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Here Comes the Judge: The Vaudeville Star in Blackface Who Recorded One of Hip-Hop's First Songs
Pigmeat Markham, a Black vaudeville star who performed in blackface, released the 1968 novelty hit “Here Comes the Judge.” With its rhyming vocals over a funk beat, the track is now widely cited as one of the very first proto-hip-hop records, revealing a complex origin for the genre.
In the vast, sprawling history of American music, some stories are so strange they sound like fiction. This is one of them. In 1968, years before DJs in the Bronx would lay the groundwork for a cultural revolution, a 64-year-old vaudeville comedian named Pigmeat Markham scored a Top 20 hit. The song was “Here Comes the Judge,” a novelty track built on a catchphrase he’d used for decades. But with its rhythmic, rhyming delivery over a hard funk groove, it's now often cited as one of the earliest hip-hop records ever made. The story gets even more complex: Pigmeat Markham, a Black man, performed his entire career in blackface.
Who Was Pigmeat Markham?
Born Dewey Markham in 1904, “Pigmeat” was a giant of the Chitlin' Circuit—a network of theaters, clubs, and juke joints that were safe and popular venues for Black performers and audiences during the Jim Crow era. For decades, he was a beloved comedian and entertainer, known especially for his signature sketch, a chaotic courtroom scene where he presided as the all-powerful, wisecracking judge. The routine always began with the bailiff announcing his arrival with the famous line: “Hear ye, hear ye, here comes the judge!” Markham’s act was old-school, a relic of a bygone vaudeville era, but it had staying power.
The Uncomfortable Reality of Blackface
It’s impossible to discuss Markham’s legacy without addressing the most jarring element of his performance: his use of blackface. For modern audiences, the image of a Black performer applying burnt cork is deeply unsettling and confusing. The practice was a holdover from the minstrel shows of the 19th century, where racist caricatures were foundational. For Black performers in the early 20th century, however, the dynamic was different and fraught with complexity. It was often a requirement to get booked, a form of “theatrical mask” that fit the expectations of both white and Black audiences accustomed to minstrelsy tropes. Markham himself claimed it was simply his professional trademark.
Markham explained that he had added the makeup to his act in 1928 after a white man in a blackface act had shown him how to create a character by darkening his skin.
While this history doesn't erase the painful origins of blackface, it places Markham's act within a specific, complicated historical context of Black survival and performance in a deeply segregated America.
From Vaudeville to Vinyl
In the late 1960s, Markham's signature phrase found new life. The legendary Sammy Davis Jr., guest-starring on the wildly popular TV show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, performed a bit based on Markham’s routine. The line “Here come de judge!” became a national catchphrase overnight. This explosion in popularity led to Markham himself being invited on the show, finally bringing his old act to a mainstream television audience. It also led to a record deal with the iconic Chess Records. In 1968, he released “Here Comes the Judge.” The song wasn't just a spoken-word comedy bit; it was driven by a powerful, danceable funk beat. Over this proto-breakbeat, Markham delivered his rhyming judicial pronouncements with a cadence and flow that was decades ahead of its time.
A Proto-Hip-Hop Forefather?
Is “Here Comes the Judge” the first rap song? The debate is lively. Critics and historians point to other traditions, like Jamaican toasting or the political spoken-word of artists like Gil Scott-Heron and The Last Poets, as crucial precursors to hip-hop. But Markham’s record has a strong claim. It contains many of the core elements that would come to define hip-hop: rhythmic rhyming, storytelling, a focus on the vocal delivery, and a heavy, looped beat perfect for a dance floor. While he wasn't part of the culture that would emerge from the Bronx, Pigmeat Markham, the vaudeville comedian in blackface, unwittingly created a musical document that serves as a fascinating and complicated Year Zero for a genre that would later take over the world. His story is a powerful reminder that the roots of culture are often deeper, stranger, and more complex than we can ever imagine.