Hip Hop History Month #1

In 1981, one year after Rappers Delight really took off, Duffy Hooks III and Jerry Hooks Sr. launched the FIRST West Coast rap label, called Rappers Rapp Records, founded in Los Angeles, CA. They released The Gigolo Rap, by Captain Rapp & Disco Daddy, who is regarded as the FIRST rapper on the west coast. Let's get it!

Disco Daddy was also a DJ who rhymed from 1976-1979 at a nightclub on Adams & Crenshaw. When he auditioned for the gig, he threw little rhymes into his mix which is what garnered their attention. He was hired on the spot. Now he needed a name. Since he just got a job as a DJ playing disco, and his girl was expecting a baby, he decided to go with "Disco Daddy".

He was still primarily a DJ; that is, until he heard Rappers Delight in 1979. It was at that point, he said "I CAN DO THAT!!" So he quit his job as a DJ. He was already known in LA as the number one DJ at The Showcase and The Workshop Disco (there were only 2 clubs that were teenage clubs in LA and he was a DJ at both of them). It should also be noted, LA was much different than New York. Out here, You couldn't do park jams unless you had a permit. We didn't develop the same way. And that goes for a few elements (which will get discussed later on this month).

The feeling in 1979 was that it was gonna fade out, yes there were people trying, but at that time there wasn't anyone who REALLY wanted to seriously go into the studio and record rap records. On a personal note, years later when I started rapping, I was the first one at my school, for at least a couple of years.

Anyway, people were looking at rap from the outside looking in, saying, “Is this gonna be here next year?” “Should I invest money into this a record like this?”....”or even put a group together?” And putting groups together back then to do that type of music was not heard of because naturally, there weren't many people doing it. It took a while for the record to filter into the consciousness of young people then they start writing their own raps, that was a period of transition from "lovin R&B" to getting into rap. You couldn't walk through the streets or clubs and find a couple of rappers like you could today. It took a year or two for that to happen, BUT it did.

Disco Daddy had to invent alot of stuff himself. Up until Kurtis Blow saying "put your hands in the air" there were no standard lines that everybody used at the time, nor were there solo rappers around at that time. If you were gonna make a rap record you usually hard to get a group with a DJ.... they didn't have your "Grandmaster Cazes" or single rappers on stage like in New York. Disco Daddy was our "Grandmaster Caz". He was the first rapper anybody actually ever saw. Yet his show got popular. It was so popular, he only did 2-3 minute sets and the club owner would pay him $50 and tell him to "come back". He would go to 3-4 clubs on Friday and Saturday night do 2-3 minute sets.... and TURN THE PLACE OUT!! From 79-81 that was the growth period for Disco Daddy. When people saw him preform they were standing around asking themselves...”are we supposed to dance or are we supposed to just watch"?

Here's where things get interesting. In 1981, there was a rap contest, in conjunction with a radio station KPFJ. Since the music hadn't disappeared, Rap was growing on the East Coast and they wanted to see if anyone would come out for two unknown cats. That was the first time that people got to see a rap battle on the west coast. Disco Daddy rapped for two straight years from '79 to '81 before he entered the 1st contest at the Carolina West, against the one and only, Ice T, and Duffy Hooks was there in the audience. After the 2nd week, Disco Daddy beat Ice T, and Duffy Hooks offered him the recording contract.

Research for more if you're interested! Oh! And I implore other hip-hop heads in other states to give the history of the culture in their locations.