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MC Shan | |
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![]() MC Shan in 2021 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Shawn Moltke |
Born | Queens, New York City, U.S. | September 6, 1965
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 1985–present |
Labels |
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Formerly of | Juice Crew |
Shawn Moltke (born September 6, 1965) better known by his stage name MC Shan, is an American hip hop recording artist and record producer.
He is best known for his song "The Bridge" produced by Marley Marl, and for collaborating with Snow on "Informer", the international number-one hit single. MC Shan's New York birth records state he was born in Queens, New York.
In 1985, Shan started on MCA Records with his first and only MCA single, "Feed the World". He was also interviewed in the 1986 cult documentary Big Fun In The Big Town . [1] MCA were not sure about what to do with hip hop, thus he was dismissed from the label. Not long after, Shan signed with Cold Chillin' Records due to his relationship with Marl, and joined Marl's Juice Crew. [2] His debut album Down by Law was released on Warner Bros in 1987. [2] MC Shan was one of the first hip hop artists to have a major record deal with Warner Bros via a distribution deal.
He also found himself to be a key player in the noted hip-hop rivalry known as the Bridge Wars, between the Juice Crew and Boogie Down Productions. Controversy rose from his most famous single "The Bridge b/w Beat Biter". The A-side, one of the first song to sample "Impeach The President" (before was "Get Physical" for Steady B, also produced by Marley Marl) tells the story of how his crew got started in Queensboro Bridge. It also provided a template for other artists to use it as Queens representative anthem. The B-side is a mild-tempered diss-track aimed at LL Cool J for his song Rock The Bells which took the beat from "Marley Scratch", a promo by Marlon and Shawn from 1985 on NIA Records. Although at the time this practice was not allowed, KRS-One however responded with a parody of "The Bridge" named "South Bronx," and the Juice Crew sampled that song with a reply, "Kill That Noise." Slate magazine described the conflict: "In 1986, it was a beef that launched the star of KRS-One." [3] A week later, Boogie Down Productions then released "The Bridge is Over," widely celebrated among hip-hop fans as the highest rated diss track. Somehow all the negative attention went to MC Shan. Years later, MC Shan remade "The Bridge" into "Da Bridge 2001", and strongly denied the bridge "was over", saying:
Shan's second album, Born To Be Wild , followed in 1988 and revealed Shan's b-boy persona, with production once again by Marley Marl. [2] 1990's Play it Again, Shan displayed a more mature style but it also proved to be his last album. [2] When Cold Chillin's sub-label Livin' Large was active, Shan was listed as one of its artists but only released two singles ("Hip Hop Roughneck" b/w "Watchin' My Style" and "Pee-Nile Reunion" (prod. Large Professor, feat. Kool G Rap, Neek The Exotic, Snow, and Diesel) b/w "Don't Call It A Comeback"). Despite the fact that he focused more on his production career (like Snow's 12 Inches of Snow , which featured "Informer", on which he appeared) he recorded "Da Bridge 2001" for Nas' 2000 compilation called QB's Finest , which also featured Mobb Deep, Cormega, and Nature.
Shan had a brief stint in films, playing a bit role in Steve Martin's L.A. Story as Rappin' Waiter. Shan is credited as the guest rapper on the Sum 41 song "Dave's Possessed Hair/It's What We're All About" in the album Half Hour of Power .
In June 2017, MC Shan released his first new studio album in 27 years titled Bars Over Bullshit, which was released digitally through iTunes and Google Play.
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
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US R&B /HH [4] | ||||||||||||||
Down by Law |
| 40 | ||||||||||||
Born to be Wild |
| 48 | ||||||||||||
Play it Again, Shan |
| 40 | ||||||||||||
Bars over Bullshit |
| — | ||||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Album details |
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Battle for Rap Supremacy |
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The Best Of Cold Chillin': MC Shan |
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Q.B.O.G.: The Best of M.C. Shan |
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Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
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US R&B [9] | US Rap [10] | |||
"Feed the World" [11] | 1985 | — | * | Non-album single |
"Jane, Stop This Crazy Thing" | 1986 | — | Down by Law | |
"Beat Biter" | — | |||
"The Bridge" | — | |||
"Left Me Lonely" (featuring TJ Swan) | 1987 | 71 | ||
"Down by Law (Remix)" [12] | — | |||
"I Pioneered This" | 1988 | — | Born to Be Wild | |
"Juice Crew Law" [13] | — | |||
"It Don't Mean a Thing" | 1990 | — | 29 | Play it Again, Shan |
"Ain't It Good to You" [14] | — | — | ||
"Time for Us to Defend Ourselves" [15] | 1991 | — | — | |
"Hip Hop Roughneck/Watchin' My Style" [16] | 1993 | — | — | Non-album singles |
"Pee-Nile Reunion" (featuring Kool G Rap, Neek the Exotic, Diesel & Snow) [17] | — | — | ||
"Kill That Noise" | 1995 | — | — | Battle for Rap Supremacy |
"Shan & The Queens Connect" (featuring Michael Myers) [18] | 1998 | — | — | Non-album singles |
"My Swagga Make My Chain Swing" [19] | 2009 | — | — | |
"Back to the Streets" [20] | 2010 | — | — | |
"Let's Bring Hip-Hop Back" [21] | 2012 | — | — | Bars over Bullshit |
"Every Body Wanna Be a Big Star" [22] | 2013 | — | — | |
"Gritty" [23] | 2015 | — | — | Non-album singles |
"Bounce" [24] | 2021 | — | — | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. "*" indicates a chart that did not exist at the time. |
Marlon Lu'Ree Williams, better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge housing projects located in Queens, New York. He performed in local talent shows during the early days of rap music, further fueling his interest.
Lolita Shante Gooden, better known by her stage name Roxanne Shante, is an American rapper. She first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and was part of the Juice Crew. The 2017 film Roxanne Roxanne is a dramatization of Shante's life.
Queensbridge Houses, also known simply as Queensbridge or QB, is a public housing development in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Owned by the New York City Housing Authority, the development contains 96 buildings and 3,142 units accommodating approximately 7,000 people in two separate complexes. The complex opened in 1939 and is the largest housing project in North America.
Long Live the Kane is the debut album by American rapper Big Daddy Kane, released by Cold Chillin' Records on June 21, 1988. It was produced by Marley Marl and established both as premier artists during hip hop's golden age. Kane displayed his unique rapping technique while covering topics including love, Afrocentricity and his rapping prowess. Marley Marl and Big Daddy Kane display a sparse production style - creating beats with fast-paced drums and lightly utilized James Brown samples.
Duval Clear, known better by his stage name Masta Ace, is an American rapper and record producer from New York City. He appeared on the classic 1988 Juice Crew posse cut "The Symphony". He is noted for his distinct voice and rapping proficiency, and has influenced several MCs.
Prism Records was an American record label formed in 1978 by Len Fichtelberg. It was originally an independent label, focusing on the New York City R&B and disco scene of the day with groups like Erotic Drum Band and disco dance legends Lime. When Cold Chillin' Records was formed in 1986, it was initially distributed by Prism, but label head Tyrone Williams and Fichtelberg decided to merge their companies. As a result, in 1989, the Prism name was phased out in favor of the new name. In 1987, Cold Chillin' signed a 5-year distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records. The first two Cold Chillin' releases through Warner Bros. had the legend A Prism Records Production written on them.
The Bridge Wars was a hip hop music rivalry during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, that arose from a dispute over the true birthplace of hip hop music and retaliation over the rejecting of a record for airplay. The Bridge Wars originally involved the South Bronx's Boogie Down Productions, led by KRS-One, and Marley Marl's Juice Crew, hailing from Queensbridge. KRS-One and Marley Marl have since officially retired the feud, with the release of their collaborative 2007 album Hip Hop Lives.
The Juice Crew was an American hip hop collective made up largely of Queensbridge, New York–based artists in the mid-to-late 1980s. Founded by radio DJ Mr. Magic, and housed by Tyrone Williams' record label Cold Chillin' Records, the Juice Crew helped introduce New School artists MC Shan, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shante, Masta Ace, Tragedy, Craig G and Kool G Rap. The crew produced many answer records and engaged with numerous "beefs" – primarily with rival radio jock Kool DJ Red Alert and the South Bronx's Boogie Down Productions, as well as the "posse cut", "The Symphony".
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.
Cold Chillin' Records was a record label that released music during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. A producer-and-crew label founded by manager Tyrone Williams and run by Len Fichtelberg, most of the label's releases were by members of the Juice Crew, a loosely knit group of artists centered on producer Marley Marl. In 1998, the label shut down, and the majority of its expansive catalog was bought by Massachusetts-based LandSpeed Records.
Road to the Riches is the debut album by hip hop duo Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, which was released in 1989 on then-prominent hip hop label Cold Chillin' Records. The album is notable for being one of the blueprints for the mafioso rap trend with the title track "Road to the Riches," which received strong rotation on the TV show Yo! MTV Raps, and was later featured on the old-school hip hop radio station Playback FM from the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Most of the songs, however, are not crime-related. Other popular songs included "It's a Demo" and "Poison." In 1998, Road to the Riches was selected as one of The Source's "100 Best Albums".
Craig Curry, better known by his stage name Craig G, is an American rapper. He is perhaps best known as one of the members of hip hop producer Marley Marl's Cold Chillin' Records group Juice Crew.
Down by Law is the debut album by East Coast hip hop artist MC Shan. Released at the height of the Bridge Wars, a feud that erupted between Boogie Down Productions and the Juice Crew, responding to the Queensbridge anthem "The Bridge", this album created a blueprint within Hip-Hop music that was never seen before. The album contains the diss track, "Kill That Noise" in response to South Bronx. The album is produced by Marley Marl, and was distributed by Cold Chillin' Records independently, until a distribution deal was struck with Warner Bros. Records (1988), then the album was reissued with slight sample edits. It was the only Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros. album that was never initially released on CD by its distributor. The album was not released on that format until 1995, long after the 5-year distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records ended. By this time, Cold Chillin' distributed its material independently, mostly from its back catalog. This CD pressing would only be available for a limited time and went out of print for a few years. It was then re-released in 2001 as MC Shan: the Best of Cold Chillin', which featured all the tracks from Down by Law with a few additional non-album tracks. This version is now out of print as well. In 2007, it was re-released again by its new owner, Traffic Entertainment, in expanded form as a double-disc set with extended tracks, as well as bonus tracks.
Born to Be Wild is the second album released by Juice Crew member and East Coast rapper MC Shan. With the production work of Marley Marl, MC Shan directly attacked Boogie Down Productions with "Juice Crew Law" and ended the silence around their feud.
"The Bridge Is Over" is a 1987 song by Boogie Down Productions from their debut album Criminal Minded, performed by rapper KRS-One and produced by DJ Scott LaRock and KRS-One. The song's intro samples "The Bridge" by MC Shan.
In Control, Volume 1 is the debut studio album by American hip hop record producer Marley Marl of the Juice Crew. It was released on September 20, 1988 through Cold Chillin' Records with distribution via Warner Bros. Records.
Play It Again, Shan is an album by Cold Chillin' Records artist and Juice Crew member MC Shan. The album was released on April 11, 1990, under Cold Chillin' and Warner Bros. Records.
"The Symphony" is a rap song produced by Marley Marl featuring Juice Crew members Masta Ace, Kool G Rap, Craig G and Big Daddy Kane. The track appears on Marley Marl's 1988 Cold Chillin' Records release In Control, Volume 1. Rolling Stone ranked "The Symphony" the 48th greatest hip-hop song of all time, calling it "the first truly great posse cut".
"It's a Demo" is the 1986 debut single by American hip hop duo Kool G Rap & DJ Polo. Originally a non-album single with "I'm Fly" as a B-side, a remix of the track was featured on the duo's 1989 album Road to the Riches and later on the compilation albums Killer Kuts (1994), The Best of Cold Chillin' (2000), Greatest Hits (2002) and Street Stories: The Best of Kool G Rap & DJ Polo (2013).
In Control Volume II (For Your Steering Pleasure) is the second studio album by American hip hop record producer Marley Marl. It was released on October 1, 1991, via Cold Chillin' Records. Recording sessions took place at Marley's House Of Hits in Chestnut Ridge, New York. Production was handled by Marley Marl himself, with Benny Medina, Francesca Spero and Tyrone Williams serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Tragedy Khadafi, Big Daddy Kane, Craig G, Heavy D, Kool G Rap and Masta Ace, who contributed on In Control, Volume 1, as well as Big Money Wiz, Chubb Rock, Chuck D, Def Jef, Eclipse, Grand Puba, Kev-E-Kev & AK-B, King Tee, Little Daddy Shane, LL Cool J, MC Amazing, MC Cash, Mike Nice, Nexx Phase, Perfection, Portia Kirkland, Pure Cane Sugar, Rap Industry For Social Evolution and The Flex. Action, Biz Markie, MC Shan and Roxanne Shanté did not appear on this album.
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