I got into rap music completely by accident. But the weirdest thing about it is, the experience ended up being pretty good to me.
You see, back in the eighties, in one of those weird turns of fate, I ended up managing a record store in Tacoma, Washington called Penny Lane Records. Penny Lane actually proved to be a bit of a goldmine too — located right next to two military bases (McChord AFB and Ft. Lewis). The thing about this was that every other Friday when the G.I.s got paid, Penny Lane was a sea of green (as in uniforms and money).
Man, did these guys like to spend their money on the jams.
As for me, as a twenty-something, long-haired white guy reared on my own version of the "jams" (mostly by seventies rock bands like Deep Purple and Uriah Heep), I found myself having to adapt rather quickly to the then new world of funkateers like Cameo and Parliament-Funkadelic. Suddenly, I found myself catering to the needs of a lot of young black guys transplanted to Tacoma from towns like New York, Philly, and D.C.
Okay, fine. So be it.
Being the young, hungry guy dying to make it in the music biz I was at the time, I was all too ready to meet the challenge, too. In yet another one of those odd twists of fate, it just so happens that right at about the same time the whole rap thing was just beginning to explode. And at the time — as hard as this may be to believe now — there was virtually nowhere in the Northwest to buy 12" singles by the likes of Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow, and Trouble Funk.
So, being the enterprising and hungry sort of guy I was back then, I did a quick scan of the ads in Billboard Magazine, and discovered sources to import these records. Before long, Penny Lane Records became a destination point for rap music in the Northwest. But this was only the beginning...
Article comments
1 - Rapologist
Sounds like some white guy just stole from that guy from 1994 named Robert Jr. James McClendon, who wrote the first book on Rap for Black people and the tape "Rapologist Speaks '94" to put his people back on track with Rap Music. But seems like mainstream went as far as stealing the brother's title with this crap.
2 - Renee
Oh my goodness, I've been racking my brain for YEARS & even driven by the old location of Penny Lane trying to remember the name - no luck as it's no longer there - unless I overlooked it. I now live in eastern WA, but visit and/or work in the Olympia area every year. Every now & then I'll catch myself reminiscing about my college years and going into your store after every work-study check! Oh man, I wanted all the rap albums hah. To this day I've never been to a better music store. Penny Lane will always hold a special spot in my heart. How nice to finally figure it out & not only that but come across it through you, the old owner! Thanks for all the money you took from me haha & I still have every cassette/CD I bought from you. Take care!