Old-school hip hop

Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music. It typically refers to music created around 1979. Old-school hip hop is said to have ended around 1984, due to changes in both rapping technique and the accompanying music and rhythms. The image, styles and sounds of old-school hip hop were exemplified by figures like Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Kool Herc, Treacherous Three, Funky Four Plus One, Kurtis Blow, The Sugarhill Gang, Melle Mel, Super-Wolf, West Street Mob Spoonie Gee, Kool Moe Dee, Busy Bee Starski, Lovebug Starski, The Cold Crush Brothers, Warp 9, T-Ski Valley, Grandmaster Caz, Doug E. Fresh, The Sequence, Jazzy Jay, Rock Steady Crew, and Fab Five Freddy. It is characterized by the simpler rapping techniques of the time and the general focus on party-related subject matter. The lyrics were a very important part of old-school rap songs. There were however, exceptions, such as Brother D's "How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise", and Kurtis Blow's "Hard Times" (both released in 1980), that explored socially relevant ideas. The release of The Message in 1982 by Duke Bootee (who did nearly half the rapping and the rest by Melle Mel) and Melle Mel, although released as by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, marked the arrival of hip hop as social commentary, making it possible for future artists like Public Enemy and N.W.A to create an identity based on socially conscious themes in later years. Old-school rappers are widely respected by current hip hop artists and fans, with many claiming they have contributed to the evolution of hip-hop.