throwing it down

[Orin Hargraves]

Can anyone shed any light on the origins and vintage of this idiom to mean
"perform admirably," or something along those lines?

I find

"Trojans throw it down" as the headline of a basketball story in which one
team (the Trojans) routed another.

Also

"Busting rhymes and throwing it down" as a headline in a Jerusalem Post story
about a freestyle rap forum.

Thanks,

Orin Hargraves