How Seattle's rap scene got its start

In the 1980s, Seattle's music scene was hooked on disco. The success of "Saturday Night Fever" meant venues opted for groovy vinyl over live band performances, and songs like Chic's "Good Times" were on constant rotation. That made room for a similar but modified version of the song's simple breakbeat by a group called The Sugarhill Gang, who quickly brought "rapping" to a nationwide audience.

As Ben Camp tells the story, “Rapper’s Delight” – rap’s first hit – made an imprint in Seattle and kicked off a vibrant local scene connecting Sir-Mix-A-Lot to Macklemore.

Camp, who writes under the name of Novocaine132, has been covering music in the city since the 1990s – and he recently published his first book, “The Birth of Seattle Rap.”

Soundside producer Alec Cowan caught up with the writer to hear more about the book and Seattle’s pre-grunge music scene – starting with why it was disco that gave way to hip hop. 

Guests:

• Novocaine132, author of "The Birth of Seattle Rap."

Related Links:

• The Birth of Seattle Rap: Novocaine 132

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