King Tim III - The first rapper to make a record?

[Risingsun611]

Sorry...typo King Tim III !

[Risingsun611]

Hey Thanks KevinJay62 and all for remembering King Tim II. I am his sister. Tim loved and continues to love his fans and music! Yes, he was indeed the first. Not only was he a good lyricist but he was a great writer. Thanks for love.

[TheTrampolineMen]

what about grandmaster flash?

[stoprocentpasji]

Preacher's Delight- 1st First Rap Song

[kevinjay62]

henricusregius is correct about King Tim 3rd. This album was in the hands of DJs around the city before Rappers Delight. Ask anybody from back in the day and we'll all tell you that King Tim was the first.

@henricusregius - Plenty of DJs also were their own MC's examples: Eddie Cheeba, Kool Kyle and DJ Hollywood. These guys were one man shows and Hip Hop legends.

[henricusregius]

@kevinjay62

Good point, but the large majority of the time the MC(s) and the DJ were different people. In particular, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa (described as "rappers" by earlier commenters) were DJs who worked with crews of MCs, and so shouldn't be called "rappers." DJing and MCing (=rapping) are two different things, even though some DJs also emceed. So, for example, Junebug often DJed when Hollywood took the mic and MCed and EZ Gee took over the DJing when Cheeba was rapping.

[ProductionsHead]

This is so corny, and so epic!!!

[dw9000ss]

and king tim was not the first it was dj hollywood smoking jumbos.......do ur research...

[henricusregius]

@dw9000ss

DJs are NOT rappers. The DJ spun the records, scratched, etc. There have been DJs and MCs (emcees / rappers) since the early 70s in the Bronx & Brooklyn. MCs at first intro'd the DJs, urged on the party-goers to dance, etc. This evolved into call and response ("Let me hear you say 'ho-o, hiyo'", "Throw your hands in the air", etc.). Competitive boasting about who the best DJ was and who the best MC was developed, leading to more and more elaborate rhymed "raps" and rap was born.

[CONGLOMERIDE]

Rappers Delight was the First.

[henricusregius]

@CONGLOMERIDE

This song was published, copyrighted, and released before the official version of "Rapper's Delight." RD, however, was apparently circulating in the NYC club and party scene for some time in some version before the official Sugarhill Records release. Other rap songs also circulated on cassette, etc., before Rapper's Delight did.

[DatSoulBoss]

The bottom line is this...Regardless of who did what before, THIS is the song that ushered in the MODERN age of Rap. Of course folks were doing this in the past, but it wasn't called Rap music, nor were those early songs MEANT to be Rap music. In terms of what was happening on the streets of the Bronx/Hafrlem & Brooklyn, THIS is the song that gave respect to the culture & as such, it deserves its place as the 1st Rap record.

[slater080808]

"Your" rhymes? Dude hasn't touched my rhymes as far as i know.

[joelbhartzell]

1979 was not the first. 1970 the lost poets were making shit

[gorrilatape]

who cares who was first rap;er all i care about is who was the first rapper good enough to get a record deal

[4ways2go]

Pigmeat was first, its just that king tim was 11 later and the style of music evolved but pigmeat was the first to recorded rapper who's probably listed under the blues catergory but nobody would be able to trace the origins of rap because rhyming and putting it in a story been going on since man had a language

[discoAL]

i agree.. you can trace rappin on wax all the way back to the invention of recorded sound.. check out James Brown's "Funky President" and try to tell me that aint rap..for a more insightful example of what they do now..

[t0xictreasure]

actully the first one recorded was made in 1958

[HolyRollerTV]

Sugarhill Gang: Rapper's Delight Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5: Superrappin Kurtis Blow: "Christmas Rappin'" Funky 4 + 1: "Rappin' and Rockin' the House" The Younger Generation: "We Rap More Mellow" [Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5] super rappin Paulette & Tanya Winley: Rhymin' and Rappin Sequence: Funk You Up Lady B: "To the Beat, Y'all Jazzy 4 MCs: MC Rock Lady D: "Lady D" Funky Constellation: Street Talk (Madame Rapper) Solid C, Bobby D & Kool Drop: Wack Rap

[meechamaka411]

@HolyRollerTV I found a few more that needs mentioning on that CLASSIC '79 HIP HOP HIT-LIST:

Cloud One: "Patty Duke (Instrumental)"

Direct Current: "Everybody Hear Must Party"

Eddie Cheba: "Lookin' Good (Shake Your Body)"

Xanadu & Sweet Lady: "Rapper's Delight" (2 sistas from Jamaica, hmmm?)

...not to mention some other songs that I haven't mention'd yet 'cuz I haven't had a chance to listen to them...

[HolyRollerTV]

@meechamaka411 good call on the patti duke instumental but the rap versions were done later

the eddie cheba is dope...never heard that before.

[BluUniverse]

Bob Dylan was the first rapper ever.

[HolyRollerTV]

what parts of bob dylan was the 1st rapper...shut up with that nonsense

[BluUniverse]

@HolyRollerTV Go on YouTube and search "Subterranean Homesick blues"....that was the first rap song.

[HolyRollerTV]

King tim recorded before rappers delight, but who can say that he released

before Tanya Winley

king tim aint the 1st rapper..hiphop is alive and well in nyc check live party tapes

recorded in 78 79...grand master flowers tape for instance,or the herculoids.

Also YOU forgettin about James Brown, Gary Byrd , The Last Poets,the Watts Prophets, Redd Foxx,Leroy,Skillett and Lawanda page, Rudy Ray Moore. Jimmy Lynch ,MELVIN VAN PEEBLES all common hiphop knowledge peeps,

[HolyRollerTV]

@BluUniverse

will not dignify that with an answer

[stilleavy]

i am by no means a rap fan,. But i thought the almighty Blowfly was the first

[TheMichiganStatement]

what makes this rap, this is same level as bambaataa, dope track this dont barely count towards early hiphop

[nikboss3000]

kool herc came first.

[718xad]

Fo Sho'!This Was The 1st Record to use The Bronx Stle of rappin'! on wax!

[brookelynnnnz]

this is the first rap record period

[Serbbral]

I'm sorry, but take this from an old schooler who was there, the FATBACK BAND had this out before Grand Master Flash, the Suga Hill Gang, and others. This song may not have been as POPULAR as 'Rappers Delight' and others, but it WAS out before Suga Hill and Grandmaster Flashe's hits. As for Pigmeat, we are talking about FIRST RAP SONG RECORDED, not who started rap. Sorry, young babies, but Fatback band WAS FIRST.

[hrmsmk]

WORD! this was the first major release of hip-hop

[scrobTV]

@Serbbral Yes he was first, after Blowfly who had to release it on white label like his homie Dolemite because the raps were so controversial in the 60s people got locked up for it. I’ll let ICE-T speak /watch?v=d9w2OYKkLSA

[pimas11]

Wasn't the first rap from the 1700's that went Juba this and Juba that and juba this the other (something that rhymes with cat)

[krackrzz]

bullcrap , grandmasterflash waz first true rapper , ~grndmstr flsh & the 4 mc.. later 2 become GMF & THE FURIOUS 5 , -- sugarhill gang waz a made up group by a white lady n the record biznezz which ultimately copy GMF&F5,,--- dj wizard first to accidently scratch,,, GMF first to overlap records,,,,listen to his 1978 audubon live performace...

[HardrockGX]

First rap record made was King Tim III.. True dat that rap was being performed at parties & clubs. But it was recognized finally for someone to put it on wax, and the Fatback Band was the first. And that was DJ Grand Wizard Theodore who created the scratch mix.. DAMN I FEEL OLD!!! lol

[gizcool]

Hold on GMF didnt rap and he and the group were certainly not the first, Kool Herc is the founding father of Hip Hop as we know it and his emcee Coke La Rock is probably the first Rapper. As for records it's more than likely that Fatback released the first record with with Hip Hop style Rapping on it, there were actually quite a few joints recorded that year but Superrappin and Rappers Delight came a month or two later. SugarHill Gang was formed by Sylvia Robinson...A Black Woman!

[MPC2000XLbeatmaker]

@gizcool

PIGMEAT MARKHAM - HERE COMES THE JUDGE

ain't this a rap record from 1968?

[gizcool]

You could call it a rap record but definately not in a Hip Hop context, Coke La Rock was the first Hip Hop Emcee.

[negetivekreep]

Pigmeat was rap'n man call it what u want but he was rap'n.

[henricusregius]

As Kurtis Blow & others testify and Underdog says, the first release *by an actual record label* of rap *in the modern sense*, continuous with current hiphop, was this one.

The first rap ALBUM (since most of Hot Box was Fatback's funk grooves) = Sugarhill Gang, even though they were hardly pioneering MCs.

The first rap single & album from an actual label from a major early MC = Blow's "Christmas Rappin'" & "Kurtis Blow."

Note that "rap" here includes the kind of music, role of DJ, etc.

[henricusregius]

Oops: props to ricemiller, here; underdog was a typo.

[hungryhippos41]

fucking bass man...when rap had soul it had fucking funk...

[brownnbubblie]

The picuture that is posted at :53 til the end is not Timothy, that is his brother Richard. If you want to dispute this, send me an email. I know because those are my 2nd cousins.

[Taaffeman126]

i wanna dispute dawg...they my first cousins, wats yo name?

[ninacleveland]

Wrong!! Pigmeat was the first rapper, before my time and yours.

[ricemiller]

Pigmeat was not a rapper. Pigmeat was a artist from burlescs. There was a lot the blues singers from first days of 20 century that make rhymes and spoken over the songs. Rap is not just speaking rhymes. Rap is more...is a filosophy

[ninacleveland]

@ricemillier

If you say Pigment was not a rapper then you will have to say King Tim 111 was not one either. This doesn't sound like rap no more than Pigmeat.

[thejobloshow]

@ricemiller technically pigmeat was the first rapper....

you wouldn't say chuck berry isn't REAL rock,

[Underdog263]

@ricemiller Thank you so much for being correct and right on point! There are so many who are clueless and cannot comprehend what you just said! They just do not get it?

[Underdog263]

@ricemiller Thank You! You are right on point with the detailed facts!

[phildadrummer]

check out

Kinesiska Muren - Evert Taube (in 20s)

Louis Armstrong (using rhythmic spoken vocals/scat also in 20s)

Rap didn't just originate from one place, though it had major influence from Africa and Jamaica, it can't be traced. Hip Hop on the other hand can because its not a vocal style but a musical genre/culture.

Kurtis Blow's Christmas Rappin' was released before this.. (January 1st 1979)

[henricusregius]

@phildadrummer

Actually, "Christmas Rappin'" was released on December 7, 1979, for the Christmas 1979 season. Web site release dates are often default set to give 1/1/XXXX for any song released in year XXXX, which doesn't matter except for this kind of issue. If you reflect, it would be crazy to release a Xmas song after 12/25 so that people can't hear it and buy it for Christmas presents. Rappers Delight charted in October 1979, King Tim III came out a couple of months before RD.

[07nez]

wrong their was another one way before pigmeat

[ironlionknight1]

@ninacleveland

I thought you were crasy for saying that that the frist rap song was Pigmeat Markham's "Here Comes The Judge" I always thought that The Last Poet's "E Pluribus Unum" of the early 70's was the first rap song ever. However after listening to Pigmeat Markham's joint, I can't trip that song is arranged as modern rap music.

I still believe however that 'hip-hop' is a culture and there is a certain mindset, philosophy, and authenticity to it. Pigmeat is a comedian that

[ironlionknight1]

@ninacleveland

(ran out of characters) Pigmeat's song was a joke. The Last Poet's "E Pluribus Unum" reflects the underlying spirit of what "hip hop" is beyond just musical arranging. But I learned something, and I appreciate the response

[roddogt]

@ninacleveland bull shit look at the beverly hill billies or pettycoat juntion or even aadams family........ first rap

[18IMAMGODINA]

@ninacleveland africa bambato grand master flash and so on are the first rappers -.-'

[henricusregius]

@18IMAMGODINA

Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash are DJs not MCs or rappers. Melle Mel was the lead MC (rapper) with the Furious 5. Various MCs from his "Zulu Nation" group fronted for Bambaataa. Kool DJ Herc and others were contemporary (at least) with Bambaataa. You have to remember that in the earliest stages, the DJ was much more important than the MC, based on record collection, sound system, and style of break-playing, etc. So, the earliest hiphop legends are DJs, not rappers.

[drikou6901]

Yeah I love Fatback (first record was on "XII" album), please what is the second song of this video please ??

[ricemiller]

The second song named "Charley says"

[Underdog263]

Old soul song Rap Dirty (1965) version with the word play & rhythmic speech was NOT the first Rap/Hip Hip song. Also, it cannot be found and heard any where? Or the 1980 version of spelled Rapp Dirty is available on CD clean & explicit versions

[henricusregius]

Reid was 20 in 1965 & didn't begin releasing x-rated music as Blowfly until 1971. "Rapp Dirty" was released (and listened to by me) in 1980. Before 1971 (& later, under his own name), he sang & wrote soul & funk.

"Rapp" combined two late 70s crazes, Truckers ( Convoy, Every Which Way ...) and Rap, just made a national sensation by Sugar Hill Gang & Kurtis Blow.

So, Underdog, thanks for a blast from the past and you are completely right that Rapp Dirty came AFTER 1979 (& so after King Tim).

[Underdog263]

Comedians,Soul,Rock and Reggae artist from the past rhyming their talking words and telling jokes is not Rap/Hip Hop music. They may have been very talented with their work. It's extremely IGNORANT and Foolish to call the word play & rhythmic speech music 40+ years ago Rap/Hip Hop music. There may have been some influences from previous Soul,Rock and Reggae artist from the past. There is positively and absolutely no question about that fact.

[jojofromthe810]

Is the Chuck Berry song "My Dingaling'? Yeah, I guess that's rap too!

[JosephNScott]

"Is the Chuck Berry song "My Dingaling'?" The real rap by Chuck was "Jaguar And Thunderbird," a single that charted for him (barely) in late 1960.

[jojofromthe810]

The first rap was done on a song called "Here Comes the Judge" by a black comedian named Pigmeat Markham in the 1960's. My father had one of his comedy albums on vinyl

[fineassb]

really? chuck berry did a rap back then too.

[ricemiller]

Yeah. But Pigmeat was comedian, not a rapper. I got this record from 1967.

King Tim was the first authentic rapper to make a record.

[eboyd32]

WOW! i've been looking for this forever!!!!

[pmg711]

Oh and by the way Spoonie Gee's "Spoonin Rap" came out in 1980 before "Love rap". Peace.

[pmg711]

This song is the "official" First rap record to come on the radio before the Sugar Hill Gang. Remember the days of WWRL.

[funkrock94]

whoaaa rap+funk = fucking groove ^^

[koolfraser]

defcreator, you are a fucking idiot. this IS widely recognised as the first rap record, and was released in 79. Spoonie G didn't start releasing records until later in that year, and, in collaboration with The Treacherous Three put on Love Rap in 1980. You are a fucking fool!

[defcreator]

koolfraser,how old are you????? you talk like a frustrated kiddy....didn't mommie teach you not to curse,you must be an angry little nerd for talking that way...go and pack your bags,grammar school starts for you....lol

[defcreator]

and another thing: why are you such a hater????? hip hop originally supposed to be positive movement bringing people together from all different kinds of races...you're really a freakin' nerd for reacting to someone you never met before behind a PC...i'm a wellknown scratch dj for 20+ years released over 10 famous hip hop records,i won't tell you my real name but believe me,when it comes to hip hop skills i'll beat you anytime any place.....

[koolfraser]

defcreator. you're credentials mean very little to me, especially in light of the fact that you have displayed your ignorance of the origins of hip hop. it matters nothing how many supposedly 'famous' records you have produced and how long you have been spinning for if you don't really know what it's all about. fame and longevity can often equal the antithesis of artistic merit. all the best my good friend, and apologies if my expose of your lack of knowledge piqued you, which it obviously did.

[koolfraser]

and another thing: hip-hop, whilst bringing together a lot of people from various ethnic backgrounds (there are no such thing as 'races', the notion having been debunked in anthropology for over twenty years - more ignorance on your behalf), hip-hop is, and has always been, an eminently competitive and agonistic pursuit. do you comprehend?

[ricemiller]

Ok...I don`t know your name...so I can`t make some comments about your words.

I am not the owner of the truth. I`m just pay my tribute to a pionner. The first, the number one, the originator...well...it`s just words.

[JTubiolo89]

where was he from?

[defcreator]

wrong info,the first rap record was "love rap"by spoonie g in 1978.

[hunn89]

its time to post Charlie Says in its entirety ;-)

[FunkyRob]

I own, the "Hotbox" LP and King Tim III is not on it. The hits off Hotbox are Backstrokin' and Gotta Get My Hands on Some Money.

[ricemiller]

King Tim is Tim Washington, member of the Fataback. Kink Tim is a nickname of Tim Washington.

The track Charlie Says was a single 12 inch.

[LamontCJ]

Excellent!! I was in the Air Force when King Tim Came out and I brought it to the NCO club to play. They ran it to death!! No one heard anything like it. Groundbreaking!

[ceddie2000]

Your right nobody remember this. But "Punk Rock" was a bunch a shit too!! That's why you don't here fuck'n garbage anymore.

[hajjiomar]

are you for real? i believe it's "hear" not "here". what the hell were you listening to in the late 70's or early 80's disco? or watching lawrence welk and donny and marie?

[flam1953]

Mr.Miller,i've been trying 2 find Charlie Says by King Tim for about 17 years,and i found it on your video!Please contact me if u can,i really need that song!TY

[victornewman06]

I remember this!!!!!!!! Peace to the originator King Tim III

[crazyculture]

Respect to the originator

[55scarface36]

this is old-school baby

[semplicementemassimo]

i rememember the year 1979 the best for funky music

[Underdog263]

My goodness finally the Rapper on the first Hip Hop/Rap song is getting more exposure. The truth is out for the ignorant who thinks it's Rapper Delight (the first rap song) or have convenient amnesia. I was there and lived through the birth of Hip-Hop/Rap. You can not change history!

[chaqdaddy]

I saw him the week after Rapper's Delight dropped with my godbrother who turned out to be Chuck D of Public Enemy! I've been searching for the truth to be told ever since!

[bboycess]

Rap muzigin babasi!!! (Personality Jock)...

Karakan, Cinai Şebeke ve Erci-E = Cartel

bunlarda turkce rap in babalari :D

[rickydfcc77]

Labor day weekend,1979...I returned to Lincoln University for junior year and King Tim III was playing as I walked Into "Freddy D"... The rap Phenomenon had been building for about a year or so on campus so this was really, really big. Until "Rapper's delight" was heard on WDAS (Sept.15), Fatback had sole control. Awesome!!!

[hunn89]

this was my theme in high school...the K-I-N-G the T-I M LOL

good job!!!!

[ricemiller]

Thanks