With hip-hop celebrating its 50-year anniversary, we thought this was the perfect time to re-air all six episodes of Backspin — our search for the city's first hip-hop song, led by 88Nine’s former music director Justin Barney and Tyrone Miller, aka DJ Bizzon.
The first three episodes of Backspin had an investigative quality to them. Justin and Tyrone identified the key players, laid out the facts, rebuilt the timeline and uncovered Milwaukee first hip-hop song: "Class A" by The Majestics.
But was it really the first?
That's the turn we take in episode four: a more analytical and almost philosophical debate about "Class A" and its place in Milwaukee hip-hop history. When you're digging deep like this conversation does, you need to find the foremost experts on the subject — people who were there and know the scene down to their bones.
We got them together in one room to sort through the facts and very strong opinions about how hip-hop was built in Milwaukee.
'Backspin' episode guide
- Aug. 28 — Setting the Stage
- Sept. 5 — Milwaukee was Crackin'
- Sept. 12 — The Majestics Meet Marvell
- Sept. 19 — Scratch the Record
- Sept. 26 — Arrested Development
- Sept. 28 — The Friends We Made Along the Way
