Back in 1981, Blondie's "Rapture" was the first record by a new wave or punk band to pay homage to the underground emerging hip hop scene that had recently traveled downtown after developing in the desolate poverty jungle of the Bronx the previous decade. Unlike Blondie's attempt a year earlier, The Clash's Combat Rock is not a novelty. If one wants to be cynical enough, Blondie's "Rapture" was intended to be a one-off, a way to cash in before the hip hop fad that briefly caught the attention of the country after the release of "Rapper's Delight" in 79' disappeared. On the other hand, Combat Rock is a record often inspired by New York hip hop. Even though "Know Your Rights" is a straight away political punk song, it conjures up a pathos of an angry and indignant kid riding on the subway, feeling the injustice of the world being carried on her shoulders. Combat Rock is a political record. There is no political insight found on Blondie's "Rapture". It's really just about partying and the glitz and mystique yuppies like Debbie Harry an Chris Stein found in the city. The name dropping of Fab Five Freddy, who was also made a cameo in the video along with his graffiti colleague, Lee Quinones, assures Blondie has credibility, but nonetheless, on Combat Rock, with the exception of Futura 2000's appearance on "Overpowered by the Funk", nobody is rapping. And yet, most songs on Combat Rock are a million times more hip hop than "Rapture". What makes Combat Rock, in a sense, a hip hop record, has much to do with diverse influences that inspired The Clash, very similar to the eclectic choice of records that Kool Herc, Flash, Bambaataa, and Grandwizzard Theodore spun during hip hop's earliest days back in the 70s.
In hindsight, Combat Rock predicted that hip hop would not be just a quick fad. The greatest thing about Joe Strummer was his sincere belief in the power of music. The video for "This is Radio Clash" capture's Strummer's spirit. Despite The Clash's inner-dysfunction, an experience most innovative bands go through, Strummer's spirit was infectious to the rest of the band. It is this spirit that allowed Combat Rock to be an authentic and genuine creation, a document of inner-city counterculture during the late 70s and early 80s, whether it was in London or New York. Blondie's "Rapture" is disposable in comparison.
