Joe Bataan, "Rap-O Clap-O" and the Filipino Place in Hip Hop History
Hip hop was born in the Bronx in the 1970s, created by Black and Latino youth. It is a Black art form first. Filipino Americans who love it — and many of us do — come to it as people who were welcomed in. But there's one name in its earliest days worth knowing.
1973: the birth
On August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc threw a back-to-school party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx and stretched out the breaks on funk records. That party is widely remembered as the birth of hip hop. Through the 1970s, pioneers like Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash built the culture — DJing, MCing, breaking and graffiti — long before the music industry noticed.
1979: the first records
In 1979, rap hit vinyl. The Fatback Band released "King Tim III (Personality Jock)," and the Sugarhill Gang released "Rapper's Delight," the first rap single to reach the Top 40. That same year, Joe Bataan released "Rap-O Clap-O."
Who is Joe Bataan?
Born in Spanish Harlem to a Filipino father and an African American mother, Joe Bataan is himself Black and Filipino. He became a star of Latin soul and boogaloo in the 1960s, singing for the neighborhoods that raised him.
"Rap-O Clap-O" became a hit in Europe and is considered one of the earliest rap records. He's said he nearly didn't record it, feeling too old for this new sound.
The 1980s explosion
After 1979, there was no stopping it — "The Message," "Planet Rock," Run-D.M.C., Straight Outta Compton. Hip hop became a global movement.
Filipino Americans along the way
Over the following decades, Filipino American artists found a home in the culture: apl.de.ap with the Black Eyed Peas, Prometheus Brown with Blue Scholars, Ruby Ibarra's Circa91, EZ Mil's signing with Shady/Aftermath in 2023, and many more — plus generations of Filipino American DJs and b-boys and b-girls.
Knowing whose house this is
We honor Joe Bataan as both Filipino and Black — not a guest, but part of the culture from the start. For the rest of us, the right posture is gratitude. Hip hop gave Filipino Americans a voice, a platform and a community. We know whose house this is, and we don't take that lightly.
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