It was 50 years ago this summer that the sights and sounds of hip-hop culture first emerged on the streets of the Bronx. To commemorate this milestone, WNYC and Gothamist are sharing the voices of the many women from our area who are leaving their own mark on the genre.
Debora Hooper, also known as Debbie D, is one of hip-hop’s earliest female MCs. The Harlem native moved to the South Bronx when she was a teenager, and quickly immersed herself in the burgeoning hip-hop scene.
She recalls being drawn to the music she heard emanating from one of the parks below her 19th floor apartment in the Webster Houses in the summer of 1977, and wanting to be on the mic. After getting that opportunity, she never looked back and went on to join the group, known as DJ Patty Duke and the Jazzy 5 MCs. Debbie D later put her skills to work in Harry Belafonte’s hip-hop film “Beat Street.” She is now a hip-hop scholar/historian and a pioneer in residence at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
MC Debbie D talked with WNYC and Gothamist about her early days in hip-hop, as well as both her and the genre’s staying power.
The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and content.
When did you first catch on to hip-hop?
I was born and raised until my teenage years in Harlem. All of my schooling was in Manhattan and around 13 years old, we had a fire, unfortunately, where we lived in Harlem, and we wound up moving to the Bronx.
We moved to the West Bronx first and we stayed there for a couple of months and then we landed in the South Bronx in Webster Houses. That's basically how it all started. I heard the music there in my bedroom and was curious as to the noise and what was going on. It was my first time actually hearing anything remotely that sounded similar to hip-hop in terms of the beats and the DJing outside, and the break dancing and all of that. So I went downstairs and followed the music, and that's the first time I got exposed to it. Outside in one of the parks is where the jam was held. That's what we called it at the time. We didn't even call it hip-hop at that time. That was summer of 1977. I was 14 years old.
What was the scene like at that time?
It's all about kids. There were no adults around or particularly involved in early hip-hop. The kids started break dancing and then I heard a guy on the mic. So I went the first time and then I went back again because this is summertime. And I think for most kids during that particular time, you either wanted to be a break dancer, you wanted to be a DJ or you wanted to be an MC. And so, because I was raised in the church, ever since I was a young kid, I was used to singing in the choir. I was used to doing Easter speeches when I was in Harlem. I wrote poetry. So I've always been lyrical. Words have always been a part of my life. So I decided, you know what? I wanna do that. I just wanted to, I tried it out like everybody else. And so I got on the mic.
MC Debbie D, 1982
What was that like for you?
Being a woman in the 1970s doing hip-hop wasn't a major thing. You know, people look at it differently today because it's 50 years later, and so the playing field looks a lot different. But back then, girls got on the mic just like guys got on the mic. It wasn't that many girls, but you did have girls who were on the mic. What I often share with people is that at that particular time, the DJ was the central focus of the jams and of hip-hop. And so for me, getting on the mic, I just asked the DJ, could I get on? And the question usually that DJs were concerned about was, could you rhyme? That's all they were concerned about. Gender was never a factor. If a girl could rhyme, just like a guy could rhyme, then DJs were open to you getting on the mic and vice versa. And thankfully I passed the test.
What do you think about how hip-hop has evolved?
I don't have any thoughts on commercialization. I mean, it's just like anything else, you know, things evolve and they change. We went from the parks into clubs, and then from there to movies and different things like that. So it evolved. But you just had more girls that came into the space after a while.
I think the key thing for an early pioneer MC in particular is that there were only a few of us that had staying power, and these are the girls like myself, who I say are the matriarchs, the mothers of this culture because we are the ones who really laid the foundation to everything.
MC Debbie D
You are now a hip-hop educator. What are among the most important things you want younger generations to know about hip-hop and its history?
Early hip-hop, particularly the first 10 years, wasn't heavily commercialized compared to later years. Because of that, oftentimes when people think about early hip-hop, and particularly even using the term pioneers, they often start in the mid-1980s. And so I often find myself saying, no, we gotta go back another 10 years. If you don't talk about the first 10 years, you basically have missed a whole chunk of hip-hop and how it really started and evolved.
Do you see yourself as an inspiration?
I do see myself as an inspiration. When you look at the story of all the female MCs in hip-hop, including myself, we started off connected to guys. My first crew was DJ Patty Duke and the Jazzy 5. So, you know, any of the girls you talk to will basically bring up a crew's name where they're connected to a guy in some way, shape, form or fashion. But when I stepped out as the first female soloist with a female DJ, you know, with no connection to any guy group, I'm managing the both of us, I'm getting all the calls for us to go and perform. We're working out what we are gonna wear. We're putting our own show together. You know, just me and, and my DJ. And so I see myself as an inspiration in that light.
What other thoughts come to mind now that hip-hop is turning 50?
When we were kids, they told us it'd probably last about five years and it'd be over. And here we are celebrating the 50th year and believe it or not, most of us are still alive. So it's exciting for us.
