Reality Rap Pioneers

Hit A Lick Records co-founder Jerry Heller makes the statement, “N.W.A were the first great rap audio documentarians of the problems in our inner cities” (“Rap With Accent Marks,” by Agustin Gurza, Aug. 4):

As a longtime fan of hip-hop, let me correct him by pointing out that Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five (led by rapper Melle Mel) are considered the pioneers of reality rap with their 1980 hit “The Message.” This was followed by Run-DMC’s “Hard Times” in 1983.

Yes, N.W.A should be credited with illuminating the problems in South-Central and predicting the inevitable backlash of the Rodney King beating and the death of Latasha Harlins. But Heller’s hyperbole and self-promotion should be tempered with the facts.

JOE DOUGHRITY

Silver Lake