Muhammad Ali's influence ran deep through rap's golden age

Some have argued that the Champ was the first rapper. But more important to rap than his disses of his opponents was his manner outside the ringNo music is closer to the quality of a sport than rap – and no sport is more akin to the quickfire lyrical combat of rapping at its purest than boxing. The music’s proving ground is the rap battle: two MCs going head-to-head, lyric-for-lyric, jabbing at each other with words, seeking to win the crowd’s acclaim with a lyrical knockout...

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