Ask 20 people what the Golden Age of Hip Hop was, and you’ll get 20 different answers.
Although On The Wire has produced many specials over the years, the Hardcore Beats Special from 5th July 1987 is possibly unique in being the only one that wasn’t a reggae special (to my memory at least). It was produced at a pivotal time — for the Hip Hop scene, for On The Wire, and for me personally. At the time when hip hop had started to come out from the underground, this programme represented a brief slice through the foundations from which Rap’s early megastars had just started to grow into the mainstream: Run DMC, The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J. On The Wire had been going strong for some years in its classic three hour Sunday afternoon slot on FM. And for me, it falls right in the middle of my own Golden Age of Hip Hop.
