© Chrysalis Records, Inc.
So much going on here… let’s just stick to the facts
Singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein were friends with Brooklyn- and Bronx-based hip-hop artists such as Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite) in the late 1970s. Brathwaite took Harry and Stein to a rap event in the Bronx one night in 1978, and they were both impressed by the skill and excitement as MCs rhymed lyrics over the beats of spinning records and people lined up for a chance to take the microphone and freestyle rap. Harry and Stein went to a few more such events, before deciding to write a rap song of their own in late 1979. They decided to combine what they had seen and heard in the Bronx with Chic-inspired disco music. Keyboardist Jimmy Destri found some tubular bells in the back of the studio, which added a haunting touch to the song. The title “Rapture” was an obvious pun on rap, according to Stein.[6] …
Stein loved B-movies and science fiction imagery, so he wrote some surreal verses about a man from Mars. For the chorus, Harry tried to capture the feeling of a crowded hip-hop dance floor in the Bronx: “Toe to toe / Dancing very close / Barely breathing / Almost comatose / Wall to wall / People hypnotized / And they’re stepping lightly / Hang each night in Rapture.” They also referenced their friend Fab 5 Freddy (“Fab Five Freddy told me everybody’s fly”), as well as Grandmaster Flash (“Flash is back”). …
The accompanying music video for “Rapture” made its US television debut on Solid Gold on January 31, 1981,[10] and not only became the first rap video ever broadcast on MTV, but was part of its first 90-video rotation.[11] Set in the East Village section of Manhattan, the “Man from Mars” or “voodoo god” (dancer William Barnes in the white suit and top hat) is the introductory and central figure. Barnes also choreographed the piece.[12] Much of the video is a one-take scene of lead singer Debbie Harry dancing down the street, passing by graffiti artists, Uncle Sam, an Indigenous American, child ballet dancer and a goat. Fab Five Freddy and graffiti artists Lee Quiñones and Jean-Michel Basquiat make cameo appearances. Basquiat was hired when Grandmaster Flash did not show for the shoot.[13][14] The UK 7" version of the song is used in the video.
Thanks for the history lesson, Rolando.
This song has a very nice groove to it, the musical texture is outstanding in this studio recording, and Debbie brings some outstanding vocals as always. Perhaps controversially, I do think that the rap section is a bit lacking in delivery… but the genre wasn’t even mainstream at the time, this is just 1980. So there’s that. And let’s be honest, we’re discussing Debbie Harry… and for some, mysterious, reason I feel very, very willing to forgive a blond beauty like her. Specially one with her voice.
the rap section is a bit lacking in delivery
Oh yeah, no disputing that. Nowadays it sounds like the sort of parody that Weird Al would do. To be fair, rap back then was a lot different than it is now, or even what it was in the 90s. Compare it to one of the better rap songs of 1980, Freedom by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five and we can see that Blondie’s cadence wasn’t really that bad. And nonsense rap lyrics were pretty common back then – Sugarhill Gang’s version of Apache doesn’t make sense in a lot of places, and I keep thinking of that part of Rapper’s Delight where one of them hits on Lois Lane and starts insulting Superman – wtf is that about lol. But it adds to the party vibe that they were going for.
Anyway, Blondie was a New Wave band who was taking inspiration from a lot of difference sources, and gave credit in their songs, all of which is laudable.
Sure. No doubt Blondie made a brave and early exercise in the, then exotic, rap genre… and they managed to add a distinct flavor beyond the standard synthpop. To be honest, I enjoy this song greatly, from the moment the bells start ringing until the end, and felt that it couldn’t be missing in our 80’s playlist. Besides, for rap pioneers, Blondie was probably a gateway to the mainstream later in the decade.
