Introduced via hip-hop producer Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor's compilation disc Hurby's Machine, self-styled "gangstress of rap" and Queens-native Antoinette matured from essentially just a tough-talking mama into a more unpredictable, sometimes fresh, sometimes alluring, and sometimes defiant rapper whose musical surroundings are equally divided among... [+] Read More

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Among the first groups to tame rap's hardcore mentality into a positive, message-oriented music suitable for teens and mass audiences, Kid 'n Play debuted in 1988 with the platinum album 2 Hype, which the duo later spun into a deal involving films and a Saturday-morning cartoon show, the first involving a rap act. Though their recording activity... [+] Read More

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Miami-based female rappers Tigra and Bunny D were 18 years old when they scored a mild hit, "Cars With the Boom," in 1988. For a brief period their CD, Grab It!, stayed on the charts after Atlantic leased it from Time-X, but they were unable to get another single to maintain the momentum, and kiddie pop gradually lost its audience. ~ Ron Wynn,... [+] Read More

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By the late '80s, hip-hop was on its way to becoming a male-dominated art form, which is what made the emergence of Salt-n-Pepa so significant. As the first all-female rap crew (even their DJs were women) of importance, the group broke down a number of doors for women in hip-hop. They were also one of the first rap artists to cross over into the... [+] Read More

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The World Class Wreckin' Cru recorded some solid West Coast electro with Dr. Dre in the production chair, hitting the pop charts with a smooth love jam named "Turn Off the Lights" during 1988, the same year Dre's N.W.A. delivered the gangsta landmark Straight Outta Compton. The group was formed by Lonzo (Alonzo Williams), owner of the Compton... [+] Read More

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