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.
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.
Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that uses drum breaks, often sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as Florida breaks, hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK garage styles.
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.
Electro is a genre of electronic dance music directly influenced by the use of the Roland TR-808 drum machines, with an immediate origin in early hip hop and funk genres. Records in the genre typically feature heavy electronic sounds, usually without vocals; 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.
Rare groove is music that is very hard to source or relatively obscure. Rare groove is primarily associated with funk, R&B and jazz funk, but is also connected to subgenres including jazz rock, reggae, Latin jazz, soul, rock music, northern soul, and disco. Vinyl records that fall into this category generally have high re-sale prices. Rare groove records have been sought by not only collectors and lovers of this type of music, but also by hip hop artists and producers.
In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece. A break is usually interpolated between sections of a song, to provide a sense of anticipation, signal the start of a new section, or create variety in the arrangement.
Gloria Lavern Collins, better known as Lyn Collins, was an American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single, "Think ".
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 single "It Takes Two", a "hip-hop staple" 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.
"Gold Digger" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, featuring singer Jamie Foxx, from West's second studio album, Late Registration (2005). The song includes additional vocals from Plain Pat and Don C. West created the beat in Atlanta. He and Jon Brion produced the song. It was originally set to be recorded for Shawnna's debut studio album, Worth Tha Weight (2004), but the song was later passed on to West. On July 5, 2005, it was released to American rhythmic contemporary radio stations by Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam as the second single from West's album. The song set a record for the most digital downloads in a week, selling over 80,000.
The Roxanne Wars were a series of hip hop rivalries during the mid-1980s, yielding rap music's first diss record and perhaps the most answer records in history. It is one of hip-hop's earliest feuds and perhaps the first ever "rap beef". The dispute arose over a failed appearance at a radio promotional show. There were two Roxannes in question: Roxanne Shanté and The Real Roxanne.
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".
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.
"It Takes Two" is a song by New York City hip hop duo Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock that became a top-40 single and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Since it was released in 1988 by Profile Records, the song has been covered and sampled by several recording artists.
"C'Mon" is a song by American singer Mario. It was written by John "Jubu" Smith, Joi Campbell and her brother Warryn Campbell for his debut studio album Mario (2002), while production was helmed by the latter. The song contains elements from "Think " (1972) by soul singer Lyn Collins as well as excperts from "It Takes Two" (1988) by hip hop duo Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock. Due to the excperts, Base is also credited as a songwriter under his birth name Robert Ginyard. "C'Mon" was released as the album's third and final single on January 14, 2003.
The Think break is a drum break that has been widely sampled in popular music. It comes from the 1972 song "Think " by the American soul singer Lyn Collins, written and produced by James Brown. The drum break was performed by John "Jabo" Starks.
In sound and music, sampling is the reuse of a portion of a sound recording in another recording. Samples may comprise elements such as rhythm, melody, speech, or sound effects. A sample can be brief and only incorporate a single musical note, or it can consist of longer portions of music, and may be layered, equalized, sped up or slowed down, repitched, looped, or otherwise manipulated. They are usually integrated using electronic music instruments (samplers) or software such as digital audio workstations.
Doreen C. Broadnax, known professionally as Sparky D, or spelled Sparky Dee is an American hip–hop musician and rapper. Broadnax is noted as one of the first female battle rappers, first gaining attention through the Roxanne Wars; when she responded to Roxanne Shante's "Roxanne's Revenge" with "Sparky's Turn " in 1985.
Sean Spencer, better known by his stage name DJ Spen or Spen, is an American DJ, record producer, and record executive.
The following is the discography of Roxanne Shante, an American rapper.
