This was the primary #1 hit track with a rap. Artists like Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, and Kurtis Blow had been rapping because the mid-’70s, and The Sugarhill Gang had the primary Prime 40 hit earlier in 1980 with “Rapper’s Delight,” however till “Rapture,” rap had by no means been integrated into a success pop track.
Debbie Harry did the rap, and it was actually ridiculous, with lyrics concerning the “Man from Mars consuming vehicles,” however the novelty helped the track turn into a success.
Harry’s rap is so goofy that it feels like she may very well be mocking the style, however this was very early within the evolution of hip-hop, and most of the rhymes that got here out of the New York block events have been simply as foolish. Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie championed rap and obtained concerned in the neighborhood, usually attending these block events – they even took Nile Rodgers to at least one, which is the place he discovered that his track “Good Occasions” was a DJ favourite. Blondie introduced rap to a far bigger viewers with this track; Debbie Harry says that numerous rappers – together with members of Mobb Deep and Wu-Tang Clan – advised her it was the primary rap track they ever heard, because the style wasn’t welcome on the radio then.
supply track info.com