I've been wondering about this today.

To be honest, and don't laugh! the first white guy i remember seeing rapping semi-seriously was Adam Ant on 'Antrap'.

Any help here?

this guy (you may have to skip ahead to about 1:00)

i would have said beastie boys were the first male wite rappers. maybe tarri b. was the first white female?

dancerella said:

Beasties as 'serious' rappers yes. i agree, but Adam although not serious beats them by about five years.

I'm wanting to know the first example on record of both male and female white folk rapping. No matter how lame.

Blondie - Rapture 1981

Marrk said:

that's a little different, since Adam Ant did a rap song, but certainly wasn't a rapper.

abierman said:

AntRap was also '81, i can't believe rap had being 'officially' going for at least 3yrs already. there must be someone before '81.

NDRU said:

Of course he wasn't, but is he the first example of a white guy trying to make $'s off the rap genre?

Marrk said:

I can't think of any earlier ones.

there are examples that could be called rap-ish, like Charlie Daniels Band Devil Went Down to Georgia, but that was obviously not intended to be rap, it just happened to be similar to rap.

NDRU said:

Interesting.

Is that the song about some guy Vs the Devil playing the fiddle?
That shit was a helluva story. I miss 'story' songs.

But so far, Adam is the first.

Marrk said:

yeah that's the one. It was in 1979, but not technically "rap"

"in the naughty north and in the sexy south, we're all singing--I have the mouth!!"

George Michael/Wham! in "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)" from 1982.

graecophilos said:

That doesn't help. 1982 follows 1981. you know that! and George's attempt at rap aint no better than Adams!

Alan Willis from "The Jeffersons" in the mid 1970s. Back then, it was called playing the dozens and he was doing it with George Jefferson.

Timmy84 said:

So u only accepting someting serious?

vainandy said:

Is that what i'm after? don't wreckanize the term 'playing the dozenz' but i'm a brit! Semi-serious or a joke?

vainandy said:

Good call, but Alan Willis wasn't white. Roxie Roker was his mama.

There are a lot of Dee-Jays from the early rock days who'd lay claim to that. I've been told they spit rhymes as well.

BTW, that Charlie Daniels call was a good one, NDRU.

NDRU said:

Missed this response, but damn he had some drums a-banging!

Marrk said:

The question may have been funny, lol...

I'm just saying.

OK, since this is supposedly humor:

Timmy84 said:

What about the girls? Debbie Harry fair?

Marrk said:

I guess, lol. But I'll make a big case for Teena Marie ("Square Biz").

Playing the dozens was two people throwing humorous insults at each other but making them rhyme. I would assume that this would have eventually given someone an idea to add music to the rhyhmes and make a song out of it.

vainandy said:

You need a beat, lol. Dozens were always comedic rants. You can go back to the fifties or forties with the dirty dozens. Redd Foxx and LaWanda Page were MASTERS of that shit.

His character on the show was bi-racial. The actors themselves (there were two Alan Willises) were straight up white though.
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[Edited 2/18/09 14:24pm]

Yeah, but Redd and LaWanda weren't white though, Alan Willis was. As for rhyming and shit talking in the days before rap, Dolemite was very good at it, and he even had background music behind his jokes.
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[Edited 2/18/09 14:29pm]

Right im off to bed, as i got work. i hope there is a few answers more tomoz.
Don't know why this is interesting me so much.

But it is!