23 Badass Photos From The Early Days Of Hip-Hop

London youth at a concert in 1986.

Run-D.M.C. perform with members of their backup band in New York City on May 1, 1984.

Left: MC Duke in London in the 1980s. Right: A young woman sports her graffiti tag on the bill of her hat in London, 1986.

People smile for the camera at a concert in London, 1986.

DJ Afrika Bambaataa performs at The Venue in London, 1982.

Breakdancers show off their moves at the Roxy in New York City in September 1981.

A graffiti artist finishes his tag on a New York City wall in the 1980s.

A pair of graffiti artists show off their hand-painted fashions in New York City on June 28, 1975.

A DJ performs at a London event in 1986.

Ad-Rock performs with the Beastie Boys in Los Angeles on Feb. 2, 1987.

Dynamic 3 performs at the Fridge in London, 1985.

The crowd at Dingwalls in London is bum-rushed from the door before Ultramagnetic MC's hit the stage in 1989.

Members of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five pose for a portrait in New York City, 1983.

Hip-hop fans in Kangol bucket hats pose for the camera in London, 1986.

A man shows off his elaborately painted boombox outside of a hip-hop club in London, 1986.

Breakdancers in track suits show off their b-boy stances at a London event in 1986.

A group of London breakdancers pose for a group portrait in 1983.

LL Cool J poses at Farmers Boulevard in Queens, New York, in 1985.

A pair of graffiti artists tag a wall in New York City, circa 1977.

A group of breakdancers called the Eastwood Rockers go through their breakdancing paces in London on July 26, 1984.