Melonious Thonk is series that covers various music-related content. Previously, I've explored various subgenres, the origin of certain genres, the history of a certain song, and more! For 18th edition of Melonious Thonk, I'll attempt to answer a specific question.

The other day I was listening to "Shut Up & Listen" on MSP Waves Radio hosted by @kodaxx (live every Wednesday, 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm UTC on the P.A.L. Discord). There was a brief discussion about the first commercial hip-hop song. That conversation inspired me to dig deeper into the history of hip hop again. The question I'm attempting to answer is:

What is the earliest rap song?

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Rapper's Delight

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^{"I said a hip hop, the hippie the hippie
To the hip hip hop and you don't stop
The rock it to the bang bang boogie
Say up jump the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat
(Wonder Mike, Rapper's Delight)}

During the show, we agreed that "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang (consisting of Big Bank Hank, Wonder Mike, and Master Gee) was the song that introduced hip hop to the world, which was released in September of 1979. "Rapper's Delight" producer Sylvia Robinson initially couldn't find any rappers to record on the song. By chance, each member had an opportunity to audition for Robinson -- Big Bank Hank auditioned in front of the pizza parlor where he was working and Master Gee auditioned in Robinson's car. Unable to select just one rapper, Robinson enlisted all three rappers into one group called The Sugarhill Gang.

During the early stages of rap music, there was no set song structure templates. So, these rappers recorded in a manner they were familiar with -- passing the microphone around like they did for hours at parties. After recording 19 minutes of a one take session, they managed to shorten it to 14 minutes 35 seconds by cutting out certain sections -- that's the album version. For the 12" vinyl version, the track was cut down to 6 minutes 30 seconds. And for the singles version, it was just under 4 minutes.

_{The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight (1979)}

Back to the point of the post. Although the world was introduced to hip hop through "Rapper's Delight", it wasn't the first rap record. Instead, it's classified as the first commercial hip hop record.

King Tim III

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On the b-side of the Fatback Band's funk disco album, Fatback XII, is a track called "King Tim III (Personality Jock)", released a few months before "Rapper's Delight".

Although, "King Tim III" is classified as funk and disco, it had that distinct element of rapping. Also known as emceeing, rapping is a rhythmic vocal delivery that incorporates rhymes and a rhythmic speech, usually performed with musical accompaniment. The art of rap consist of three fundamental components: flow (the rhythmic delivery), delivery (how the rhymes are expressed -- cadence and tone), and content (the message of the rhymes).

_{The Fatback Band - King Tim III (Personality Jock) (1979)
Rapping starts at 00:14}

During the birth of the hip hop culture in the late 1970s, Afrika Bambaataa, co-founder of the hip hop collective Universal Zulu Nation (the first hip hop organization), suggested four main pillars of hip hop that was widely adopted: DJing/turntablism, breakdancing, graffiti art, and rapping/emceeing. These four core elements set the basis of hip hop culture. But with progression and evolution, there are now additional elements of hip hop beyond the main four, such as beatboxing, fashion, language/slang, knowledge, etcetera.

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Fuck Afrika Bambaataa! That's right, I said it. Although he's regarded as the "The Godfather/Forefather of Hip Hop" and "Amen Ra of Hip Hop Culture", he was recently exposed to be pedophile for more than 40 years, allegedly. I will spare you the details of the vile and stomach-turning sexually abusive cult-like rituals he allegedly performed on under-aged boys -- disclosed by countless victims. And fuck KRS-One! On Bambaataa's foul lifestyle, KRS-One commented, “I really don’t give a fuck about all that!”

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Again, back to the point of the post. "King Tim III" is often regarded as the first hip hop rap song, but it is definitely not the first rap song. So, if "King Tim III" isn't the first rap song, then what is the first rap song?

Here Comes The Judge

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Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham was an entertainer that was best known as a comedian and singer. "Here Comes The Judge" was originally a phrase that Pigmeat coined during a routine in his comedy standup act, where he acts as a judge -- it was a mockery of the etiquette of formal courtrooms.

The routine became a hit, granting Pigmeat an opportunity to secure a recurring skit segment on a variety show. The phrase, "Here comes the judge", was embraced by pop culture and it became the leading catchphrase of that era. In 1968, he released "Here Comes The Judge", produced by Gene Barge aka Daddy G.

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_{Pigmeat Markham - Here Comes The Judge (1968)
Rapping starts at 00:15}

If you had a listen, it's evident why this song could be considered as the first rap record. However, producer Gene Barge stated that Pigmeat wasn't the first to do the rhythmic boastful dialogue. In fact, according to Gene, all the comedians during the 50s and 60s did this style of "rapping".

But is this song the first "rap" record?

Doin' The Jive

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In 1937, American big-bang musician and bandleader Glenn Miller released a series of songs that contained distinct rap-like segments, namely "Doin' The Jive", "The Lady's In Love With You", and "The Little Man Who Wasn't There".

But are these the earliest "rap" records?

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_{Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - Doin' The Jive (1937)
Rapping starts at 01:50}

_{Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - The Lady's In Love With You (1939)
Rapping starts at 01:00}

_{Glenn Miller and His Orchestra - The Little Man Who Wasn't There (1939)
Rapping starts at 01:05}

BARS !

Considering the genre fusion of music these days, these records could be a subgenre of hip hop in 2018. That said, these are probably not the earliest recording of "rap" songs. And we may never know, unless we have access to every early record that was recorded.

The question wasn't necessarily answered, but now you know about classic World War II "hip hop". Back when the chocolate chip was developed. Back when the bass guitar was invented. Back when Wizard of Oz first premiered. Only 30's kids will remember.