HQRAPMP3s: Pre-1980

[TheBigSleep]

To celebrate a full decade at the I have decided to unleash my largest impossible undertaking yet. A High Quality Record Archival Project of (preferably) MP3s.

A lot of us, probably the majority, first visited this site at least initially, to discuss and trade music. Over the years we have certainly amassed a lot of the same stuff, but also, perhaps at times unknowingly, hold onto some more unique rips as well.

The purposes of this project are threefold:

To fill gaps in your collection you've been meaning to add.

To potentially discover material new to you that you weren't actively seeking out.

To increase the quality of the MP3s that you already have stored somewhere (on at least one drive).

As with all things group / forum-related, the outcome of this could at least theoretically be tremendously helpful or it could all go nowhere, depending on how active people in the community want to be.

It also can tell us to some degree what the internet has yet to offer in the best possible quality, so we can better see what's missing or sounds sub-par.

With the exception of this first starter thread, each thread will correspond to a single year. By limiting each thread to the year the music was recorded and / or released it gives us somewhere to start, gives you some boundaries as to not be completely overwhelming, and yet gives everybody the freedom within that time constraint to bring up whatever hip hop related project they would like, be it album, EP, mixtape, bootleg, single, compilation, anthology, live show, radio show, music video, book, documentary, etc.

How to Help Out:

Find something that either hasn't been mentioned at all in the list below, that you have a noticeably different edition of, or that you have in better quality – and offer it up in the thread.

To find something, go to the drive or drives where your music is located and perform a search for the year that corresponds with the current HQRAPMP3s thread. For example, search 1979.

Or possibly do just a general search through your computer / hip hop music folder using terms like *.mp3 or *.flac, then view and sort by the year in the detailed view of the search results. That way everything you have will be grouped chronologically and you can narrow in on a particular section.

Of course the best possible option is if you have physical copies of, and can personally rip in [320], what the rest of us have been missing. If necessary, I'll gladly convert FLAC, WAV or other lossless files to [320] when possible.

Just be clear which project you're referring to when naming something you're looking for, or are offering. And when offering, be sure to note the quality of what you have right alongside the title.

Obviously you can tell I want to be as completeist as possible for everyone's sake here, so please feel free to offer from your own collection or provide upgrades for material even if you no longer like listening to that particular stuff yourself.

Personally I'm going to be sorting and tagging and finding cover art as I go through, but however you'd like to give back and contribute while also gathering new files for yourself would be appreciated.

As I said, this first go 'round will be a little different, comprised of proto-rap, early rap, and even simply heavy influences to the genre, anytime before the start of the eighties. From whatever you consider the earliest precursor to be, up through the year that spawned the official first rap single.

Here's what I have to offer (Year Recorded – Title of Project {Year Released and / or Edition} [Quality]):

Comps

1939 – Roots of Rap, The {1996} [VBR]
1979 – Sigma '79 {2011} [V0]

Ego Trip

1979 – Ego Trip's Hip Hop's Greatest Singles '79 {1999} [320]

Rub, The

1979 – Hip Hop History Volume I: 1979 {Mixed by DJ Ayres in 2007} [128]

East

New Jersey

Sugarhill Gang

1979 – ABC Du Rap {1983 French Reissue} [192]
1979 – Rapper's Delight [320]
1979 – Rapper's Delight {7”} [320]

New York

Bronx, The

Afrika Bambaataa / Soulsonic Force

1979 – Live [192]

Cold Crush Brothers / Grandmaster Caz

1979 – Live at South Bronx High School w/ Whipper Whip & Dota Rock [128]
1979 – Live at the Outside Jam w/ The Notorious Two, DJ Dr. Pepper, & MC DJ Whitehead [128]

Funky Four Plus One More / Lil Rodney Cee

1977 – Live at the Block Party w/ DJ Stevie Steve & Lil Shotgun [256]
1979 – Live at the Bronx River [320]
1979 – Rappin' and Rockin' the House [320]

Gil Scott-Heron

1970 – Small Talk at 125th and Lenox [320]
1971 – Pieces of a Man [320]
1974 – Revolution Will Not Be Televised, The [320]
1974 – Winter in America w/ Brian Jackson [320]
1975 – From South Africa to South Carolina w/ Brian Jackson [320]
1976 – It's Your World w/ Brian Jackson [320]
1976 – Live at The Village Gate [320]
1977 – Bridges [320]
1977-08-20 – Live at Bottom Line on August 20th w/ Brian Jackson [320]
1978-01-16 – Live in Berkeley, CA on January 16th w/ The Midnight Band [320]
1978 – Secrets w/ Brian Jackson [320]

Grand Wizard Theodore / L Brothers, The

1978 – Live at Bronx River Center vs. The Herculords w/ The L Brothers [VBR]
1978 – Live at Galaxy 2000 vs. The Herculords w/ The L Brothers [192]
1979 – Live at 123 Park w/ Busy Bee Starski [192]
1979 – Live on 3rd Avenue Ballroom w/ Mean Gene [192]

Grandmaster Flash / Furious Five, The

1978 – Live at Bronx Science w/ The Four MCs [192]
1978 – Live at The Jackson Projects w/ The Four MCs [192]
1978-12-23 – Live at Audubon Ballroom on December 23rd w/ The Four MCs [320]
1979 – Live at T-Connection w/ DJ Sinbad, Kidd Creole, & Kool Kyle [192]
1979 – Live at T-Connection w/ The Furious Five, Jimmy D, Kool Kyle, & DJ Sinbad [128]
1979 – Live at the School in Queens [128]
1979 – Live at Randy's w/ Kurtis Blow [320]
1979 – Superappin' w/ The Furious Five [320]
1979 – We Rap More Mellow (as The Younger Generation) [192]

Jazzy 4 MCs

1979 – MC Rock [320]

Lovebug Starski / Little Starsky

1979 – Gangster Rock [320]

Mercedes Ladies, The

1979 – Live at T-Connection [192]

Uno

1979 – Boogie Beat [128]

Wackies Disco Rock Band

1979 – Wack Rap [320]

Zulu Nation

1979 – Live at 123 Park w/ Jazzy Jay, Hutch Hutch, & Pow Wow [320]
1979 – Live at an Outdoor Jam w/ Lisa Lee, Rahiem, & Pow Wow [160]

Brooklyn

DJ Grandmaster Flowers

1979 – Brooklyn Park Jam [192]

Neil B

1979 – Body Rock [192]

Central

Fatback Band, The

1978 – King Tim III (Personality Jock) {1979} [192]

Harlem

David Lampell

1979 – I Ran Iran [128]

Dr. Love & Sister Love

1979 – Doctor Love & Sister Love Rap (Part I) [192]

Eddie Cheba

1979 – Lookin' Good (Shake Your Body) [192]

Funky Constellation

1979 – Street Talk (Madame Rapper) [V2]

Joe Bataan

1979 – Rap-O Clap-O [320]
1979 – Rap-O Clap-O / El Rap-O Clap-O [320]

Kool Moe Dee / Treacherous Three

1978 – 1978 With DJ Kev Ski [256]

Kurtis Blow

1979 – Christmas Rappin' [320]

Lady D

1979 – Lady D / Nu Sounds [VBR]

Last Poets, The / Lightnin' Rod

1969 – Doriella Du Fontaine {1984} [320]
1970 – Last Poets, The [320]
1971 – This is Madness [320]
1973 – Hustlers' Convention [320]
1977 – Delights of the Garden [320]

Original Last Poets, The

1968 – Right On! {1971} [320]

Paulette Winley & Tanya Winley

1979 – Rhymin' and Rappin' / Cymande's Bra [192]
1979 – Rhymin' and Rappin' / Watch Dog [128]

Ron Hunt

1979 – Spiderap [320]

Sicle Cell & Rhapazooty

1979 – Rhapazooty in Blue [320]

Spoonie Gee

1979 – Spoonin' Rap [192]

Steve Gordon & The Kosher Five

1979 – Take My Rap... Please [128]

Queens

DJ Divine of The Infinity Machine

1979 – Queens' Armory Jam / Live Convention '79 w/ DJ Hollywood, Eddie Cheba, Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, & Kurtis Blow {2008}
[320]

Willie Wood & Willie Wood Crew

1979 – Willie Rap [320]

Pennsylvania

Dr. Superman

1979 – Can You Do It? (Superman) w/ Lady Sweet [192]

Jocko

1979 – Rhythm Talk [192]

Lady B

1979 – To the Beat Y'All [320]

Washington D.C.

Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers

1979 – Bustin' Loose [320]

Skull Snaps

1973 – Skull Snaps {2005 Reissue} [320]

Midwest

Missouri

Bob James

1974 – One [320]
1975 – Two [320]
1976 – Three [320]
1977 – BJ4 [320]

SoCal

Beverly Hills

Incredible Bongo Band, The

1974 – Bongo Rock {2006} [320]

Los Angeles

Watts Prophets, The / Black Voices, The

1969 – On the Streets in Watts [320]
1971 – Rappin' Black in a White World [320]

South, The

Georgia

Blowfly

1973 – At the Movies [V1]
1973 – Butterfly [320]
1973 – Weird World of Blowfly, The [320]
1974 – Blowfly on TV [192]
1975 – Zodiac Blowfly {2005 Reissue} [320]
1976 – Oldies But Goodies [128]
1978 – Blowfly's Disco Party {2016 Reissue} [320]

Mississippi

Freedom

1979 – Farther Than Imagination {2009 Reissue} [320]

North Carolina

Pigmeat Markham

1968 – Here Come the Judge [320]

South Carolina

Sequence, The

1979 – Funk You Up [320]

Worldwide

Canada

Mr. Q

1979 – DJ Style [192]

Jamaica

Xanadu

1979 – Rapper's Delight / Rocker's Choice w/ Sweet Lady [192]

UK

Cymande

1972 – Cymande [320]

Ian Dury & The Blockheads

1979 – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick [320]
1979 – Reasons to Be Cheerful (Part Three) [V2]

[TheBigSleep]

Events:

August 11th, 1973 – DJ Kool Herc throws a party, retroactively seen as the birth of hip hop.
November 12th, 1973 – The Universal Zulu Nation is formed.
1975 – DJ Grand Wizard Theodore invents the scratch.
1976 – Bambaataa DJ battles against Disco King Mario.
1977 – The Black Messengers / Mechanical Device win on The Gong Show.
July of 1977 – The Rock Steady Crew first begins.
July 13th, 1977 – A New York City blackout allowed poor kids to loot DJ equipment, spawning new crews that soon sprung up.
1979 – Mr. Magic's Rap Attack start airing on Saturday nights on WHBI out of New Jersey.
March 25th, 1979 – The Fatback Band's King Tim III (Personality Jock) is released.
July of 1979 – Bunny Lee (Jacqueline Marrero) of The Bronx Girls / Rock Steady Crew is killed.
August 2nd, 1979 – Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight is recorded.
September 16th, 1979 – Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight is released.

Docs On This Era:

1968 – Right On! {1971}
1976 – The New York Graffiti Experience {2017}
1976 – Watching My Name Go By
1977 – NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell {2007}
1977 – Simpson Street {1979}
1979 – 80 Blocks From Tiffany's
1979 – Flyin' Cut Sleeves {1993}
1979 – From Mambo to Hip Hop {2006}
1979 – Once Upon a Time in New York {2007}

Films From This Era:

1970 – Cotton Comes to Harlem
1971 – Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
1971 – Shaft
1972 – The Godfather
1972 – Super Fly
1972 – Slaughter
1972 – The Harder They Come
1972 – Trouble Man
1972 – Across 110th Street
1973 – Black Caesar
1973 – Tian Xia Di Yi Quan (Five Fingers of Death)
1973 – The Mack
1973 – Coffy
1973 – Cleopatra Jones
1973 – Gordon's War
1973 – Detroit 9000
1973 – Enter the Dragon
1973 – The Spook Who Sat By the Door
1974 – Willie Dynamite
1974 – Black Belt Jones
1974 – Truck Turner
1974 – Three the Hard Way
1974 – The Education of Sonny Carson
1975 – Boss Nigger
1975 – Dolemite
1975 – Cornbread, Earl, and Me
1975 – Cooley High
1975 – Bucktown
1976 – J.D.'s Revenge
1976 – Car Wash
1978 – A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich
1979 – The Warriors
1979 – The Wanderers
1979 – Penitentiary

[step one]

Looks interesting man. Definitely an ambitious project.

Sure i can contribute some stuff but might need some pointers on where to start!

[TheBigSleep]

Hey step, thanks man. It's daunting for sure, but should also be beneficial. 1980 will be more self contained and I think it'll all come into focus as it rolls forward, this first one is somewhat nebulous in its concept, since it doesn't have a real start date and also includes non-rap music.

Basically if there's anything you see that's ripped in less than [320] (seen in red and orange) that you have a better rip of and / or if there's anything else rap related you wanna add. To start I literally just searched through my computer for seventies rap year by year (...1977, 1978, 1979). Feel free to request something as well.

All I'm really trying to do is pool information and resources to reflect the best possible digital copies available by asking if you want something and / or got something new to add.

I was actually thinking about emailing or somehow otherwise getting a hold of Dutch, since I know he also has more from this time frame.

[djfilthyrich]

Looks like a crazy project, BigSleep! I just went down your list, and unfortunately I don't have any of the tracks mentioned, nor do I really have any hip hop from the 70's (other than Sugarhill Gang). Good luck on this though. If I do come across anything during my blog searches, I'll pass it along to you

[TheBigSleep]

Yeah I doubt anyone here's favorite year of rap music is '79 but I had to start somewhere, so might as well go back, way back, back into time. It'll get more interesting and also borderline unmanageable later on in the eighties as we see the genre build. Thanks for checkin' and for keepin' an eye out.

[step one]

yeah, looking through my folders and vinyl I don't really have anything pre 1980 aside from the obvious joints.

I suppose it depends if you want to include breaks but then it becomes a whole different thing. The UBB comps would be good to have in there though - not sure if they've ever been compiled digitally? It would be hard to find vinyl copies without cue burn but think all the tracks would be available in CDQ.

[TheBigSleep]

All good, I didn't either until I was preparing for this. And as it goes on there'll be more to do and talk about since it'll obviously start to cover a lot more material, plus at a certain point there's no way I could cover / have access to everything myself. It's admittedly a little boring / "historical only" type listening for me personally during this period but I didn't wanna just jump to the "fun stuff" if the whole point here was to be comprehensive.

Great thing to bring up, exactly the kind of discussion I'm trying to inspire here. I actually have all twenty five of the UBB comps (but vinyl rips, not compiled, and in [V0] rather than [320], though I may be able to find and get at least upgrades to [320] perhaps, not sure about the cue burn but you're likely right there I'm guessin'). They will appear in the upcoming list for '83, because the way I tag comp folders is by the most recent song recorded from the bunch. And then in the document I have I note they stopped being actually released after the twenty fifth volume in '91 with the {} brackets, so just for reference it looks like this in the comps section of my overall master list: 1983 – Ultimate Breaks & Beats Vol. I-XXV {1991} [V0] whereas the actual folder itself just reads 1983 – Ultimate Breaks & Beats Vol. I-XXV [1991]. Not that any of that matters but I'm even down to discuss tagging preferences apparently.

So yeah, good question and the short(er) answer is yes, I'm open to break compilations being included, as they are closely associated with this music and era. But I agree it shouldn't be the focus, and the UBB comps (with maybe a couple other additions if need be) should suffice.

[Fritz]

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Live-Co ... ase/884093" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Live-Co ... se/1532108" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www58.zippyshare.com/v/ijsIHzjq/file.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.discogs.com/Various-NYC-Liv ... se/1341835" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
year 1979
https://www58.zippyshare.com/v/yyCjkg3F/file.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Random singles from 1979 (source bustthefacts I think)
https://www58.zippyshare.com/v/se4ltbMl/file.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[TheBigSleep]

Whoa, the first real contribution, thanks man. Lemme know if you have any requests Fritz.

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Live-Co ... ase/884093

"Live Convention '77 - '79 (Golden Reaal) is known to be a hoax. The project was created by two people from Amsterdam. It was made by combining several old hip hop live tapes that have no connection with each other. Kenny Wilson does not exist, the interview is made up too. Golden Reaal is actually the name of the neighborhood in Amsterdam where they both lived, Gouden Reaal. Gouden is Dutch for golden. So it's fake. It was made between 2003 and 2008, not in the late seventies. The source for this info, is myself. I knew both these guys, they told me about this. I saw the first copies of the CDs at their house."

Source. Still a worthwhile listen, but it's not from that far back so I didn't include it here. Not exactly sure where to put it, it's an odd case. If anyone has thoughts, I'm all ears. For an alternate link, it's also as of now still up on IRISH_CRAIG's blog, same FTD [V2] scene release rip you've provided here though.

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Live-Co ... se/1532108

Don't know I forgot to include this one, maybe because it's the only thing outta Queens this early. Here's a [320] upgrade for that FTD [V2] scene release.

DJ Divine of The Infinity Machine

1979 – Queens' Armory Jam / Live Convention '79 w/ DJ Hollywood, Eddie Cheba, Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, & Kurtis Blow {2008}
[320]

https://www.discogs.com/Various-NYC-Liv ... se/1341835

Zulu Nation

1979 – Live at 123 Park w/ Jazzy Jay, Hutch Hutch, & Pow Wow [320]

Same rip I have, the [320] from the NYC Live Throw Down MP3 DVD. Thanks for postin' it though for those who don't have it.

Random singles from 1979. (Source: bustthefacts I think.)

Uno

1979 – Boogie Beat [128]

David Lampell

1979 – I Ran Iran [128]

Dr. Love & Sister Love

1979 – Doctor Love & Sister Love Rap (Part I) [192]

Eddie Cheba

1979 – Lookin' Good (Shake Your Body) [192]

Lady D

1979 – Lady D / Nu Sounds [VBR]

Steve Gordon & The Kosher Five

1979 – Take My Rap... Please [128]

Willie Wood & Willie Wood Crew

1979 – Willie Rap [320]

Mr. Q

1979 – DJ Style [192]

Xanadu

1979 – Rapper's Delight / Rocker's Choice w/ Sweet Lady [192]

Same rips. Also Mr. Magic's Rapping With Mr. Magic in [192] and Family Four's Rap Attack in [160], even though those're actually 1980.

Dr. Superman

1979 – Can You Do It? (Superman) w/ Lady Sweet [128]

Thank you for the upgrade from [128] to [192].

Funky Four Plus One More

1979 – Rappin' and Rockin' the House [320]

So the copy I have of this is the one that has Version A and Version B rather than the instrumental on the B-side which is the [192] copy you have provided. So here's the other version of that.

Upon further review, the one you had with the instrumental actually isn't the instrumental, it's the same as the one I have with Version A and Version B, just mislabeled and lower quality.

Paulette Winley and Tanya Winley

1979 – Rhymin' and Rappin' / Cymande's Bra [192]

And here's this with Cymande on the flip rather than the [128] with their sister Ann.

Sugarhill Gang

1979 – Rapper's Delight {7”} [320]

Grandmaster Flash / Furious Five, The

1979 – Superappin' w/ The Furious Five [320]

Jazzy 4 MCs

1979 – MC Rock [320]

Kurtis Blow

1979 – Christmas Rappin' [320]

Ron Hunt

1979 – Spiderap [320]

Lady B

1979 – To the Beat Y'All [320]

Plus these rips I have in [320] and from what you've provided it looks like you don't, so here's those as well.

[Fritz]

Thanks for all the knowledge & effort sorting the stuff TheBigSleep, never knew that Live Convention was a hoax!

[TheBigSleep]

Hey, thank you. I'd been all talk up until you decided to be the make it happen cap'n and start us off here.

For sure dude, I think there was a thread discussing it on DWG at some point as well. Fools a lot of people. Like I said, still worth checkin' out for those who haven't, but it's more of a modern (or I guess decade old now) mixtape tribute to the era apparently. They did a good job with the audio quality and creating a convincing backstory but then threw in snippets of dialogue from 80 Blocks From Tiffany's and The Warriors for some reason.

[TheBigSleep]

I'm ready to start the eighties with the HQRAPMP3s: 1980 thread. (Which, by the way, is where I decided to put that Live Convention '77-'79 {2007} [V2] rip, at least for now 'til I think of somewhere better.)

But don't think that means I'm done with this thread or checkin' for seventies rap, on the contrary. I've been slowing updating the first post in this thread when I find additions and / or upgrades, so check back periodically if you're interested in that.

For content, here's a couple more events from this embryonic decade. Perhaps the first article on (a then-unnamed) hip hop culture from Billboard on July 1st, 1978:



And from later that year, on October 14th, here's Gil Scott-Heron performing Angel Dust on Soul Train.

[Sigma]

I've got a few CD compilations and remastered albums with some of the tracks mentioned in this thread on them. I'll have to go through them, but here's a handful of FLACs for now: -

The Sequence - Funk You Up (12" Version)
Willie Wood & Willie Wood Crew - Willie Rap
The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight (Long Version)
Neil "B" - Body Rock
Fatback - King Tim III (Personality Jock)
Kurtis Blow - Christmas Rappin'

They're all properly tagged with album art.

[TheBigSleep]

Thanks Sigma, I've been talking about full rips but single tracks are appreciated as well.

Do you happen to have your '79 mix in 320 or lossless?