4. SPRING 1984
Rick Rubin meets Russell Simmons
''You're a white guy!?'' That was Simmons' first reaction to meeting Rubin at a party. Simmons couldn't believe a Caucasian had produced his then-favorite rap single, T La Rock and Jazzy Jay's ''It's Yours,'' the first release to bear the logo of Rubin's new indie label, Def Jam. ''That record sounded like the records I used to make — very spare, very hardcore,'' says Simmons. ''It was obvious Rick was the next big thing.'' Soon the two new pals were hanging out in Rubin's New York University dorm room (which doubled as Def Jam's headquarters), and they eventually became partners. Before Rubin left in 1988 to start Def American, Def Jam released era-defining albums by the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, and others. Twenty years on, Def Jam is still going strong (it's now owned by Universal). ''It's a full-fledged major record label,'' notes Rubin, who looks back on the early days as ''really fun. We had no expectations, and then to see all this stuff happen, it was unbelievable. There truly wasn't any precedent for it.''
5. JUNE 30, 1989
Public Enemy fights the power
A few months before the city of San Francisco was shaken by an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, a different kind of shock wave hit America, and its epicenter sat some 3,000 miles away — in Brooklyn, to be exact. Do the Right Thing, directed by Spike Lee (pictured, with PE's Flavor Flav and Chuck D) a sweltering, screw-tightening examination of racial tension in the uneasily divided neighborhood of Bed-Stuy, debuted on June 30, 1989. With it arrived the song that would for many come to define rap's potential for political and social commentary: Public Enemy's ''Fight the Power.'' The lyrics — a fiercely articulate expression of black rage that condemned previously untouchable heroes like Elvis and John Wayne — would continue to pour from car stereos, club speakers, and sidewalk boom boxes long after that summer was over. ''The first time I heard it, I told Spike it was a hit,'' says actress Rosie Perez, whose memorable dance to Chuck D's beat-driven polemic opened the film. ''Hip-hop was changing at that time, and politics were really coming into full force, and you knew exactly where Public Enemy were coming from.'' A nation of millions agreed.
6. JULY 1987
Release of Paid in Full — EW's pick for best rap album
Eric B. & Rakim's Paid in Full made hip-hop a true art form, doing for rap what Bob Dylan did for rock in the mid-'60s. ''Paid in Full marked the point when hip-hop grew out of its infancy,'' says Dana Smart, who coproduced the recent two-disc deluxe reissue of the CD. Eric B.'s James Brown-driven beats are devastatingly funky, but it's Rakim's commanding vocals that make this a classic. Considered by many to be the greatest rapper of all time, he brought technical intricacy, cinematic details, and poetic metaphors to a genre previously ruled by A-B-A-B patterns and simplistic party rhymes. Seventeen years later, the album still sounds astonishing.
