Ive been listening to Backspin on Sirius XM lately and its gotten me back into a lot of great old school rap. So Who are your favorite old school rap artists? you can select 3

Many of those are technically not "old school" (pre-90s may be more appropriate) but I get where you're going. You should probably delete Maestro Fresh Wes and Young MC from that list and put on a few artists slightly more appropriate, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Too Short & Kool Moe Dee for instance.

Tough call, but I'm going with:

Public Enemy
Run DMC
Kool Moe Dee

Moe Dee narrowly edges out Eric B & Rakim.

I almost always have my iPod on shuffle and 'Fight the Power' came up the other day.

I was reminded of the following great line - 'Don't worry be happy was a number one jam, damn if I say it you can slap me right here'

this.


I was just listening to my '87-'89 rap mixes on the way to work today!

Whodini

i suppose they weren't really my favorite, i just felt like posting that song.

I haven't really listened to much of the older stuff, but I choose Biz Markie, Erik B. and Rakim, and Public Enemy. Is De La Soul old school? If so, I'd have picked them over Biz Markie.

...does dc Talk count?

Run DMC
LL Cool J
NWA

is probably who I listened to most as a youth....

Where is Doug E. Fresh or Doug Lazy? gotta give props to the Dougs.

There is a glaring lack of Tone Loc among these poll options.

YES!

Of the choices, I would say PE, LL and NWA.

I like Ice Cube's solo stuff better than most of the NWA catalogue (since he wrote most of it anyway).

My main era was just a few years past this, though.

No Kurtis Blow?

I've clearly put too much thought into this but I feel like stuff like RUN DMC, PE, NWA, and LL Cool J are more than just "old school".

My first exposure to hip hop were those mid-80's albums and groups. I feel like demarcation line of old school to new school is the release of "Straight Outta Compton". Everything changed.

With that said, just from the poll, I went with Ice T, EPMD, and Eric B and Rakim.

Others that I would dub "old school" that should be mentioned (ie- groups I had tapes of back in the day):

Geto Boys
Slick Rick
DJ Qwik
Too Short
Whodini
Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock
Doug E Fresh and Get Fresh Crew

Also, seriously? An old school rap conversation that doesn't mention Sugarhill Gang or Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five? That Sugarhill Gang 12" is what introduced most of the country to rap at all and The Message is about the biggest early rap landmark of lyrics that actually say something.

I can see an argument that these early groups didn't have the depth of catalog and all, but those, along with the previously mentioned Kurtis Blow, are old school giants.

Also, Afrika Bambaata. Zulu Nation

Also, this history of rap in comic book form is pretty great:
http://boingboing.net/tag/hip-hop-family-tree

PE, Run DMC, and Ice-T

Had I fourth option, it would have gone to Eric B & Rakim

PE
EPMD
Eric B & Rakim

Not gonna debate what is or isn't old school. Definitely not my area, anyway. I like these the best of the ones listed.

From this list:

Big Daddy Kane
KRS ONE
Eric. B and Rakim

That's kind of a random list.

I went with...

Public Enemy
NWA
Stetsasonic (just to give them a vote)

I also could've chosen Eric B & Rakim, EPMD, Digital Underground or Big Daddy Kane in that 3rd spot.

Yeah, lack of EPMD love. Those first two records were awesome back in the day. Production is a little dated now but that shit was on point at the time. I can still rap the first couple of verses of "I'm Housin" and I haven't listened to it in probably 15 years.

Not a huge rap fan but this poll needs some Grandmaster Flash and Sugarhill Gang

I Just looked back at my mix thread and I guess I didn't post this mix there. I think I still have it on my external and can upload it upon request. This is really what I call old school, or "elementary school" as I was in elementary school from '80 to '86. If you follow the progression of the genre it really turned a corner with RUN DMC. No disco, no funk, no electro, no party groove. just beats, rhymes, and turntable stabs.

01. Treacherous Three - New Rap Language (Enjoy, 1980)
02. Kurtis Blow - Rappin' Blow (Part 2) (Mercury, 1980)
03. Sequence - And You Know That (Sugar Hill, 1980)
04. Kool Kyle The Starchild - It's Rockin Time (Enjoy, 1981)
05. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - Scorpio (Sugar Hill, 1982)
06. Globe & Whiz Kid - Play That Beat Mr. DJ (Tommy Boy, 1983)
07. T La Rock - It's Yours (Partytime/Streetwise, 1984)
08. Run DMC - Sucka MCs (Krush Groove 1) (Arista, 1984)
09. LL Cool J - Rock The Bells (Def Jam, 1985)
10. Beastie Boys - Paul Revere (Def Jam, 1986)
11. Schoolly D - I Don't Like Rock'N'Roll (Jive, 1986)
12. 2 Live Crew - 2 Live Is What We Are (Luke Skyywalker, 1986)

I also have 3 volumes of "middle school" (i.e. rap songs from '87 to '89), IMO the golden era of hip-hop.

currently working on a high school one!

yeah i probably missed a few key artists, thanks for pointing them out

surprised EPMD isnt getting more love, they had a real gift for melody that is lacking from many rap artists

Sorry FT, but no no no no no.