Rock Master Scott & The Dynamic Three Have The Entire City Calling In On The 'Request Line'

I've written before about how a good amount of early music videos from the 80s were less of a showcase for small scale, high concept visual ideas and more of a means to get a vibe across. To hammer home what a song wants you to feel or experience.

Because many black voices, specifically the entire Hip-Hop genre, were excluded from those early MTV days, the budgets and care given to rap groups ranged from minimal to none at all.

Recognizing that necessity is the mother of invention, this also meant that many early music videos by Hip-Hop artists were equal parts scrounging together a basic idea and using your surroundings to set the tone.

'Request Line' is a fantastic blend of both of those equal, important parts.

One of two notable cuts from early 80s rap group Rock Master Scott & The Dynamic Three (the other being 'The Roof Is On Fire'), 'Request Line' uses the backdrop of New York City as a de-facto main character. While the main gimmick is showcasing seven different people, from seven different social backgrounds, calling in to a local DJ's radio show to make a request, it is the city itself that remains center stage.

It's a real treat to see these different folks making their requests. It also allows for some brisk pacing as we jump from one person to the next. But the thing they all have in common is New York City in 1984. The equivalent of historical stock footage, it remains a fascinating view into a very specific time in both the city and American culture.

Unlike 'The Message' from around that same time, 'Request Line' is a more zoomed in look at NYC. Where 'The Message' showed us a view of city life in the 80s from the POV of the literal streets, 'Request Line' puts more of an emphasis on the people and faces that make up the city at its most bustling.

We see glimpses of fashion, dancing, a man calling from his job as a janitor, a businessman at a pay phone, a Spanish-speaking receptionist, even a woman done up in jewels & dancing with a bottle of champagne next to her radio. All of them waiting to get through on the request line.

It may be a corny line, but they say music has the power to bring everyone together. I refuse to go that far. But there is something to be said for having moments that compel people to galvanize behind a cultural force. To be given the idea that the entire city is getting up for Rock Master Scott & The Dynamic Three is a powerful enough force for me.

Given the current state of radio, Hip-Hop, and water cooler media in 2025; 'Request Line' is a happening that could only have taken place when it did. "Hey @DJ Answer your DM, I'm hitting you up!" just doesn't hit the same as "DJ, please, pick up your phone. I'm on the request line."

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