AND GOD BLESS THE BLACKOUT WHEN IT COME

I always thought it was pretty much common knowledge, not even anything that was in any way up for debate - The Fatback Band's "King Tim III" was the first and the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" was the second rap record ever. Case closed. Well, that case has been reopened, examined and smashed to splinters in recent times. Lately I've heard a number of claims that other records featuring rappers actually predate both King Tim and the Gang. The ones I've heard the most have been discs by Tanya Winley, PJ Laboy and I think there was another Winley record that was discussed. Personally, I have always been EXTREMELY skeptical of these claims, mostly because I was around during that period and most definitely had my young ear to the street. You gotta remember, there hadn't been any rap records being made at this time but I was absorbing a lot of rap music on the street level, either live at parties or on tapes recorded from these parties. So any knowledge of emceeing being done on record at this time would've been a major deal, not something that would've easily missed my attention.
I vividly remember hearing King Tim for the first time, on a college radio station. Far from a great record IMHO, but again, this was so new at the time that it still was a HUGE thing. Then, of course, the Sugarhill Gang came out not long after and the world was never the same again. So I've just always found it very hard to believe that there was rap on vinyl that predates those two records, because in my mind even a wack rap record at that time would've made at least SOME kind of noise. King Tim and Wonder Mike were not exactly Mele Mel and Grandmaster Caz, ya know? And they still got plenty of notice.
So a week or two ago my mellow my man Troy L. Smith (world famous old school tape king) hit me with some info that another homeboy, Freddy Fresh (author of "The Rap Records", also responsible for many a dope record over the years), gave him about a record from 1978 that featured kids rhymin'. I immediately go into skeptic mode, then Troy tells me the track is on "The Runaways", a Broadway musical soundtrack. That title rang a bell, so i googled up the album cover... okay, I know this record. Beat dealers used to sell this record at the NYC record shows I used to attend, so I figured it had a break on it but had no idea that it had any rhyming.
Turns out it has a break AND some rhymimg. And not all that bad either! I'm still saying that King Tim is first and Sugarhill is 2nd, but I'm not prepared to totally discount this Runaways record. Although these kids are clearly not real emcees, I would not be surprised at all if they were perhaps influenced by what the people in the Bronx were doing in the parks. The whole way they're kickin' it about getting paid during the blackout of '77 makes me think that yeah, it's mostly like that jive-talk-rappin' that brothers did throughout the seventies and even before (listen below to Pigmeat Markham's "Who Got The Number", which is from 1969, for cryin' outloud!), but I definitely think there could be some boogie down bronx yes-yes-y'all inspiration going on there as well.
Take a listen for yourself and tell me what you think- is this actually the first rap record? And if you think so, then listen to the Pigmeat record and tell me why THAT ain't the first joint. I already told you how I feel, but still... I ain't mad at that "enterprise, you got to enterprise" schitt.

RUNAWAYS original Broadway soundtrack - Enterprise RE-UPPED

PIGMEAT MARKHAM - Who Got The Number RE-UPPED