The Bridge: Hip-Hop, Hit Pop
Chris Molanphy and Amy Coddington give Milli Vanilli props as himbo forefathers of rap and pop cross-pollination.
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Episode Notes
In this mini-episode of Hit Parade, host Chris Molanphy is joined by Amherst pop-music professor Amy Coddington to provide some context on how Milli Vanilli helped change the sound of pop music at the turn of the ’80s and ’90s. She says Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan—and whoever vocalized for them—made rap more palatable for both adults and kids. From a 2021 vantage point, it seems quaint that music buyers would be outraged and demand a refund for an album not sung by the pretty faces on the cover. But Americans in the late ’80s were still acclimating to post–hip-hop, post-MTV standards of pop.
Next, Chris quizzes a Slate Plus listener with some music trivia, gives her a chance to turn the tables on him with a clever question of her own about birthday No. 1 hits, and previews next month’s full-length episode. Slate Plus members can sign up for a chance to be our trivia contestant on a future episode here.
Podcast production by Asha Saluja.
