When hip-hop began crashing pop culture’s party in the 1980s, Broadway didn’t seem like one of its potential destinations. Hip-hop’s South Bronx birthplace was 11 miles and a cultural world away from the theater district.
However, as hip-hop began infiltrating the mainstream, and eventually becoming the mainstream, it was perhaps inevitable that beats and rhymes would reach the Broadway stage.
By the time Hamilton blew up in 2015, the integration of hip-hop into Broadway was undeniably successful, both commercially and creatively.
(Hamilton returns to Straz Oct. 21-Nov. 8. For more information, visit the website or call (813) 229-7827.)
Hip-hop, though, had picked up on Broadway years before.
All the way back in 1988 Big Daddy Kane’s “Ain’t No Half-Steppin’” used elements of “Ease on Down the Road” from The Wiz.
A decade later, Jay-Z made the connection explicit, sampling “It’s the Hard Knock Life” from Annie for his international smash “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem).” Daddy Warbucks could not be reached for comment.
Jay-Z returned to Broadway’s well in 1999, sampling “I’d Do Anything” from Oliver! for the track “Anything.”
It’s now not at all uncommon to hear references to and samples of Broadway music in popular music, usually in songs by hip-hop or hip-hop adjacent artists.
Ludacris also borrowed a bit from Oliver!, incorporating “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two” into his track “Large Amounts.”
And Wu-Tang Clan sampled Annie, less obviously but five years before Jay-Z, incorporating bits from “Tomorrow” into “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthin’ ta … Wit.”
Gwen Stefani had declared The Sound of Music film soundtrack her favorite record back when she fronted pop punk-ska outfit No Doubt. That she used a sample from the soundtrack on her solo hit “Wind It Up” wasn’t surprising. That she used “The Lonely Goatherd,” was, perhaps, a bit more surprising. She also borrowed “If I Were a Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof for her “Rich Girl” single.
(The Sound of Music will be presented at Straz March 9-14. For more information, visit our website or call (8130 229-7827.)
In what must be foreshadowing, Ariana Grande appeared on Mika’s “Popular Song,” which uses “Popular” from Wicked as its base. Grande also tapped The Sound Of Music for her song “7 Rings,” sampling “My Favorite Things.”
(Wicked returns to Straz Feb. 3-29, 2027. For more information visit our website or call (813) 229-7827.)
A long way from being strange bedfellows, Broadway and hip-hop have proven mutually beneficial to each other. Maybe the distance from South Bronx to Broadway isn’t that far after all.