Queen Latifah, Chuck D and more rap legends on ‘Rapper’s Delight’ and their early hip-hop influences

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. and GARY GERARD HAMILTON
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Remember the first rap song you heard? Some of your favorite rappers and DJs do. While hip-hop celebrates 50 years of life, The Associated Press asked some of the genre’s most popular artists to recall their first rap song experience and how the moment resonated with them. In the first edition, The AP spoke with 12 hip-hop legends — including Queen Latifah, Chuck D and E-40 — who described the era when “Rapper’s Delight” ruled, and whether that song or another early rap track got them hooked. Hip-hop emerged as a musical genre in 1973, but 1979’s “Rapper’s Delight” was a major catalyst for introducing rap music to a broader audience.