Music Mondays: "Rapper's Delight," and the Billboard Chart 45 Years Later

Today is January 6th, but yesterday was (obviously) January 5th. On January 5th 45 years ago, "Rapper's Delight," was the first hip-hop song to chart on the Billboard Top 40, a momentous piece of history. This article by Sha Be Allah on The Source tells the whole story wonderfully, but makes sure to emphasize how, "Rapper's Delight," didn't invent hip-hip or anything (a misstatement sometimes seen online or such). What it did was serve as a, "Catalyst," to help hip-hop really break into the mainstream (even if it only charted at high as #36) and give rap a bit more of a cultural, "Legitimacy/appeal." The song, "Rapper's Delight," broke a lot of ground, to put it simply. It also is quite long in its versions that aren't edited down in length for radio--about 15 minutes of fun rhymes. Give it a listen below if you've got some time:

That's some good fun.