1. The Golden Age of Hip-Hop Gets A Grammy Slapdown
The year was 1988. And in this day and age, where everything is auto-ingestive and Auto-Tuned to death, it’s hard to appreciate that this was the year of the following albums and songs: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. Straight Outta Compton. The Great Adventures of Slick Rick. By All Means Necessary. Critical Beatdown. Long Live the Kane. Straight Out the Jungle. Life Is … Too $hort. Act a Fool. Goin Off. Tougher than Leather. Follow The Leader. Strictly Business. Power. “Talkin All That Jazz.” “Top Billin.” “The Symphony.” “Plug Tunin.” “The Vapors.” “The 900 Number.” “Caught Up (Remix).” “Going Back to Cali.” “Road to the Riches.” “Posse on Broadway.” “Push It.” “Supersonic.”
That lineup alone was enough to galvanize Hip-Hop into the pop culture zeitgeist.
And how did the Grammys celebrate this in 1988?
By awarding the Best Rap Performance trophy to this song:
I mean…FAM.
Bernadette Giacomazzo invites you to talk to her on her website, www.bernadettegiacomazzo.com, and on her Twitter at @berngiacomazzo.
