Regular readers already know I loves the hip hop. Thinking of a topic for my Zany Charts at-bat, I began to wonder about the build up to hip hop chart success. I mean, the pre-history between, say, Debbie Harry fashion-rapping on “Rapture” in 1980 and before the 1986 cross-over success of “Walk This Way” (Run-D.M.C.) and the Beastie Boys’ Licensed To Ill. I’m talking about the five or six years after hip hop was already firmly rooted in the inner cities and when it spread into a wider national and international consciousness.

What were some of the key moments and trailblazing tracks that lead to rampant chart success in the 90s and Naughties? Not necessarily what were the best tracks (though most of these are undeniable classics) or what were the most successful within a slice of the American cultural pie. I’m talking about what were some of the keys that really launched hip hop to a wider audience when there were still industry insiders, commentatories, average joes actually saying, “This is just a passing fad.”

The first emcee to sign to a major label (Mercury), Kurtis Blow released “The Breaks”, his second single, in 1980. The song broke into the Billboard R&B Top 5, eventually went gold, and Blow’s appearance on Soul Train would be the first nationally televised performance by an emcee.

   Kurtis Blow – The Breaks

The Funky Four Plus One became the first hip hop group to appear before a national television audience, performing their Sugarhill classic “That’s The Joint” on the 1981 Valentine’s Day broadcast of Saturday Night Live hosted by none other than Debbie Harry.

   Funky Four Plus One – That’s The Joint

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five need no introduction and the 1982 single “The Message” is a big part of the reason why. Among the first hip hop tracks to speak to inner city life and problems, “The Message” peaked at #62 in the Billboard Hot 100 and has since been sampled many times over.

   Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five – The Message

Herbie Hancock and Grand Mixer D.ST’s “Rock It” and Kurtis Blow’s “Basketball” (off the 1984 Ego Trip) are the two earliest hip hop tracks I can remember. I wasn’t completely hooked just yet, but I clearly remember these as the start of my hip hop journey. “Rock It” would be the first solid hit to prominently feature serious wheels of steel.

   Herbie Hancock – Rock It (ft Grand Mixer D.ST)

Considering the style of Blow’s relatively popular “Basketball” in 1984, to hear “The Show” by Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew, featuring Slick Rick, in 1985 marked the sea change coming in hip hop. This was the dawn of the future.

   Doug E. Fresh – The Show (ft Ricky D a.k.a. Slick Rick)

And, if “The Show” was the dawn, then Eric B. & Rakim were the true morning of hip hop, blowing the doors off with “Eric B. is President” in 1986. This was the new benchmark by which hip hop albums and emcees would be measured. From there, there was no turning back for hip hop and its growing legions of fans.

   Eric B & Rakim – Eric B Is President