Soulsonic Force

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Soulsonic Force, also known as Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force, is an American electro-funk and hip hop group. It was originally led by Afrika Bambaataa, who helped put hip hop on the map in the early 1980s. The group also played a role in the emergence of the electro movement in the United States.

Music and breakthrough

In 1982 the single Planet Rock was released. The song borrowed musical motifs from German electro-pop, from British rock and from African American disco rap, and fused them into a single sound. In doing so it offered hip hop a new image of worldwide harmony. The record was an instant hit and charted around the world. Other well-known songs by the group are Looking for the Perfect Beat and Renegades of Funk, which is one of the first politically conscious rap songs, alongside The Message by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. Later the group also sang on the title track of the Freestylers' debut album, We Rock Hard.

Influence

The group showed that hip hop could be more than rap over a funk loop: it pointed the way to modern dance styles such as electro-funk and Miami bass. In School of Rock, Planet Rock is the listening tip for the chapter on electronic music, because of the melody that comes from Kraftwerk.

Listening

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 8: Electronic Music^NL Reader