here's an interesting article about one of the most important pop singles in history, in my opinion. is there irony in a hot, skinny, white punk rock chick-turned pop star, introducing america to hip-hop culture and rap?
one odd aspect of this article... it doesn't mention that the dj doing a cameo in the video for rapture, is none other than jean-michel baquiat, the greatest hip-hop / graffiti / scripting - oriented painter in history. but he was just barely beginning to gain prominence in 1981.
(interesting to omit, considering - unlike basquiat, blondie has never had a movie made about them). debbie harry returned the cameo favor by appearing as a bum-turned-fairy god-mother in the low-budget basquiat quasi-biopic, "downtown '81." in 1996, baquiat's wide release biopic was released.
Blondie scored their second number one Pop hit in the U.S. in the spring of 1980 with Call Me, their collaboration with Dance producer Giorgio Moroder from the soundtrack to American Gigolo. It was a groundbreaking melding of Rock guitars, Punk attitude, and Disco beats. Blondie previously broke new ground with their first major Pop hit Heart Of Glass. It proved that Punk and Disco were not incompatible. It's not a big surprise the band moved to stretch their boundaries, and the boundaries of Dance and Pop music, even further with Rapture, the second single from the album Autoamerican.
During the time between the completion of the Eat To the Beat album and recording of Autoamerican, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein had been listening to and observing the impact of the emerging Rap scene in New York City. Hip Hop, the combination of Rap music, street art, breakdancing, and DJing, was emerging as a key force in the Black music community. Harry and Stein saw it as the beginning of another music revolution, not that far removed from the Punk revolution of the mid 70's in which Blondie played a significant role. An experiment with Rap seemed to fit well amongst the far-ranging mix of musical styles that would make up Autoamerican.
Rapture begins as dreamy mid-tempo Disco but partway through Debbie Harry's rap begins. The rap evolves into a pseudo-Horror movie scenario featuring a man from Mars who eats cars, bars and guitars. This story doesn't appear until after Harry has name-dropped both Fab 5 Freddy, a top graffiti artist, and Grandmaster Flash, one of the key DJs in the New York Hip Hop scene. Fab 5 Freddy also makes an appearance in the video for Rapture. While her rapping skills may have been limited, the involvement of important figures in the Hip Hop community gave Debbie Harry and the band instant credibility. Blondie's recording of Rapture finishes with a Rock guitar solo foreshadowing Michael Jackson's breakthrough blending of R&B and Rock on Beat It.
Rapture was an instant smash hit with Pop and Dance audiences. It topped both charts in early 1981. The video for Rapture was launched before the existence of MTV but received play in clubs and other television promotional outlets. The video includes all of the elements of Hip Hop. Debbie Harry raps her comments 'Flash is hot, Flash is cool' to a DJ and then heads out into a stylized street scene complete with graffiti art and a white-suited dancer. A ballet dancer and Scottish highland dancer make appearances as if to draw the connections with other cultural experiences of the importance of dance.
For much of the mainstream U.S. Pop audience, Rapture was the first extensive exposure to rapping. Rapper's Delight by the Sugarhill Gang had been a minor Pop hit near the end of 1979, but Rapture brought rap extensive airplay on Pop radio. It also expanded the reach of Rap into dance clubs. Soon the development of Electro and expansion of Hip Hop would give Rap a permanent place in American Dance music.
Rapture has reappeared in clubs through the years via new remixes and a recording by X-Statik in 1993. However, the most extensive exposure for the song in many years is currently occurring in 2004 with the release of Caught Up in the Rapture, an extensive revision of the song, by Haitian Hip Hop artist Won-G featuring Giselle.
one odd aspect of this article... it doesn't mention that the dj doing a cameo in the video for rapture, is none other than jean-michel baquiat, the greatest hip-hop / graffiti / scripting - oriented painter in history. but he was just barely beginning to gain prominence in 1981.
(interesting to omit, considering - unlike basquiat, blondie has never had a movie made about them). debbie harry returned the cameo favor by appearing as a bum-turned-fairy god-mother in the low-budget basquiat quasi-biopic, "downtown '81." in 1996, baquiat's wide release biopic was released.
Blondie scored their second number one Pop hit in the U.S. in the spring of 1980 with Call Me, their collaboration with Dance producer Giorgio Moroder from the soundtrack to American Gigolo. It was a groundbreaking melding of Rock guitars, Punk attitude, and Disco beats. Blondie previously broke new ground with their first major Pop hit Heart Of Glass. It proved that Punk and Disco were not incompatible. It's not a big surprise the band moved to stretch their boundaries, and the boundaries of Dance and Pop music, even further with Rapture, the second single from the album Autoamerican.
During the time between the completion of the Eat To the Beat album and recording of Autoamerican, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein had been listening to and observing the impact of the emerging Rap scene in New York City. Hip Hop, the combination of Rap music, street art, breakdancing, and DJing, was emerging as a key force in the Black music community. Harry and Stein saw it as the beginning of another music revolution, not that far removed from the Punk revolution of the mid 70's in which Blondie played a significant role. An experiment with Rap seemed to fit well amongst the far-ranging mix of musical styles that would make up Autoamerican.
Rapture begins as dreamy mid-tempo Disco but partway through Debbie Harry's rap begins. The rap evolves into a pseudo-Horror movie scenario featuring a man from Mars who eats cars, bars and guitars. This story doesn't appear until after Harry has name-dropped both Fab 5 Freddy, a top graffiti artist, and Grandmaster Flash, one of the key DJs in the New York Hip Hop scene. Fab 5 Freddy also makes an appearance in the video for Rapture. While her rapping skills may have been limited, the involvement of important figures in the Hip Hop community gave Debbie Harry and the band instant credibility. Blondie's recording of Rapture finishes with a Rock guitar solo foreshadowing Michael Jackson's breakthrough blending of R&B and Rock on Beat It.
Rapture was an instant smash hit with Pop and Dance audiences. It topped both charts in early 1981. The video for Rapture was launched before the existence of MTV but received play in clubs and other television promotional outlets. The video includes all of the elements of Hip Hop. Debbie Harry raps her comments 'Flash is hot, Flash is cool' to a DJ and then heads out into a stylized street scene complete with graffiti art and a white-suited dancer. A ballet dancer and Scottish highland dancer make appearances as if to draw the connections with other cultural experiences of the importance of dance.
For much of the mainstream U.S. Pop audience, Rapture was the first extensive exposure to rapping. Rapper's Delight by the Sugarhill Gang had been a minor Pop hit near the end of 1979, but Rapture brought rap extensive airplay on Pop radio. It also expanded the reach of Rap into dance clubs. Soon the development of Electro and expansion of Hip Hop would give Rap a permanent place in American Dance music.
Rapture has reappeared in clubs through the years via new remixes and a recording by X-Statik in 1993. However, the most extensive exposure for the song in many years is currently occurring in 2004 with the release of Caught Up in the Rapture, an extensive revision of the song, by Haitian Hip Hop artist Won-G featuring Giselle.