First Hip-Hop Single To Enter Billboard's Top 40 Chart
The history of hip hop
Hip-hop is a cultural movement that emerged in the United States during the 1970s. It began in the South Bronx in New York City, where DJs would play funk and soul records at block parties and other events. These DJs would use turntables to create new beats and rhythms by manipulating the records, and eventually, they started to add their own spoken word rhymes over the music. This was the birth of hip-hop music.
Hip hop in the 80s
During the 1980s, hip-hop music exploded in popularity, and it began to spread across the country and around the world. Artists like Run-DMC, LL Cool J, and Public Enemy became household names, and hip-hop culture began to influence fashion, art, and other aspects of popular culture.
The birth of Billboard
Billboard is a music industry publication that was founded in 1894. It originally focused on sheet music sales, but over time, it began to track other aspects of the music industry, including radio play and album sales. In the 1950s, Billboard began to publish a weekly chart that ranked the most popular songs in the country, and this chart became the definitive measure of success in the music industry.
Hip hop on Billboard
Despite its popularity, hip-hop music struggled to gain mainstream acceptance in the early days. It wasn't until 1979 that the first hip-hop single, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, cracked the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This was a major milestone for hip-hop music, and it helped to pave the way for other hip-hop artists to achieve mainstream success.
Hip hop in the 90s
The 1990s were a golden age for hip-hop music, with artists like Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., and Jay-Z dominating the charts. Hip-hop culture continued to expand and evolve during this decade, with new subgenres like gangsta rap and alternative hip-hop emerging.
Changes in the music industry
The music industry underwent a major shift in the early 2000s with the rise of digital music and online streaming. This had a significant impact on how music was created, distributed, and consumed, and it also changed the way that success was measured. Billboard adapted to these changes by incorporating digital streams and downloads into its charts, which helped to give hip-hop artists even more opportunities to achieve mainstream success.
Recent hip hop chart-toppers
In recent years, hip-hop music has continued to dominate the charts, with artists like Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Cardi B achieving massive success. In fact, in 2018, hip-hop accounted for more than a quarter of all music consumption in the United States, making it the most popular genre of music in the country.
Conclusion
The first hip-hop single to enter Billboard's top 40 chart was a major milestone for the genre, and it helped to pave the way for hip-hop music to achieve mainstream success. Since then, hip-hop has continued to evolve and dominate the charts, and it remains one of the most popular and influential genres of music in the world.