Like anything else that reaches a milestone year of 50 by not just surviving, but thriving, specific events cement and legitimize its existence. For hip-hop music, one of those moments occurred in August of 1985 with the release of a single that shook the streets, the clubs, and the airwaves. There was nowhere to escape the sounds of Doug E. Fresh, his right-hand man Ricky D aka Slick Rick, Chill Will, and Barry B, collectively known as the Get Fresh Crew, and their omnipresent song “The Show.”
While not the most lyrical of works, it was filled with quotables and some infectious call-and-responses that captured the fun-filled essence of what a real live hip-hop show entailed. But more importantly, it was a beat that couldn’t miss. When that beat dropped, like all bangers, you either reached to increase the volume or you reported to a dance floor, even if it’s makeshift.
As for the industry itself, Doug E. Fresh has since become entrenched as the party rocker supreme and granted ambassador status. Slick Rick became a Hall of Famer and All-Time Great in his own right with his legendary catalog of hits, and a group called Supa Nature made enough noise with their response record called “The Show Stopper” that they were able to garner to secure a record deal and eventual pioneering career for themselves as they changed their moniker to Salt N Pepa.
Little-known fact: Until recent years, that record would serve quite a larger purpose. Little credit was given to one of the producers of the track and his career helped shape and shift the landscape of Black music and subsequently the pop charts. Who could have seen that in the future for a then 17-year-old Teddy Riley? Having produced and written gold, platinum, or classic hit songs for a litany of stars, including Michael Jackson, Bobby Brown, Stevie Wonder, Kool Moe Dee, the Winans, and his own groups Wreckx-N-Effect, Guy, and Blackstreet has culminated with induction into the 2023 Class of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
Riley was inducted by fellow Harlemites Keith Sweat and Doug E. Fresh, with Fresh summarizing that, “We knew he was that special guy from the neighborhood who had a gift,” although “we’re kids from Harlem. We never thought we would be at the Songwriters Hall of Fame, baby!”
The Class of 2023 originally included, along with Riley, special awardees Post Malone, who received the Hal David Starlight Award, and Tim Rice, who garnered the Johnny Mercer Award. Also in the 2023 Class were Glen Ballard, Gloria Estefan, Jeff Lynne, Liz Rose, Sade Adu, and Calvin Broadus Jr. a/k/a Snoop Dogg. The latter two were absentees and have deferred their enshrinement for another class, but that didn’t stop one from being a participant in an award ceremony for songwriter/producers. On the other side of the country, Snoop Dogg presented the inaugural ASCAP Hip-Hop Icon Award to Dr. Dre at a private party on the rooftop of London West Hollywood as a highlight of ASCAP’s 2023 Rhythm & Soul Music Awards.
“Dre, you my brother,” Snoop said to his mentor. “It’s an honor to know you, to work with you, to hang out with you, and to present you with this very first ASCAP Hip-Hop Icon Award.”
Dr. Dre said in his acceptance speech, “I can’t imagine where my life would be without hip-hop. I was thinking about what it means to be an icon—someone or something worthy of great respect. You probably need to be around for a while to be worthy of this type of respect. So, I started doing the math, and I realized that I’ve been involved, successful, relevant in hip-hop for 40 of its 50 years.”
Over and out. Holla next week. ’Til then, enjoy the Nightlife.