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Lamar Hill, also known as LA Sunshine is an American old-school hip hop artist, and member of the Treacherous Three.
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Lamar Hill, also known as LA Sunshine is an American old-school hip hop artist, and member of the Treacherous Three.
In the late 1970s, he met Kool Moe Dee, DJ Easy Lee and Spoonie Gee started performing at the age of 15. Building on their chemistry, the three rappers and deejay decided to form the influential old school hip hop group the Treacherous Three. Shortly before the group could begin to achieve any stardom, Spoonie Gee decided to solo and was replaced by Special K. Despite going solo, Gee maintained close ties to the group, and was involved in the members getting their first record deal with his uncle's record label. [1]
In 1981, they moved to Sugar Hill Records along with another Enjoy Records act Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The Treacherous Three became well known for their singles "Feel the Heart Beat" and "Whip It". They were featured in the 1984 film the breakdance cult-movie Beat Street performing the song Xmas Rap with Doug E Fresh, but disbanded shortly afterwards. When Kool Moe Dee went solo, Hill went with him and performed on stages around the world but spent most of his time on tour doing drugs. [2]
In 2011, Hill penned an autobiography titled "L.A. Sunshine: A True Story, The Real Accounts" which details his difficult childhood, the perks and downsides of his time as an entertainer, and the depression, homelessness and suicide attempts that filled his early adult life.
Hill has worked several part-time and seasonal jobs in after-school programs and as a teacher's aide at several New York area educational facilities including Promise Academy Charter School in Harlem, Imagine Me Leadership Charter School in Brooklyn and the now closed Rice High School.
He still occasionally performs with the Treacherous Three and is proud of his early influence on the hip hop genre, but prefers the stability of a regular job.
Rapping is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and [commonly] street vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The components of rap include "content", "flow", and "delivery". Rap differs from spoken-word poetry in that it is usually performed off-time to musical accompaniment. It also differs from singing, which varies in pitch and does not always include words. Because they do not rely on pitch inflection, some rap artists may play with timbre or other vocal qualities. Rap is a primary ingredient of hip-hop music, and so commonly associated with the genre that it is sometimes called "rap music".
Old-school hip hop is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and the original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contemporary styles.
Nathaniel Thomas Wilson, better known by his stage name Kool G Rap, is an American rapper. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MCs of all time, and a pioneer of mafioso rap/street/hardcore content and multisyllabic rhyming. On his album The Giancana Story, he stated that the "G" in his name stands for "Giancana", but on other occasions he has stated that it stands for "Genius".
Freestyle is a style of hip hop music where an artist normally improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure. It can also be a written verse with no particular subject. It is similar to other improvisational music, such as jazz, where a lead instrumentalist acts as an improviser with a supporting band providing a beat. Freestyle originally was simply verse that is free of style, written rhymes that do not follow a specific subject matter, or predetermined cadence. The newer style with the improvisation grew popular starting in the early 1990s. It is now mainly associated with hip hop.
Beat Street is a 1984 American dance drama film featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Set in the South Bronx, the film follows the lives of a pair of brothers and their group of friends, all of whom are devoted to various elements of early hip hop culture, including breakdancing, DJing and graffiti.
Mohandas Dewese, better known by his stage name Kool Moe Dee, is an American rapper, songwriter and actor. Considered one of the forerunners of the new jack swing sound in hip hop, he gained fame in the 1980s as a member of one of the pioneering groups in hip hop music, the Treacherous Three, and for his later solo career. During his career he released a total of seven studio albums, with 1994's Interlude being the last to date.
How Ya Like Me Now is the second solo studio album by American rapper Kool Moe Dee from the Treacherous Three. It was recorded at Battery Studios in London, England and released on November 3, 1987, via Jive Records.
Morgan Clyde "Bobby" Robinson was an American independent record producer and songwriter in New York City, most active from the 1950s through the mid-1980s.
The Treacherous Three was a pioneering American hip hop group that was formed in 1978 and consisted of DJ Easy Lee, Kool Moe Dee, L.A. Sunshine, Special K and Spoonie Gee, with occasional contributions from DJ Dano B, DJ Reggie Reg and DJ Crazy Eddie. They first appeared on record in 1980 on the B-side of Spoonie Gee's single, "Love Rap".
Gabriel Jackson, better known by his stage name Spoonie Gee, is one of the earliest rap artists, and one of the few to have released rap records in the 1970s. He has been credited with originating the term hip hop and some of the themes in his music were precursors of gangsta rap.
Kool Moe Dee is the eponymous debut solo studio album by American rapper Kool Moe Dee from the Treacherous Three. It was released in 1986 via Jive Records, and produced by Teddy Riley, Bryan "Chuck" New, LaVaba Mallison, Pete Q. Harris, Robert Wells and Kool Moe Dee.
Knowledge Is King is the third solo studio album by American rapper Kool Moe Dee, released on May 30, 1989, via Jive Records.
Funke, Funke Wisdom is the fourth solo studio album by American recording artist Kool Moe Dee from the Treacherous Three. It was released in 1991 via Jive Records, making it the rapper's final album on the label.
Turn It Up is a compilation album of rare and unreleased material by The Treacherous Three and Kool Moe Dee. It was released on July 11, 2000, for Sequel Records and was produced by the members, DJ Easy Lee, Kool Moe Dee, Special K and LA Sunshine. Samples from "The Body Rock" were used by Mariah Carey for her song "Honey" on her album Butterfly, and by Akon for his song "Belly Dancer (Bananza)".
Errol Eduardo Bedward, better known by his stage name Pumpkin, was an American musician, percussionist, and band leader. He was renowned for being the one behind many old school hip hop tracks for the Profile, Enjoy, and Tuff City record companies.
Kevin Keaton, professionally known by his stage name Special K, is an American old-school hip hop emcee from the Bronx, New York. He was prominent in the late 1970s, throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, and best known as member of the Treacherous Three. He is the younger brother of T La Rock and the older brother of rapper Tony Tone who was a member of the Hip Hop duo Style.
This is the discography of Kool Moe Dee, an American recording artist from New York City.
Chopper is a hip hop music subgenre that originated in the Midwestern United States and features fast-paced rhyming or rapping. Those that rap in the style are known as choppers, and rapping in the style is sometimes referred to as chopping. The style is one of the major forms of Midwest hip hop, though by the early 2000s, it had spread to other parts of the United States including California and New York City, and it has spread around the world since.
Hip-Hop Evolution is a Canadian music documentary television series that originally aired on HBO Canada in 2016. Hosted by Juno Award-winning artist Shad, the series profiles the history of hip-hop music through interviews with many of the genre's leading cultural figures. The series is produced by Darby Wheeler, Rodrigo Bascuñán, Russell Peters, Scot McFadyen, Sam Dunn and Nelson George. It won the 2016 Peabody Award, and the 2017 International Emmy Award for Best Arts Programming.
The Best of Enjoy! Records is a 1989 compilation album of early hip hop music released by the Enjoy! Records music label. The album was part of a series of compilation albums from Hot Records covering various releases from American and British independent music labels. Retrospective reviews of the album from The Rough Guide to Hip-Hop and Spin and the Oakland Tribune as containing some of the best music of early hip hop.