If you’re a hip-hop aficionado that’s a little strapped for time, then boy have we got a treat for you. Here’s a new track by Massachusetts-born rapper Alyssa Marie called ‘The Evolution Of Hip-Hop’ and, as its title suggests, the track comprehensively documents the progress of the genre, from 1984 to the present day. This is no dry history lesson, however. In just over six minutes, Marie takes 31 different beats (one from each year) and laces them with a whipsmart rap that charts the ins and outs of the last three musical decades.
The tracks she’s chosen are a treat in themselves – from The Beastie Boys’ ‘Paul Revere’ to N.W.A’s ‘Straight Outta Compton’, De La Soul’s ‘Me, Myself and I’ to ‘California Love’ by Tupac and Dr Dre via Cypress Hill, Wu-Tang Clan, Lauren Hill, Kanye, Lil’ Wayne and more, and together they interlink surprisingly brilliantly. Check out the video above and start cribbing up on your hip-hop history.