Finding Milwaukee's first hip-hop song wasn't as easy as simply Googling it. We couldn't just go to the record store or YouTube for a definitive answer.
So, we made a podcast -- Backspin: The Search for Milwaukee's First Hip-Hop Song.
Turns out even the word "first" was contentious. Do you define first as the first song pressed on wax? Does it count if it's on a 45 verses a 12-inch? What if no one remembered that first song or it didn't have much influence? What if the makers of the song never considered themselves hip-hop artists? It gets complicated.
To accompany your podcast experience, we've assembled an official listening guide. Find a playlist of the key songs we reference in the podcast, an interactive map of the places we talk about and a cast of characters to help you put faces to names.
Check it out below.
Hear the music
Meet the cast
Get to know some of the people we interviewed for this podcast.
Too Tuff Tony | An early DJ for WMSE 
Andy Noble | A Milwaukee record collector who helped inspired the search 
Darrell D | A DJ and filmmaker who documented the local rap scene in his film "Ill-Waukee" 
DMT | A Milwaukee rap DJ since the early '80s 
JDL | One of the city's first rap DJs 
Mike Love | A longtime Milwaukee radio DJ 
Reggie Jackson | Milwaukee historian and head griot for the Black Holocaust Museum 
Robert Smith | Director for the Center for Urban Research Teaching at Marquette University and a resident historian at the Black Holocaust Museum 
Sarah Noble | Community activist and principal partner at the BeNoble Group 
Speech | An early Milwaukee hip-hop pioneer and member of the group A-Tack. He went on to found Arrested Development 
The Majestics | A popular Milwaukee R&B and funk group that plays a huge role in this story. They continue to perform to this day. 
Pierre "Rocky" Hall | A DJ for WNOV in the '80s
Where it all happened
Wondering where all of this took place? We've compiled a map of locations mentioned in the podcast.