Timberlake, Fallon and the Roots Present 'A History of Rap'

Justin Timberlake, no stranger to viral videos ("Dick in a Box," "Motherlover," etc.) last night joined Late Night host Jimmy Fallon and house band the Roots for the above clip: "A History of Rap." Timberlake and Fallon turn an innocuous conversation about the Sugar Hill Gang into a full-blown medley touching on the past 30 years of hip-hop, including the Beastie Boys, Digital Underground, The Chronic, and "Empire State of Mind." (The Roots' "The Seed 2.0" makes a brief appearance, too.) Perhaps most impressive: Timberlake and Fallon's abilities at imitating Notorious B.I.G., Eminem and Snoop Dogg. Still, "A History of Rap" has a long way to go before it closes in on the 153 million views garnered by the similar "Evolution of Dance" video on YouTube.

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Song Stories

“Is It True”

Brenda Lee | 1964

As the British Invasion reached its peak in 1964, Brenda Lee went from Nashville to London to record one of her hardest-rocking hits, her perky vocal backed by a stuttering, squalling guitar. That guitar was played by session musician Jimmy Page, yet to skyrocket to fame with first the Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin. "She said to me, 'I've come here to make a record with the British sound,'" remembered producer Mickie Most. "She felt she wouldn't get the same sound in Nashville because they're only just catching up on the British beat group sound of about six months ago."

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