Planet Rock (song)  

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-"Urban spaceman [[Afrika Bambaataa]] and producer [[Arthur Baker]], plus musician [[John Robie]], were the trio behind a musical revolution called "[[Planet Rock (song)|Planet Rock]]", Bambaataa's 1982 single with Soul Sonic Force. Following the impact of "Planet Rock", UK groups made Electro-boogie pilgrimages to Baker's studio in Manhattan: Freeze's "IOU" rocketed [[jazz funk]] into the infosphere but more significantly, [[New Order]]'s "[[Blue Monday]]" launched indie dancing and sold massively on 12". Also breaking and robot dancing, the acrobatic and simulated machine dances that drew many adolescents into the alien zone of [[black science fiction]]. Bleep music was one consequence of this. Hardly adequate to describe and encompass the protozoic chaos of New York Nu Groove, Detroit Techno, Chicago House, electro. Next came techno." -- [[David Toop]] for Wire magazine +"In 1981, [[Afrika Bambaataa|Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force]], together with producer [[Arthur Baker (musician)|Arthur Baker]], paid tribute with [to [[Kraftwerk]] with] "[[Planet Rock (song)|Planet Rock]]," which used the melody from "[[Trans-Europe Express (song)|Trans-Europe Express]]" over the rhythm from "[[Numbers (Kraftwerk song)|Numbers]]." In the process they created [[electro (music)|electro]] and moved [[Hip hop music|rap]] out of the [[Sugar Hill Records|Sugarhill]] age." --"[[Machine Soul: A History Of Techno]]" (1993) by Jon Savage
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 +"In New York, the German band almost single-handedly sired the [[electro]] movement: Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force's 1982 smash "[[Planet Rock (song) |Planet Rock]]" stole its doomy melody from "[[Trans-Europe Express (song)|Trans-Europe Express]]" and its beatbox rhythm from Kraftwerk's 1981 track "[[Numbers (Kraftwerk song)|Numbers]].""--''[[Generation Ecstasy]]'' (1998) by Simon Reynolds
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"In 1981, Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force, together with producer Arthur Baker, paid tribute with [to Kraftwerk with] "Planet Rock," which used the melody from "Trans-Europe Express" over the rhythm from "Numbers." In the process they created electro and moved rap out of the Sugarhill age." --"Machine Soul: A History Of Techno" (1993) by Jon Savage


"In New York, the German band almost single-handedly sired the electro movement: Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force's 1982 smash "Planet Rock" stole its doomy melody from "Trans-Europe Express" and its beatbox rhythm from Kraftwerk's 1981 track "Numbers.""--Generation Ecstasy (1998) by Simon Reynolds

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"Planet Rock" is a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force. It is widely regarded as one of the earliest and most influential rap songs. Although it was only a minor hit in the US and UK, it helped change the foundations of hip-hop and dance music. It is credited with giving birth to the electro style and helped pave the way for other genres such as techno and house.

Produced by Arthur Baker, "Planet Rock" blends synthesizer and vocoder sounds with breakbeating. It was influenced both by electronic artists such as Kraftwerk and the funk musician George Clinton. It was the first hip-hop recording to use a drum machine.

Kraftwerk borrowings

The main melody of "Planet Rock" is borrowed from the title track of Kraftwerk's electronic album Trans Europe Express. Another part of the song contains elements of the song "Numbers" from the Kraftwerk album Computer World, another track which was popular on black music dancefloors in the UK and the US. The borrowings eventually resulted in an out-of-court settlement between Kraftwerk and Tommy Boy Records head Tom Silverman.

Legacy

Since its release, "Planet Rock" has had a large influence on music and on popular culture. In 2008, it was ranked number 21 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. MC Common cited this song as a major influence on his album Universal Mind Control, especially in the title track.

In the Black Star cover of Slick Rick's "Children's Story," Mos Def criticizes a fictitious DJ for the overuse of sampling the classics. He says, "Jacked the beat from Planet Rock," notably ironic given the controversy with the similarities between the Kraftwerk single.

The song was remixed by Paul Oakenfold on the album "Swordfish (soundtrack)" and was sampled by LL Cool J in the song "Control Myself."

Jazz and neosoul vocalist Dwight Trible released a track on his 2005 album "Love is the Answer" entitled "I Was Born on Planet Rock" featuring rapper Scienz of Life, a tribute to "Planet Rock" and its legacy on hip hop culture and music.

Additionally, the song has been featured in the 2002 film Ali G Indahouse in what might be the film’s best-known scene, which features Ali G (Sacha Baron Cohen), Ricky C (Martin Freeman), and Dangerous Dave (Tony Way) breaking into the Prime Minister's mansion and getting through a laser room by breakdancing through the room and was used as the main theme of the 2006 basketball video game NBA 2K7 as well as in the Playstation 1 game Thrasher: Skate and Destroy.

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