The new school of hip hop was a movement in hip hop music, beginning in 1983–84 with the early records of Run–D.M.C., Whodini, and LL Cool J. Predominantly from Queens and Brooklyn, it was characterized by drum machine-led minimalism, often tinged with elements of rock; rapped taunts, boasts, and socio-political commentary; and aggressive, self-assertive delivery. In song and image, its artists projected a tough, cool, street b-boy attitude. These elements contrasted sharply with funk and disco, novelty hits, live bands, synthesizers, and party rhymes of artists prevalent in the early 1980s. Compared to their older hip hop counterparts, new school artists crafted more cohesive LPs and shorter songs more amenable to airplay. By 1986, their releases began to establish hip hop in the mainstream.
West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early to-mid 1990s with the birth of G-funk and the emergence of record labels such as Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records, the continued success of Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and others.
Miami bass is a subgenre of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of drums from the Roland TR-808, sustained kick drum, heavy bass, raised dance tempos, and frequently sexually explicit lyrical content differentiate it from other hip hop subgenres. Music author Richie Unterberger has characterized Miami bass as using rhythms with a "stop-start flavor" and "hissy" cymbals with lyrics that "reflected the language of the streets, particularly Miami's historically black neighborhoods such as Liberty City, Goulds, and Overtown".
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.
New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, new jack swing was most popular from the late 1980s to early 1990s.
Electro is a genre of electronic music and early hip hop directly influenced by the use of the Roland TR-808 drum machines and funk. Records in the genre typically feature heavy electronic sounds, usually without vocals, although if vocals are present they are delivered in a deadpan manner, often through electronic distortion such as vocoding and talkboxing. It palpably deviates from its predecessor boogie by being less vocal-oriented and more focused on electronic beats produced by drum machines.
Kurtis el Khaleel, known by the stage name Kurtis Mantronik, is a Jamaican-born hip hop and electronic-music artist, DJ, remixer, and producer. He was the leader, DJ, and keyboardist of the influential 1980s hip hop and electro-funk group Mantronix. He currently lives in South Africa where he has produced and remixed house and techno music tracks by artists such as India, Junior Senior, Kylie Minogue, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, Michael Gray, Victoria Beckham, Liberty X, S Club, and Mim. Mantronik was influential in the development of hip hop music: notably, he laid the foundations for Southern hip hop genres such as Miami bass and trap music, and helped popularize the Amen break.
Bryce Wilson is an American record producer/entrepreneur and actor. He was formerly half of late 1990s duo Groove Theory, and former artist on the early 1990s dance music/electro hip-hop band Mantronix.
The Album is the debut album by the group Mantronix. The group was a New York-based duo composed of MC Tee and Kurtis Mantronik. Following some live performances together, they recorded a demo tape version of the song "Fresh is the Word" which was noticed by Will Socolov of Sleeping Bag Records. The label released the single and signed them to record an album.
Music Madness is the second album by old school hip hop and electro funk group Mantronix. Music Madness was the final Mantronix album released on the independent Sleeping Bag Records label. The hip hop album features club-oriented production by Kurtis Mantronik and MC Tee's b-boy-based rapping.
In Full Effect is the third album by the hip hop-electro funk group Mantronix, released in 1988. It was the first Mantronix album released on Capitol Records. In Full Effect was the highest charting hip-hop album for Mantronix, reaching #18 on the 1988 Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. The album peaked at No. 39 on the UK Albums Chart. In Full Effect was rapper MC Tee's final Mantronix album.
This Should Move Ya is the fourth album by the American hip hop/electro funk group Mantronix, released in 1990. It was the second Mantronix album released on Capitol Records. This Should Move Ya featured new members Bryce "Luvah" Wilson and Kurtis Mantronik’s cousin D.J. D, who joined founding member Mantronik following the departure of rapper MC Tee.
Touré Embden, known by the stage name MC Tee, is a Jamaican American emcee and co-founder of the 1980s old school hip hop and electro funk group Mantronix.
Jade Trini Goring, formerly known by the stage name Jade Trini, is an American singer. Goring was also briefly a member of the electronic/house/old school hip hop group Mantronix, in 1991.
The Best of Mantronix 1985–1999 is a compact disc compilation album by hip hop/electro-funk group, Mantronix. The album was released by Virgin Records on March 15, 1999.
That's My Beat is a compilation album by hip hop–electro funk musician Kurtis Mantronik and features tracks selected by Mantronik and cited as influences to his work with his hip hop/electro funk group Mantronix. The album was released on the Soul Jazz Records label in 2002.
Soul Jazz Records is a British record label based in London. Outside of releasing records, the label also publishes books, occasionally films and performs as a DJ set. The music releases labels from a variety of genres, including reggae, house, hip hop, punk rock, jazz, funk, bossa nova and soul.
"Got to Have Your Love" is a song by American hip hop and electro funk group Mantronix, featuring vocals from American recording artist Wondress. It was released by Capitol Records in December 1989 as the lead single from Mantronix's fourth studio album, This Should Move Ya (1990). The song is written by band members Bryce Wilson and Kurtis Mantronik along with Johnny D. Rodriguez, and produced by Mantronix. It reached number four in the UK, number seven in Finland and number eight in Ireland. It is recognized as the group's signature song.
The Best of Mantronix (1986–1988) is a compact disc and vinyl record compilation album by hip hop/electo funk group Mantronix. The album was released on the Ten record label in 1990.
The Tunnel is a collaborative album by American DJs Funkmaster Flex and Big Kap. It was released on December 7, 1999, via Def Jam Recordings.
