Oct 26, 20264 min read

Today in Hip Hop: October 26

Gospel, funk, soul and South Central rap all share this date. October 26 quietly holds one of the widest ranges on the whole calendar.

OMYGOTTI

Toronto hip-hop artist | 730K+ Facebook

1911

Mahalia Jackson Is Born in New Orleans

Mahalia Jackson was born on October 26, 1911, in New Orleans, and she started singing as a small child at Mount Moriah Baptist Church before moving to Chicago as a teenager. There she joined the Johnson Gospel Singers and began working alongside composer Thomas Dorsey, building the foundation of a voice that would carry gospel far beyond church walls.

Her recording of Move On Up a Little Higher in 1947 changed her life and the business of gospel music, selling millions and becoming one of the best selling gospel singles ever made. She later sang at the March on Washington in 1963 and stood close to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hip hop samples gospel, quotes gospel and borrows its emotional structure. A lot of that road runs through her.

My take: Before there was a rap vocal, there was the church vocal, and Mahalia Jackson set a standard for power and conviction that singers are still measured against.

1951

Bootsy Collins Is Born in Cincinnati

William Earl Collins, known to the world as Bootsy, was born on October 26, 1951, in Cincinnati, Ohio. As a teenager he played behind James Brown, then became a central figure in Parliament-Funkadelic with George Clinton, where his rubbery, effects driven bass lines helped define the sound of funk in the 1970s.

Records like Flash Light and One Nation Under a Groove made him famous, but his second life as a sample source made him permanent. Hip hop producers have lifted, replayed and referenced Bootsy for decades, and his star shaped glasses and space age stage wear made him a visual icon long before branding was a business plan.

My take: Funk is hip hop DNA, and Bootsy is one of the clearest links. If your favourite rap record bounces, there is a good chance his influence is somewhere in the low end.

1974

Then Came You Tops the Hot 100

On October 26, 1974, Then Came You by Dionne Warwick and The Spinners reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, holding the top spot for a week. Remarkably, it was the first Hot 100 number one for both acts, even though Warwick was already one of the most recognisable voices in American pop and soul.

The record later earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. Its smooth, conversational trade off between Warwick and lead singer Bobby Smith showed how soul singing could feel effortless while the arrangement did heavy work underneath, a balance that R&B and rap vocalists still chase today.

My take: First number ones do not always arrive early. Warwick and The Spinners were veterans when this one landed, which makes the win feel earned rather than lucky.

1985

Whitney Houston Earns Her First Number One

Whitney Houston reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 26, 1985, with Saving All My Love for You, the ballad that became the first chart topper of her career. The song came from her self titled debut album, a record that introduced a singer who could handle restraint and power in the same breath.

The performance won Houston her first Grammy, for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, in 1986. Coming just months into her album run, the number one announced that this was not a promising debut. It was the start of one of the defining vocal careers in modern music, and a reference point for every big voiced singer who followed.

My take: Plenty of singers can sing loud. Whitney could sing softly and still command the whole room. This was the week the charts first confirmed it.

1986

ScHoolboy Q Is Born

Quincy Matthew Hanley, known as ScHoolboy Q, was born on October 26, 1986, in Wiesbaden, Germany, and raised in South Central Los Angeles near Hoover Street. He played football at West Los Angeles College before recording in a neighbourhood home studio pulled his focus fully toward music and toward Top Dawg Entertainment.

As a member of Black Hippy alongside Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock, he built a gruff, detailed style of West Coast storytelling. His major label debut Oxymoron entered the Billboard 200 at number one in 2014, led by Collard Greens with Kendrick Lamar, his first song to reach the Hot 100. He turns 40 today, with five Grammy nominations across his career.

My take: Q never chased the cleanest image or the easiest single. He made the Hoover Street version of events vivid enough that the mainstream had to come to him.