[Verse 1]
It all was started in the Bronx in 1973
By DJ Kool Herc: the originator; the first
The birth of Hip-Hop - revolutionary
The development of Hip-Hop - evolutionary
People started to rap on the track instead of using a beat
The outcome: people danced and moved their feet
As simple as a nursery rhyme
At the time there were only cursory lines
Soon it was developed, embellished and relished
The sound of the music, the rhythm of the MC
Ensuring that a dance floor would never be found empty
B-boys and b-girls all across the world, hip-hop unfurled
Every word went from being heard to listened
This made people aware of what they envisioned
Its vision: to increase its reality and popularity
What it would result in - a proper salary
The vision was met and kept as it swept
Throughout the East Coast, it would keep most
Of the original qualities
The four elements of Hip-Hop: oral, aural, physical and visual
Oral is the rapping, expressing what's happening
Whereas aural is the DJing, the playing of various records
Next towards physical, the b-boy
Spectators spectated what was debated, chanting
Where people would have competitions involving freestyle dancing
And finally, visual
The art and craft of the culture
Writing on the walls, known as graffiti
The free spirit of the people could never be defeated
Hip-Hop started to gain mainstream recognition for its use of slang
When Rapper's Delight was released by The Sugarhill Gang
The first cla**ic in Hip-Hop
Nothing could make it stop
The Message came in ‘82 - the same year as Rapture, it entered the mainstream
The main theme was pop but it's still considered Hip-Hop
Planet Rock was dropped in the same year and was a ma**ive success; people didn't know what would be next
Mainly though, they couldn't Live Without their Radio
The late 80's was crazy - just like Jingling Baby
Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys Were Together Forever in ‘87
N.W.A stepped on the scene with their revolutionary album
They were named the world's most dangerous group, how come?
Because their lyrics were explicit with vivid pictures of the ghetto
The kind that the government would never want anyone to view
Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh came out for The Show with the Get Fresh Crew
Boogie Down Productions entered to Stop the Violence
Eric B. & Rakim showed defiance
They were a triumph, with no compliance
And dropping the science
With lyrics full of metaphors, multisyllabic and internal rhyming schemes
The likes of which had never been seen
Big Daddy Kane was soon on the scene
Releasing Long Live the Kane in ‘88; a year later he'd become the Smooth Operator
DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince had a Nightmare On their Street
Whilst the Juice Crew came through with the Symphony
EPMD gave us history to witness - when they released their debut album: Strictly Business
They decided to go with Funk rather than a rumble
The same time that Jungle Brothers came Straight Out the Jungle
The decade was coming to a close, but not before Queen Latifah came in with the Pro's featuring Daddy-O
The same year she collaborated on Buddy by De La Soul
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo were far from solo with the Road to the Riches
Their collaborative album wasn't religious; rather more ambitious than malicious
And so the first full decade of hip-hop had come to an end
Now it was the start of the almighty 90's what might just be
The best era in hip-hop history
Public Enemy came back empowered with Fight the Power; 2 years later than Bring the Noise
Hip-Hop was poised, The Golden Age of hip-hop was coming to an end
But not before A Tribe Called Quest entered the stage with People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
Unlike the Wu, it didn't Bring Da Ruckus by blowing up his prism
The same year Cypress Hill released Insane in the Brain
But they didn't come to Bring the Pain
Back when Ice Cube was asking people Who's the Mack?
Are they All Black or known to catch wreck on any ca**ette deck?
Like the Inspectah, you best Protect Ya Neck
When you step through to the Brooklyn Zoo
U-God's Hip-Hop can rock and shock the nation like the emancipation proclamation
Just like hate that makes disgrace to races which Changes and defaces a nation
Dr. Dre released his first solo album The Chronic
A year before Gin and Tonic and Slam by Onyx
Das EFX were the manufacturer of their own style; nonsensical lines with a fast-paced flow
One year on from the formation of d**h Row
Naughty by Nature released their self-titled debut and let everyone know they were down with O.P.P
And soon KRS-One was bringing the Sound of Da Police
Ghostface k**ah demonstrated nobody could get iller on Da Mystery of Chessboxin'
The next option released a year later, Nas jumped into the game with Illmatic; a countless cla**ic, on the path to greater
And Pharoahe Monch woke up with a mathematic of an erratic rap
2Pac then let everyone know that he was trapped
Meanwhile Scarface was checking his telephone for taps
Jay-Z came in with Reasonable Doubt
It was no seasonable drought
LL Cool J said Mama Said Knock You Out
On the west it was all G-Funk with the P-Funk
When Warren G and Nate Dogg told you to Regulate
And a year later Prodigy said his gun shots will make you levitate
The Notorious B.I.G. was Ready to Die in ‘94
But not before Coolio was telling us about the Gangsta's Paradise
Redman told us to: press rewind if I haven't blown your mind
Now around this time Hip-Hop started to spread further
With the mid-west on the scene introducing it's team
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony bringing the originality; harmonic, melodic lyrics delivered faster than Cyrix
The same state where the Geto Boys originate
When Common Sense Used to Love H.E.R were the times that rhymes were brought to Chicago
Next to Detroit to exploit Eminem; he released Infinite with no used musical instruments
Black Star kept the Jazz
Gang Starr added religion with Elijah Shabazz
The Roots came in: out of Philadelphia with Organix
Far from a panic or manic, it was easy to manage
Then a year later an Atlantic duo came with Southernplaylisticadillacmuzik
They were talented, but they didn't abuse it
Instead, they showed America just what the South were using
Lauryn Hill and the Fugees were Ready or Not
4 years after C.L. Smooth and Pete Rock's
Mecca and the Soul Brother
Big Pun came in much rougher and tougher
When he became the Dream Shatterer, team batterer
The underground started to gain more awareness in 1999
When Calm Before the Storm was released by Tech N9ne
A few months before, another storm was caused with a boom when Operation: Doomsday was released by MF Doom