphone
and speak your piece
-
I don't beat around the bush
I don't stall
-
And when you say Kay Gee, you said it all
-
If you don't know by now,
you should've been told
-
When they made the Almighty,
I broke the mold
-
Rob from the rich, give to the poor
-
Plus I snatch a few dollars
for the Cold Crush Four
-
Almighty, I'm down with the best
-
And if you don't like me,
I wouldn't care less, so
-
Calling a truce and raise a flag
-
There ain't an MC crew that we can't rag
-
Now we got two records,
and been on tour...
-
Hey, what's up?
-
What's up?
-
What you doin professor?
-
Coming up with a new show
so hot coals, up moles, funky
-
My!
-
You're bringing some good stuff, alright.
-
Where y'all going?
-
Chill it man, we were just talking
-
- Yeah, man, we can't go without you.
- No way.
-
- You know it
- Thought you might know something
-
- Yeah, man.
- Look out this time
-
(rappers talking and rapping)
-
Yeah...
-
Dancing baby, can you dance?
-
How good can you dance?
-
I can dance better than you can rhyme...
-
(rappers talking - inaudible)
-
I'm always Poppin', sockin', rockin'
puttin' a side the hip-hop
-
while the other MCs all stare...
-
Cause where I'm goin'
there ain't no stoppin'
-
- It's what you do.
- What can you do?
-
(rappers laughing and dancing)
-
Man, by the way, what's her name?
-
Hey her name is Pow-wow
with all the know how
-
who could rock it right here
and sock it now,
-
because I'm the one shook up but
all the party people will work their while
-
Well introduce to me to G.L.O.B.E
-
I got the funking harmony as you can see
-
My rhymes are so sweet
for little boy Keith
-
So get little Keith to show up with me
-
Just dance little Keith,
dance little Keith, dance...
-
Man that was back in the old days though,
beat-boy and all that stuff
-
Know what it's all about now?
-
There's talkin about puttin' aside hip-hop
-
Cause where we're going,
there ain't no stoppin
-
Now the style that we use
can hardly be measured
-
We're doin' it for the people
surely is a pleasure
-
We can rock away the sound of the
stormy weather.
-
We're 3 for all,
that means we are together
-
We're just too clever & never in our lives
-
Will we hear a rhyme good enough
for us to bite
-
So listen as we recite
-
It's Mr. Biggs, MC.Pow Wow, and Globe
-
We're just rockin' it up
-
Yeah, what else is so worthy
-
till you can't believe who are musical
-
and all the mikes we are so magical
-
We're playin' tricks on your mind
steppin' it back & forth
-
We're tellin' you to run
when you should walk
-
You know the style
that we use is incredible
-
For some people it is considered a miracle
-
It's a rap, a clap on its way to the top
and that's the peak of the chart
-
We'll beat the MCs but we're 3 and can
perceive high potential with the MC style
-
I will know when you're trying
hard to compete
-
You're making the same mistake
jumping off the pace that we create
-
So get on it Soulsonic coz we're the boss
and we've got the force, the backup,
-
the melody, the harmony and we're 3 MCs
and most definitely this is an MC tree
-
So people get out there gather round
-
Check out what we three MCs have found
-
It's a thing in the future
yet here in the present
-
not sour but sweet, nice, cozy & pleasant
-
Now lets all party. It's a chance to dance
with the rhythm of the African man
-
Ain't like that
-
(hip hop music)
-
(Narrator)
"He was looking for a perfect beat
-
It had to match what he felt in the street
-
Arthur Baker and Bam produced the sound
that zulus the Nation's feet"
-
(Hip-hop music)
-
1-2-3
-
♪ Since the Pre-historic ages
and the days of ancient Greece ♪
-
♪ All down through the Middle Ages
Planet Earth kept going through changes ♪
-
♪And then the Renaissance came
Times continued to change ♪
-
♪ Nothing stayed the same,
but there were always renegades ♪
-
♪ Like Chief Sitting Bull, Tom Paine ♪
-
♪ Dr. Martin Luther King, had no bull ♪
-
♪ Marco Polo, ♪
-
♪ Man that's so horrible ♪
-
♪ Malcolm X
They were renegades ♪
-
♪ Yes the renegades
of their time and age ♪
-
♪ So many renegades
Let's clap ♪ (clapping)
-
♪ The hand clap ♪
-
♪ The renegades ♪
-
Excellent!
-
Shoulda punched in the word LIKE
-
So you all go "LIKE" real strong
-
- Alright
- Go on!
-
♪ LIKE ♪
-
♪ In the electronic chants ♪
-
♪ Like - 1 2 3 ♪
-
Like - Yeah
-
Like!
(music and beats)
-
Like!
(music and beats)
-
Like!
(music and beats)
-
♪ Now renegades are people
with their own philosophy ♪
-
♪ They change the course of history ♪
-
♪ Everyday people like you and me,
you know! ♪
-
That's really right.
What the hell is going on here?
-
Come on tell me something
-
♪ Now renegades are people
with their own philosophy ♪
-
♪ They changed the course of history ♪
-
What is wrong?
-
We're coming in time man...
-
I can't hear you
-
♪ But come on Mr. Engineer
Get it right, get it right! ♪
-
♪ Come on Mr. Engineer
Get it right get it right! ♪
-
♪ Cause if you don't if you don't
if you don't and if you don't ♪
-
♪ Renegades are people
with their own philosophy ♪
-
♪ They changed the course of history ♪
-
♪ Everyday people like you and me ♪
-
♪ And the days of ancient Greece ♪
-
♪ All down through the Middle Ages ♪
-
♪ Planet Earth kept
going through changes ♪
-
♪ And then the Renaissance came ♪
-
♪ Times continued to change ♪
-
♪ Nothing stayed the same ♪
-
♪ There were always renegades ♪
-
♪ It's like this hey, Oh no hey ♪
-
♪ Dr. Martin Luther King, Payne n Bull ♪
-
♪ Marco Polo ♪
-
♪ Hey, doctor horrible! ♪
-
♪ Malcolm X
They were renegades ♪
-
♪ Yes the renegades
Of their time and age ♪
-
♪ So many renegades ♪
-
(Narrator)
"Years ago it was up on the roof
-
where duo whoppers sang
and drank 100 proof.
-
Today Bam and Biggs
are a part of the force
-
that rules and overlooks
the Bronx Concourse."
-
Near here in the Bronx, the Savage Skulls,
-
further down by Stephens Avenue
the Ghetto Brothers,
-
Black pearls - those boys man...
but that was alright.
-
They're still there man,
probably still doing the same old man...
-
Probably crazy stuff...
-
And our whole kingdom
Black Spade area savage space...
-
- Nobody come missing space area
- That was a good thing about it
-
We used to always go to jail
and nobody ever come over here
-
especially in Bronx river,
the home of gods...
-
Everybody messing with little Vietnam
-
with all the Black Spades
and Reapers was fun, empowered.
-
Then Immortals...
-
Look how different
Monroe looked though man
-
That school used to be all grassy
-
Now it's all a dust bowl
-
Yeah it looks wild now, critical...
-
As you get older
you get to see the beauty from up here
-
You can see that your town Bronx
is definitely number one
-
Number one...
-
Everybody talk about
Bronx is black and dirty and stinks...
-
Looking from here the Bronx is definitely
the most beautiful...
-
There are a lot of Zulu Nation men
in Monroe now...
-
Yeah lot of Zulu Nation in Monroe
in Stephens Avenue...
-
And then all these
housing development projects...
-
Soon the Zulu Nation will take over
the Bronx
-
The Bronx!
-
- Yeah!
- It's the Bronx in Monroe!
-
- Yeah!
- Is everybody in the house?
-
- Yeah!
- Amazing!
-
(Drumbeats and cheering)
-
Everybody say, say Zulu man, Zulu man!
-
A way for man to bridge the gap
-
Say Z-U-L-U
Everybody say
-
Zulu!
-
Z-U-L-U
Everybody say
-
Zulu!
-
What's the name of this Nation?
-
Zulus
-
Zulus
-
Who's gonna get on down?
-
Bambaata Bambaata
-
One more time!
-
What's the name of this Nation?
-
Zulus
-
Zulus
-
Who's gonna get on down?
-
Bambaata Bambaata
-
Could everybody sing Zulu Nation?
-
Zulus
-
Everybody sing Zulu Nation again!
-
Zulus
-
Everybody say THE
-
THE!
-
Say "Cosmic Force"
-
Cosmic Force!
-
Everybody say...
-
(Narrator) "Well that wraps it up for this
evening's edition of our musical mission
-
I'm Gary Bird inside the GBE.
-
Remember me next time
you're looking for the perfect beat.
-
Until tomorrow night remember
you can make it if you try
-
but keep your head to the sky."
-
♪ No matter how hard you try
you can't stop us now ♪
-
(music)
-
♪ No matter how hard you try
you can't stop us now ♪
-
♪ (Renegades of Funk playing) ♪
-
♪ Renegades of this atomic age ♪
-
♪ This atomic age for renegades ♪
-
♪ Renegades of this atomic age ♪
-
♪ This atomic age for renegades ♪
-
(music, beats)
-
♪ Pre-historic ages
and the days of ancient Greece ♪
-
♪ All down through the Middle Ages ♪
-
♪ Planet Earth kept
going through changes ♪
-
♪ Then the Renaissance came
Times continued to change ♪
-
♪ Nothing stayed the same,
but there were always renegades ♪
-
♪ Like Chief Sitting Bull, Tom Payne ♪
-
♪ Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X ♪
-
♪ They were renegades
Yes the renegades ♪
-
♪ Of their time and age ♪
-
♪ So many renegades ♪
-
♪ It's a hand clap, the renegade ♪
-
(music and beats)
-
♪ From a different solar system,
many many galaxies away ♪
-
♪ We are the force of another creation
A new musical revelation ♪
-
♪ And we're on this musical mission
to help the others listen ♪
-
♪ And groove from land to land
singin' electronic chants ♪
-
♪ - Like
- Astrology ♪
-
♪ - Like
- Technology ♪
-
♪ Like
- God's Creation ♪
-
♪ - Like the
- Zulu station ♪
-
♪ - Like
- To the nation ♪
-
♪ - Like
- Destroy all nations ♪
-
♪ - Like
- Militants ♪
-
♪ Like
- Down in sand ♪
-
♪ Like ♪
-
♪ Through changes,
nothing stays the same ♪
-
♪ Oh renegades ♪
-
(music)
-
♪ Are you up for more? ♪
-
(music)
-
♪ Now renegades are people
with their own philosophy ♪
-
♪ They change the course of history ♪
-
♪ Everyday people like you and me ♪
-
You know they have their secret notions ♪
-
♪ And time is endless motion ♪
-
♪ All people of the moderate ages
here in this twentieth century ♪
-
♪ You have to keep up in time
with the moderate time ♪
-
♪ A state of mind and a sense of pride ♪
-
♪ A renegade, yes a renegade ♪
-
♪ Of this time and age
So many renegades ♪
-
♪ Who's that ♪
-
♪ Now hand clap ♪
-
♪ The renegades ♪
-
(music)
-
♪ We're the renegades of funk
-
We're the renegades of funk
-
We're the renegades of funk
-
We're the renegades of funk
-
Yeah, Poppin sockin rockin
with a side of hip-hop
-
Where we're goin'
there ain't no stoppin'
-
Poppin sockin rockin
with a side of hip-hop
-
Where we're goin'
there ain't no stoppin'
-
Poppin sockin rockin
with a side of hip-hop
-
Coz where we're goin'
there ain't no stoppin'
-
Poppin sockin rockin
with a side of hip-hop
-
Coz where we're goin'
there ain't no stoppin' ♪
-
(music, beats)
-
♪ There was a time when our music
-
Was something called the Bay Street beat
-
People would gather from all around
-
To get down on the Bay sound
-
You had to be a renegade those days
-
To take a man on the dance floor
-
Like Afrika Bambattaa
and the Soulsonic Force
-
We're talking about Mr.B
Pow Wow, G-L-O-B-E
-
Was a renegade,
yes, a renegade of this time and age
-
So many renegades
What's that
-
It's a hand clap
-
The renegade ♪
-
(music and dancing)
-
♪ - Just jam sucker
- Jam sucker ♪
-
♪ - Say jam sucker
- Jam sucker ♪
-
♪ - Say groove, sucker
- Groove, sucker ♪
-
♪ - Say groove, sucker
- Groove, sucker ♪
-
♪ - Say dance, sucker
- Dance, sucker ♪
-
♪ - Say dance, sucker
- Dance, sucker ♪
-
♪ - Now move, sucker
- Move, sucker ♪
-
♪ - Now move, sucker
- Move, sucker ♪
-
(music)
-
Everybody say
-
♪ We're the renegades of funk ♪
-
♪ We're the renegades of funk ♪
-
♪ We're the renegades of funk ♪
-
♪ We're the renegades of funk ♪
-
♪ We're the renegades of funk ♪
-
♪ We're the renegades of funk ♪
-
♪ We're the renegades of funk ♪
-
♪ We're the renegades of funk ♪
-
(music)
-
♪ Shake that thing ♪
-
♪ That makes me swing ♪
-
♪ I got some great ♪
-
♪ He's a renegade of funk ♪
-
♪ Mr. Biggs
He's a renegade of funk ♪
-
♪ Bambaataa
He's a renegade of funk ♪
-
♪ Pow Wow
He's a renegade of funk ♪
-
♪ And MC Globe ♪