Born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey, Houston almost seemed destined from birth to become a singer. When she was 19, Houston was discovered in a nightclub by Arista Records' Clive Davis, who signed her immediately and took the helm of her career as she navigated from gospel to pop stardom ("Whitney Huston"). In 1983, Houston made her debut on national television, appearing on The Merv Griffin Show to sing "Home" from the musical The Wiz. Whitney Houston released her debut album at age 22 and scored three No. 1 single. Whitney (1987) delivered four more No. 1s and earned Houston a Grammy, with later albums including I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990) and My Love Is Your Love (1998) as well as soundtracks to The Bodyguard and Waiting to Exhale (African American Almanac).
Michael Jackson
(1958-2009)
"The King of Pop." He is the third best-selling artist of all time (Miller). He got his start working with his family’s band, The Jackson five, when he was only five years old. He released some of the most popular songs of the ‘80s, such as “Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” and “Thriller,” all with sales in the millions. Jackson seemed to take James Brown’s stage presence and add some of his dance moves ("Michael Jackson").
Public Enemy
(est. 1985)
The group was formed in the mid-to-late- the ‘80s by Chuck D and Flavor Flav when they were students at Adelphi University (Tate). Public Enemy has been credited with rewriting the rules of Hip Hop, both as a musical form and as a market force. To many, the group's arrival in the late 80s signaled Hip Hop's maturation into a serious art form, while broadening the genre's appeal to white rock listeners (Public Enemy). Their music was critically acclaimed, and their first four albums went either gold or platinum. They were influenced by freeform jazz, funk, and R&B, making hard-hitting beats with lyrics that supported black communities and dissed American politics (Tate).
N.W.A.
(est. 1987-1991)
Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yella caused a shift in hip-hop when they formed N.W.A in 1986 (Kautz). With its hard-core image, bombastic sound, and lyrics that were equal parts poetic, lascivious, conscious, and in-your-face, N.W.A spoke the truth about life on the streets of Compton, then a hotbed of poverty, drugs, gangs, and unemployment. N.W.A.'s debut ("Straight Outta Compton") caused ripples throughout both the music industry and the world (Kennedy). Radio stations and MTV refused to play them. Critics didn’t get it, couldn’t see past the language, or, worse, refused to acknowledge it as music (Kautz). Politicians even launched attacks, working to great lengths to condemn the music and its creators. It was an album that provided the soundtrack for agitated and restless black youth across America with its rough and raunchy tales of violent life in the inner city, expressed through razor-sharp lyrics (Kennedy).
Run-D.M.C.
(est. 1983-2002)
They are known to many as the Kings of Hip-Hop. On March 27th, 1984, Run-DMC released their self-titled debut album. After the album was released, it was clear that things would never be the same for rap music (Adams). The group's three members: Joseph "Rev Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell, who tragically died in 2002—are the original faces of mainstream hip-hop, having been inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009 and given a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2016 (Schmitz). The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dubbed them "the Chuck Berry and the Elvis of their genre." Eminem inducted them in the Hall of Fame in 2009 and said in his speech, "They were the first movie stars of rap… They are the Beatles." The boys of Run-D.M.C. were the first non-athletes to get a sneaker endorsement deal (Adams).
