When rock-and-roll captured the hearts and souls of American teenagers in the 1950s, their parents responded with fury and proscription. This was the devil’s music! When hip-hop caught on with youngsters in the early 1980s, the initial reaction was generally one of “Well, this is a silly fad, but let’s play along!” By the late ’80s, you had celebrities, pro athletes, car dealers, etc. rapping as a means to market their goods or simply have a laugh. Though novelty rap songs did not help turn hip-hop into a legitimate art form, they did familiarize white America with the genre’s conventions. How have they aged? Some were terrible to begin with, but others are still incredibly enjoyable. Let’s look back at some of the most memorable (and not-so-memorable) exemplars of this subgenre.
