(June 27, 2023). In watching Sunday’s BET Awards (June 25) and its nearly 4-hour celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, it became immediately apparent that the network known for its Black entertainment programming was not going to allow itself to be upstaged by the glitz and glamour of the Grammys, whose earlier 50th anniversary celebration in February surprised millions of viewers for its, well, unexpected greatness.
It was after that 14-minute Grammy event that all eyes immediately turned to the BET Awards and the obvious question: what would or could they do to top it?
Black Entertainment Television, which was founded in 1980 and whose ascendancy largely tracks that of hip-hop itself, answered that question and more Sunday night. The network pulled out all the stops and paraded rapper after rapper on stage from nearly every era of Black culture’s most significant, most enduring genre of music.
From Sugar Hill Gang to Migos and everyone in between and after, hip-hop icons took the stage and, for the most part, did not disappoint. In just about every case, the artists who performed seemed to have near-unanimous approval from the crowd that filled the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and who were on their feet for most of the event, dancing and erupting in applause at every opportunity.
Indeed, Black culture and hip-hop now seemingly go hand in hand, despite all of hip-hop’s warts, folly and excesses. Or at least that’s what BET bets on each year as it celebrates “Culture’s Biggest Night” with an awards show that doesn’t need a 50th anniversary link to demonstrate its symbiotic relationship with hip-hop.
Still, with nearly all of its four hours devoted to this year’s celebration (I only counted two non-hip-hop moments: Best New Artist Coco Jones’ performance and the much-talked-about flub-up by Patti LaBelle in tribute to the late Tina Turner), and with nearly every facet of hip-hop represented on the stage Sunday night, there was (at least) one glaring omission: a sub-genre so instrumental to hip-hop’s early development that it should be mandatory listening for any true devotees of the genre.
Or at least it should get a mention in the many poetic tributes to hip-hop that these shows include and which purport to educate us on its rich history.
That sub-genre is electro-funk, or electro for short.
Folks of a certain age will know exactly what I speak of, while those who rely on a diet of milestone anniversary award show celebrations to get their old-school hip-hop knowledge will continue believing that hip-hop’s early mainstream commercialization segued directly from Sugar Hill Gang to Grandmaster Flash to Run-DMC, with a few other similar artists thrown in for good measure.
That latter group would be oblivious to the significant contributions of electro artists like Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force, Warp 9, Planet Patrol, Newcleus, the Jonzun Crew, Hashim, Egyptian Lover, Man Parrish, and many others who pioneered the form of music that would bring drum machines—specifically the Roland TR-808, whose rhythms presage the computerized trap beats so prevalent today–to prominence in the early ‘80s and shape hip-hop for decades to come.
The most significant electro-hip-hop song of the era was, of course, Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock,” which reached No 4 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (then known as Black Singles) and became an instant classic, joining “Rapper’s Delight,” “The Breaks,” and later “The Message” as part of hip-hop’s then-Big Four—four rap tunes that all peaked at No. 4 on the Black Singles chart—the genre’s high watermark at the time.
But “Planet Rock,” which also just missed the pop top 40 (No. 48) in a pre-Thriller pop music world where yacht rock ruled the day and euro-pop had yet to fully explode here in America, is only part of the electro-funk story.
Songs like Planet Patrol’s “Play At Your Own Risk,” Newcleus’ “Jam On It,” Egyptian Lover’s “Egypt, Egypt,” and Man Parrish’s “Hip Hop Be Bop” all were part of the mix and for a while represented hip-hop’s most popular art form.
In fact, it was so prevalent that even rap pioneers Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel got into the act with the electro singles “Scorpio” and “Message II (Survival),” respectively (both of those, along with “Planet Rock,” “Jam On It,” “Play At Your Own Risk” and others topped this blogger’s weekly Disco/Dance 12” chart between 1982-83).
Electro, with its futuristic instrumentation, vocoder-driven vocals (in those instances where vocals were used), lengthy breakbeats, and video-game or space-ship inspired themes, would be the sound of hip-hop between 1981-83, with ‘82 representing the sub-genre’s peak in popularity.
Bambaataa, whose “Planet Rock” was the seminal recording of the era, drew inspiration from German act Kraftwerk (whose “Trans-Europe Express” and “Numbers”/“Computer World 2” inform the melody and beat of “Planet Rock”).
Bambaataa, considered the Godfather of Hip-Hop by many, also gives credit to British techno innovator Gary Numan (of “Cars” fame here in America) and Japanese techno-pop group Yellow Magic Orchestra for pioneering musical styles that would later be melded into electro-funk. In fact, YMO became the first Asian act to perform on Don Cornelius’ Soul Train where they performed the instrumental cult classic “Computer Game.”
There are literally dozens of electro-funk songs—many of them hip-hop classics—that could easily fill a montage segment during these hip-hop tributes (I’ve included nearly 40 in the Spotify playlist linked above and below in this article).
But, sadly, the songs and their artists (and legendary producer Arthur Baker who worked closely with Bambaataa and other artists of the genre) are often excluded.
Perhaps one reason is that the hip-hop community is coming to terms with the genre’s pioneer Bambaataa, who in recent years has been under fire for alleged child molestation accusations and has been sued by at least one of his alleged victims.
For his part, Bambaataa has vehemently denied the claims levied by several men who claim the events occurred during the 1980s and ‘90s while they were young boys associated with the former Universal Zulu Nation leader. That organization, UZN, which Bambaataa formed to bring awareness to hip-hop culture and which promoted peace, unity and non-violence in the Black community, has since disassociated itself with the hip-hop pioneer.
Another issue is that Bambaataa has been on record disputing the widely recognized birthdate of hip-hop, claiming that it didn’t occur when DJ Kool Herc famously MC’d that “back to school jam” in the Bronx on August 11, 1973.
Instead, Bambaataa said in an interview with the Nardwuar Radio Show that hip-hop’s birthday was Nov. 12, 1974. He further explained that date was “when we decided to call this whole culture hip-hop. Hip-hop even goes further than that, but we decided to name it hip-hop as a culture, meaning with the b-boys, the b-girls, the MCs, the aerosol writers, graffiti artists and the DJs and that fifth element (the music) that holds it all together.”
Bambaataa did get a name-drop during this past Sunday’s BET Awards, and “Planet Rock” is often included among hip-hop’s early classics, with the iconic 1982 tune having come during the genre’s first ten years—whether you use August 11, 1973 or November 12, 1974 as its date of origin.
Still, “Planet Rock” is not the only part of electro-funk. And electro-funk is undeniably a part of hip-hop’s evolution, with the sub-genre having bridged the heights of popularity for hip-hop legends Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five and Run-DMC, both of which are now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Afrika Bambaataa, as one of hip-hop’s earliest pioneers, was once nominated for that honor himself (in 2007).
Given the controversy swirling around his personal life, I don’t expect that nomination will be repeated any time soon.
But, the sub-genre for which he was largely responsible in successfully promoting and which included so many other artists and unforgettable classics, should be (at least) included in the next 50th anniversary celebration of hip-hop, assuming there is one.
Especially if it’s one that lasts as long as BET’s did, one with a very healthy diet of trap, booty and p*ssy rap (not to mention that 45-minute tribute/celebration of rap icon Busta Rhymes on Sunday), and one which purports to celebrate nearly every aspect of hip-hop’s past.
And that should include its very futuristic past.
DJRob
DJRob (he/him/his), who created a personal weeklyTop-20 twelve-inch disco singles chart from 1981-84 (and still has all of them), is a freelance music blogger from somewhere on the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, pop, rock and (sometimes) country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on Twitter at @djrobblog.
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Thank you for this! Hip Hop has cliques. Rather than get into who really controls the narrative, I’ll just say it was missed like a friend at a class reunion. Not only was electro-funk missed, but also the native tongues movement. I hold the power of censorship in my hand…I changed the Channel 💯. May I add that a tribute to the legendary Tina Turner by the legendary Patti LaBelle seemed out of place. Being this was focused as a 50 year anniversary to Hip Hop, it felt out of place -like a struggle plate. Bring back the Source Awards for Hip Hop, “petty” beefs (Busta) and all. I guess beefs no longer sell records/a marketing gimmick perhaps.
Very good points, Carlous! Yeah, for as extra and “inclusive” as those awards were, they missed on so many levels.