One of the biggest music stories of the 1980s actually involved a television network. A specialized cable channel, MTV (which stands for Music Television) went on the air in 1981. The cable channel soon made the music video an essential element of selling a hit song. Almost singlehandedly, MTV made stars of Madonna (1958–), Michael Jackson (1958–), and the group Duran Duran. It helped bring rap music to the mainstream when it offered shows centered around this emerging musical form.

Rap music had been an underground musical form until the mid-1980s, but the band Run-DMC reached a mass audience with its first album in 1982. Its 1985 album King of Rock was an even bigger hit and helped make the band a regular feature on MTV. Other popular male rappers of the decade were LL Cool J (1969–) and Tone Loc (1966–); female rap artists included Salt-N-Pepa (1985–) and Queen Latifah...