Backspin: Milwaukee's First Hip-Hop Song

Who made Milwaukee's first hip-hop song? We find the answer by interviewing national and local artists, including DMC and Speech, who witnessed the birth of the city's hop-hop scene firsthand.

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Episodes

Episode 6: The Friends We Made Along the Way

Justin and Tyrone settle the debate. We hear Milwaukee's first hip-hop song in full and put an end to this journey for Milwaukee's first hip-hop song.

Jul 15, 2019•38 min

Episode 5: Arrested Development

The leader of one of hip-hop's greatest groups, Arrested Development's Speech talks about the impact that Milwaukee had on him, and the impact he had on the city and the world.

Jul 15, 2019•29 min

Episode 4: Scratch the Record

Controversy swirls around Milwaukee's first hip-hop song. A group of MCs, DJs and musicians who were there weigh in on the scene, the time, and the true beginning of hip-hop in Milwaukee.

Jul 15, 2019•28 min

Episode 3: The Majestics Meet Marvell

A businessman with a business plan finds a group of energetic local kids who model themselves on James Brown and convinces them to record what might be Milwaukee's first hip-hop song.

Jul 15, 2019•26 min

Episode 2: Milwaukee was Crackin'

A fertile music culture in Milwaukee lays the groundwork for a new art form. In the early '80s there is an opportunity to make Milwaukee into the next Motown -- it just needs one charismatic entrepreneur to take advantage of it.

Jul 15, 2019•27 min

Episode 1: Setting the Stage

We begin the search for Milwaukee's first hip-hop song. But first we have to understand the origins of hip-hop before it got to Milwaukee, and the fertile ground for the genre that Milwaukee provided in the early '80s.

Jul 15, 2019•29 min

New podcast 'Backspin: The Search for Milwaukee’s First Hip-Hop Song' launches July 15

Who made Milwaukee's first hip hop song? Turns out this question is a tough one to Google. So, we're finding the answer. 88Nine DJ Tyrone Miller and Music Director Justin Barney journey back to the early 1980s in our new podcast -- Backspin: The Search for Milwaukee's First Hip-Hop Song. In the six-part series, the guys interview national and local artists, including DMC and Speech, plus an ensemble of local musicians, DJs and historians who witnessed the birth of Milwaukee hip-hop firsthand. Ba...

Jul 04, 2019•1 min

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