Videodrone #6: Rapture

Videodrone is a weekly feature looking at music videos from the last half century. 

Rapture (1981)

The band Blondie was constantly confounding expectations. Formed in New York City in 1974 by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein, the band was heavily influenced by the punk scene in the city but quickly incorporated power pop, new wave and other elements into their sound. 

Blondie broke through with their third album, 1978's Parallel Lines, thanks to the disco-tinged hit single "Heart of Glass." They also had hits with harder-edged songs "One Way or Another," 
Dreaming" and "Call Me." Meanwhile, the photogenic Harry became a sex symbol and started acting in movies. The band released Autoamerican in 1980, scoring a #1 hit with the reggae-flavored "The Tide is High." 

The next single, "Rapture," also went to #1 and introduced hip hop to the American mainstream. Harry and Stein had befriended hip hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy, who took them to local rap events where they were impressed by the skill of local MCs. Inspired, they wrote their own rap song, which they backed with a Chic-esque disco sound. Harry starts off with a lilting vocal before the song kicks into gear, with Harry rapping about a "man from Mars" who arrives in NYC.

The video for "Rapture" debuted on Solid Gold on January 31, 1981 and later became the first rap video ever shown on MTV, which launched in August of that year. 

Set in the East Village, the video features Harry singing and rapping while surrounded by choreographer William Barnes in a white suit and top hat, playing the Man from Mars. There's a lot going on, with cameos from Fab 5 Freddy, artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Lee Quinones, Uncle Sam, a Native American, a child ballet dancer and a goat. Grandmaster Flash was supposed to be in the video but when he didn't show, Basquiat, who was hanging out on the set, was recruited to play the DJ.

Directed by Keith "Keef" Macmillan, the video moved beyond the "band miming on a soundstage" to unveil a scene that non-New Yorkers were unfamiliar with. Despite the popularity of "Rapture," MTV remained resistant to rap music until Run-DMC broke through in 1985 with "Rock Box."

But the song's success enabled the rap scene to move beyond the Bronx into other parts of NYC and eventually, the rest of the world.