[youtube id=”pHCdS7O248g”]Blondie co-founders Deborah Harry and Chris Stein met hip-hop pioneer Fab Five Freddy on the New York City public-access show TV Party. Their meeting led to Freddy being in Blondie’s video for “Rapture” which also had appearances from Jean-Michel-Basquiat and graffiti artist Lee Quinones. Blondie had an eclectic sound that covered new wave, disco, rock and hip-hop. They were one of the most progressive bands of the ’80s because of their multi-genre approach which was a reflection of their lives in downtown New York City’s art scene Rap fans always cite the Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” for its infiltration into pop culture but Blondie’s “Rapture” also made an impact as the first song with rap vocals to make it to number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The video is just as important because of its capture of New York City’s East Village in the ’80s. It made another first as the inaugural rap video to be shown on MTV and Freddy became the host of Yo! MTV Raps in 1988. “Rapture” was the last single from the Autoamerican album it was one of Blondie’s defining moments. Blondie’s 17th studio album, Pollinator was released in 2017.Â
