New York New York (Grandmaster Flash song)

New York New York is a 1983 song by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five off their compilation albums Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five (1983) and Greatest Messages (1984). It made #17 on the R&B Singles chart,^[2] #49 on the New Zealand Singles Chart^[3] and #82 on the UK Singles Chart.^[4]

Use of the word "bitch"

It is frequently claimed that the song La Di Da Di by Slick Rick, released in 1985, is the first rap song to include the word "bitch".^[5] However "New York New York", released in 1983, also includes the phrase "bitch"^[6] and thus predates La Di Da Di by two years.

Another candidate for the first rap to say the word is Female Funk by Too $hort. The release date of the song is obscure.

Outside of rap, "Bitch" was the title of The Rolling Stones song from their 1971 album "Sticky Fingers", making the "race" for the word somewhat obsolete.

Use of the word "nigger"

Melle Mel says the word nigger twice in the song. In the third verse he says, "Just play ball or be an entertainer/ 'Cause niggers like me can't read too well". In the sixth verse he says, "Nine months later, the baby is there/ And the nigger that did it says, 'I don't care.'".^[6]

The word was not yet common in hip hop, although it had been used previously in some early hip hop records such as Family Rap and Scoopy Rap (both from the Sound of New York label).

References