If you just started listening to Rap Music when you began watching BET six months ago, there are some things you should know. There were some legendary Rap radio shows that will remain noteworthy forever, among them are "Mr. Magics' Rap Attack", "Pete Rock and Marly Marl In Control", "Rap This" with P- Fine, "P-5" with Jeff Foss, "DNA And Hank Love", "The World Famous Supreme Team" and "The Awesome 2" just to name a few. These shows played an endless number of Rap records that are no longer being heard or talked about.
Although vintage Rap radio and classic Rap records go hand-in-hand there are an almost infinite amount of underground classics that go unheard. When DJs play "so-called" Old School Rap, they seem to play the same handful of records, Special Ed "I Got It Made", Eric B And Rakim "Eric B For President", Doug E. Fresh And Slick Rick "The Show" etc. While all of these are great records, 80's and 90's Rap is so much bigger than one crate of really great records.
In Tru Skool Corner we aim to focus on more obscure records that have largely been forgotten about. Old heads will be able to reminisce on days long gone, and new heads will have a chance to learn about the records that laid the ground work for the very music they listen to now. while some of these records may sound dated, there is a lesson to learn in each one.
This week we focus on 80's producer Man Parrish who is perhaps best know for his 1982 hit Hip-Hop Be Bop. He lead the way in Electro Hip-Hop and Electronic Dance Music in the early 80s. After the success of Hip-Hop Be Bop he released Boogie Down Bronx which featured The Freeze Force Crew on Sugar Scoop Records in 1984. The Freeze Force Crew was MC John Ski and DJ Kool who were unknown in the genre at the time.
The production of the record includes the use of a Vocorder which was very popular at the time, and gives it the ultimate 80s feel. The Electro Hip-Hop sub genre began a few years earlier with the release of Afrika Bambaataa And The Soul Sonic Forces' mega classic Planet Rock in 1982- which also made use of the Vocorder. Planet Rock set the bar for Electro Hip-Hop and impacts the music to this day.
On Boogie Down Bronx John Ski breaks it down over a classic, electronic Man Parrish produced track. He glorifies the home of Hip-Hop through out the record, talking about everything from music to fashion.
After Boogie Down Bronx John Ski and DJ Kool appeared on only one other record, doing guest vocals on Rama's Go-Go Get Down.