Ice T helps pioneer gangsta rap on the west coast with his rapcore single Body Rock/ Killers

1984: Number 9 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of R&B and hip-hop musicHip-hop had planted roots on the west coast by the early 80s but it was stylistically in hock to the east coast. When Ice T released Body Rock he was already 25. His rapping style is straight New York, short sing-song rhymes in the style of Kurtis Blow. The B-side, Killers, is more interesting; the style is the same, but the content different – short violent parables both fantastical and offering social co...

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