Mantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro funk music group from New York City. The band was formed by DJ Kurtis Mantronik and rapper MC Tee. The group is primarily remembered for its pioneering blend of old school hip hop, electronic, and club music. They underwent several genre and line-up changes during its seven-year existence between 1984 and 1991, and released five albums beginning with their 1985 debut The Album.
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were an American hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of rapper Will Smith and disc jockey Jeff Townes. Active full time from 1986 to 1994 and occasionally thereafter, the duo became just the third rap group in recorded history to receive platinum certification, after Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys. The group received the first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989 for "Parents Just Don't Understand" (1988), though their most successful single was "Summertime" (1991), which earned the group their second Grammy and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Will Smith and Jeff Townes have remained close friends and claim they never split up, having made songs together under Smith's solo performer credit. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince have sold over 5.5 million albums in the US. They also performed together as recently as September 2019.
Compton's Most Wanted (C.M.W.) is an American gangsta rap group and part of the early West Coast hip hop scene. The leaders of the group are MC Eiht and Tha Chill.
Eric Garcia, professionally known by his stage name Evil E, is an American disc jockey. He's best known as the DJ for Ice-T, who brought him in to his production company Rhyme Syndicate in the mid-1980s. He is the brother of fellow rapper Henry "Hen-Gee" Garcia, with whom he formed the duo Spinmasters.
M.O.P. is an American hip hop duo composed of East Coast rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame. The song "Ante Up", was released on their Warriorz album in 2000. The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premier. Fame sometimes produces under the moniker Fizzy Womack and has produced a significant number of tracks on all M.O.P. releases since 1996's Firing Squad, as well as work for other artists including Kool G Rap, Teflon and Wu-Tang Clan.
Anthony Wheaton, professionally known by his stage name Sir Jinx, is an American hip hop producer and rapper from Los Angeles. He is a cousin of multi-platinum producer Dr. Dre. He began his career as a member of the C.I.A. in the mid-80s with Ice Cube and Kid Disaster. He produced tracks for the likes of Dazzie Dee, Westside Connection, Too Short, Yo-Yo, Tone Loc, Kool G Rap, CeCe Peniston, Xzibit and Kurupt among others, and also remixed songs for Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy and Toni Braxton.
William LaShawn Calhoun Jr., better known by his stage name WC, is an American rapper and actor. He originally was a rapper in the group Low Profile and later formed his group WC and the Maad Circle, who first succeeded with the single "Ain't A Damn Thang Changed". He later started a solo career and has released four solo albums. He is also well known for being a member of the rap supergroup Westside Connection with West Coast rappers Ice Cube and Mack 10.
Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock were an American hip hop duo from Harlem, New York City. Rob Base is the stage name of Robert Ginyard and DJ E-Z Rock was Rodney "Skip" Bryce (1967–2014). They are best known for the 1988 hit "It Takes Two", a single that was a top 40 hit and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. That song was a part of the duo's album of the same name, which also has been certified platinum. They are known for being pioneers of the crossover success that rap music would have in the popular music mainstream.
Robert "Bob" Khaleel, better known by his stage name Bronx Style Bob, is an American rapper from the Bronx, New York City.
Donald Lamont, professionally known by his stage name Donald-D, is an American rapper and record producer from the Bronx, New York. He is a member of the Universal Zulu Nation, a member of the B-Boys, and is best known as a member of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate.
London Posse was a British hip hop group. According to The Daily Telegraph, they "finally gave British rap an identity of its own." London Posse member Bionic led the charge for UK and worldwide artists to use their own accents and languages rather than copy Americans and was the architect behind their biggest hit "Money Mad" introducing 'road style' to UK hip hop and mixing it with ragga/dancehall.
Music of Life is a British independent hip hop and dance music label formed in 1986 by two influential DJ remixers, Froggy and Simon Harris, managed by Chris France. Following several successful productions, one of which reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart, Harris and Froggy decided to launch their own label, they were offered a label deal by Morgan Khan (Streetwave) and the first release was a remix by the duo of Cerrone's 'Supernature'. Within a few months Froggy left the label and Streetwave went out of business. Harris being active in remixing and production for many other artists and labels financed the label with his remix income. After the demise of Streetwave Harris and France decided to re-launch as a British hip-hop music label. Music of Life opened an office in London's Soho at 22 Hanway Street, Chris France and his sister Michelle spent their days in the busy Soho office whilst Simon could usually be found in his home studio 'The Bunker' producing many of the Music of Life releases.
Percy Lee Chapman, known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi, is an American rapper and record producer. Chapman hails from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City, and helped spawn other hip hop artists such as Mobb Deep, Capone-N-Noreaga, Nas. He is documented to be the first to use the phrase "illmatic" in 1988 on a record called "The Rebel", from the Marley Marl album In Control, Volume 1, which was an inspiration and influence on fellow New York rapper Nas.
Funky 4 + 1 was an American hip hop group from The Bronx, New York, composed of Jazzy Jeff, Sha-Rock, D.J. Breakout, Guy Williams, Keith Keith, The Voice of K.K. and Rodney Stone. The latter two members also performed together as the duo Double Trouble, notably in the film Wild Style. They were the first hip hop group to receive a record deal, as well as the first to perform live on national television. The group was also notable for being the first to have a woman MC, Sha-Rock.
Wanted: Dead or Alive is the second album by the hip hop duo Kool G Rap & DJ Polo. The album was released a year after the duo's debut, Road to the Riches, and received greater acclaim from most music critics. The singles "Streets of New York" and "Erase Racism" received notable airplay on Yo! MTV Raps and the former is credited by Nas as being influential on his song "N.Y. State of Mind" from his critically acclaimed album Illmatic.
Return of the Funky Man is the second studio album by American hip hop recording artist Lord Finesse of Diggin' in the Crates Crew. It was released on February 11, 1992 via Warner Bros. subsidiary label Giant Records. Production was handled by seven record producers, including Diamond D, Showbiz, DJ Aladdin, SLJ, Latif, Petawane, and Lord Finesse himself. It also features guest appearances provided by A.G., Percee P, Harry-O and Shelrumble. The album peaked at number 95 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and its self-titled single made it to number 13 on the Hot Rap Songs.
We're in This Together is the 1990 studio album by American hip hop duo Low Profile. It was released in 1990 through Priority Records, and it was produced entirely by DJ Aladdin. The album peaked at number 66 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
"6 in the Mornin'" is a song by American rapper Ice-T. Released in 1986 as the B-side of "Dog 'n the Wax ", the song is considered to be one of the defining tracks of the gangsta rap genre. It also appeared on Ice T's debut album Rhyme Pays in 1987. The song was produced by Compton's Most Wanted associate the Unknown DJ.
"What Ya Wanna Do?" is a single by American recording artist Ice-T from his third studio album The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech...Just Watch What You Say. It was released in 1989 via Sire Records. The song served as a posse cut and featured several artists from hip hop collective Rhyme Syndicate: Bronx Style Bob, Divine Styler, Donald D, Everlast, Hen-Gee, M.C. Taste, Nat The Cat, Randy Mac, Shakell Shabazz, Toddy Tee, and DJ Evil E. It was produced and programmed by Afrika Islam and co-produced and arranged by Ice-T himself for Rhyme Syndicate Productions. The song was recorded at Syndicate Studios West & Wide Tracks, in Los Angeles, California, and mastered at Future Disc Systems, also in L.A.
Notorious is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Donald D. It was released in 1989 via Ice-T's Rhyme $yndicate Records label with distribution through Epic Records and CBS Records Inc. Recording sessions took place at Syndicate Studio West and Wide Tracks Recording Studio in Los Angeles, California. Record production on the album was handled by Afrika Islam and Donald D, with executive production provided by Ice-T. Reaching a peak position of number 78 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, the album remained on the chart for a total of 18 weeks. It spawned two singles: "F.B.I.", which peaked at number 8 on the Hot Rap Songs, and "Notorious".
