Uncle Jamm's Army

Last updated

Uncle Jamm's Army
Origin Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres Funk, hip hop, electro-hop
Years active1978–1988
LabelsFreak Beat, Dunk Yer Funk
Past members

Uncle Jamm's Army was an American funk/hip hop collective crew based in Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s. Their singles "What's Your Sign", "Dial-a-Freak", and "Yes, Yes, Yes" were influential to the electro, old school funk, and early West Coast hip-hop genres. [1]

Contents

History

A poster for an Uncle Jamm's Army concert with Run-DMC in 1984 Uncle Jam's Army - Run D.M.C. and Uncle Jam's Army Jam Festival Poster.jpg
A poster for an Uncle Jamm's Army concert with Run-DMC in 1984

In 1978, Gid Martin Jr, and his brothers Tony Martin and Greg Martin were giving parties at Alpine Village in Torrance California that were attracting huge crowds from all over the cities of Carson, San Pedro, Gardena, Westchester, Compton, Los Angeles, and Harbor City, where they attended Narbonne High School. The crew recruited homies to pass out flyers at high school football games and local events. Rodger Clayton had been entertaining huge crowds at his family home in Palo Del Amo Woods, where the Martins and Claytons both lived, building a fanatical following and honing his DJ skills and team. The two powerhouses, Martin Brothers Productions and Rodger Clayton joined forces as Unique Dreams Entertainment to take the Alpine Village dances to another level. Using radio ads, especially on 102.3 FM KJLH and 1580 AM KDAY, and dayglow posters plastered all over the county of Los Angeles using staple guns, they out-promoted and outworked their competition until they owned the dance scene in Los Angeles. They quickly outgrew Alpine Village, expanding and moving their moveable party all over the city. The Bonaventure Hotel. The Hilton Ballroom. In September 1979, Funkadelic released an album entitled Uncle Jam Wants You . The name Uncle Jamm's Army was adopted by Clayton and the Martins.

By the beginning of the 1980s, the Army's popularity had grown to a feverish pitch. Summer 1980 brought "Shake Your Pants" and what later to be known as "The Twins", "4th of July" and "Labor Day Groove". They also played Long Beach State; Veteran's Auditorium, Culver City; Pasadena and Santa Monica Convention Centers; the Hollywood Palladium. Ultimately, only the Sports Arena could hold the crowds of LA party seekers.

When the LA rap scene erupted, it was Uncle Jamm's army who put them on the big stage. You can see an Uncle Jamm's Army poster as NWA ascends the steps to their first show in the movie Straight Outa Compton. They built the platform from which West Coast Hip Hop launched to global fame, driven by Rodger's intense charisma and desire to be successful in the entertainment business, paired beautifully with Gid's marketing acumen, organizational skills, and mastery of relationships. The two shared a great sense of humor, and made it through some tough encounters with financiers, competitors, and acts, in the early days of Hip Hop. Some of the stories are captured in a documentary produced by Red Bull.

The group also put out original music. Uncle Jamm's Army was among the earliest hip-hop groups on the West Coast and helped to bring the electro scene to Los Angeles. The group was influenced by Prince, Kraftwerk and East Coast electro. In the beginning, the Army first played funky disco but when Sugarhill Records started putting out rap and funk hits, rap had finally reached the West Coast.

In 1982, Rodger opened a music store, The DJ Booth (Slauson & Western Avenue), catering to all the local DJs and selling 12-inch records.

A ticket for a 1984 Uncle Jamm's Army concert with Run-DMC in Oakland, California Nu Wave Productions - Uncle Jam's Army and Run D.M.C. August 10, 1984 Concert (ticket).jpg
A ticket for a 1984 Uncle Jamm's Army concert with Run-DMC in Oakland, California

In 1983, the DJ group expanded further and Uncle Jamm's recruited underground DJs and MCs who were creating a cult following. The most well-known being Greg "Egyptian Lover" Broussard, Tracy "Ice-T" Marrow, who was later a gangsta rap pioneer and a singer of the thrash metal band Body Count, and later Mark "DJ Pooh" Jordan, best known for producing 3 Strikes and the Friday trilogy, and Bobby "DJ Bobcat" Ervin (Death Row Records). The group name dropped the second 'm', changing to Uncle Jam's Army. The electronic sound of the group was influential on West Coast hip hop, as G-Funk pioneered by Dr. Dre continued the tradition of an electronic sound in hip-hop music.

By 1988 the group disbanded as the music in the industry changed to gangsta rap, with violence in the lyrics and at the shows.

Discography

Singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egyptian Lover</span> American musician

Gregory James Broussard, better known by his stage name Egyptian Lover, is an American musician, vocalist, producer and DJ, and was a part of the L.A. dance music, electro, and rap scene in the early 1980s.

Latin hip hop is hip hop music that is recorded by artists in the United States of Hispanic and Latino descent, along with Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean, North America, Central America, South America, and Spain.

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.

<i>Uncle Jam Wants You</i> 1979 studio album by Funkadelic

Uncle Jam Wants You is a concept album by American funk rock band Funkadelic. It was released by Warner Bros. Records on September 21, 1979, and was later reissued on CD by Priority Records. It was produced by George Clinton under the alias Dr. Funkenstein. It is the first Funkadelic album since America Eats Its Young in 1972 not to sport a cover illustrated by Funkadelic artist Pedro Bell, though Bell did provide artwork for the album’s back cover and interior. Uncle Jam Wants You was the second Funkadelic album to be certified gold. The album peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren G</span> American rapper, record producer, and DJ (born 1970)

Warren Griffin III is an American rapper, record producer, and DJ who helped popularize West Coast hip hop during the 1990s. A pioneer of G-funk, he attained mainstream success with his 1994 single "Regulate". He is credited with discovering Snoop Dogg, having introduced the then-unknown rapper to record producer Dr. Dre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eazy-E</span> American rapper (1964–1995)

Eric Lynn Wright, known professionally by the stage name Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of Gangsta Rap".

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.

<i>Straight Outta Compton</i> 1988 studio album by N.W.A

Straight Outta Compton is the debut studio album by American gangsta rap group N.W.A, which, led by Eazy-E, formed in Los Angeles County's City of Compton in early 1987. Released by his label, Ruthless Records, on August 8, 1988, the album was produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince, with lyrics written by N.W.A members Ice Cube and MC Ren along with Ruthless rapper and unofficial member The D.O.C. Not merely depicting Compton's street violence, the lyrics repeatedly threaten to lead it by attacking peers and even police. The track "Fuck tha Police" drew an FBI agent's warning letter, which aided N.W.A's notoriety, with N.W.A calling itself "the world's most dangerous group."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Class Wreckin' Cru</span> American electro, R&B and hip hop group

World Class Wreckin' Cru was an American electro group, during the 1980s in the Los Angeles area, that contributed to rap's development. Two of its members, Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, attained greater fame as members of N.W.A, which pioneered gangsta rap. A song by the Cru had also featured R&B singer Michel'le.

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.

<i>N.W.A. and the Posse</i> 1987 compilation album by N.W.A

N.W.A. and the Posse is a compilation album, re-releasing N.W.A and associated groups' underground rap songs from the Los Angeles area's rap scene on November 6, 1987. It is regarded as American rap group N.W.A's first but neglected album; N.W.A's authorized debut studio album, rather, is Straight Outta Compton, released in August 1988. Whereas the Straight album was certified platinum, one million copies sold in July 1989, the Posse album was certified gold, half as many copies sold, in April 1994.

Andre Manuel, a disc jockey and record producer called The Unknown DJ or DJ Unknown, was a pioneer in the Los Angeles area's 1980s music scene, moving from electro funk and electro rap to gangsta rap. Now a legend of West Coast rap, he worked with rapper Ice-T in the early 1980s, then with Alonzo "Grandmaster Lonzo" Williams, and with MC Eiht's group Compton's Most Wanted in the early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Real Muthaphuckkin G's</span> 1993 single by Eazy-E featuring Dresta and B.G. Knocc Out

"Real Muthaphuckkin G's," or "Real Compton City G's" in its radio edit, is a diss track released as a single in August 1993 by American rapper Eazy-E with guest rappers Gangsta Dresta and B.G. Knocc Out. Peaking at #42 on Billboard's Hot 100, and the most successful of Eazy's singles as a solo artist, it led an EP, also his most successful, It's On 187um Killa. This diss track answers Eazy's former N.W.A bandmate Dr. Dre and his debuting, guest rapper Snoop Dogg, who had dissed Eazy on Dre's first solo album, The Chronic.

<i>Shock of the Hour</i> 1993 studio album by MC Ren

Shock of the Hour is the debut album by rapper MC Ren, released November 16, 1993, on Ruthless Records and distributed by Relativity Records.

Dunk Yer Funk Records was a sub-label of record distributor JDC Records, active in San Pedro, California from 1985 to 1988. With the growing popularity of rap music and electrofunk, Jim Callon decided to form a sub-label. This would keep his JDC Records music catalog focused on dance music and Dunk Yer Funk on rap. The logo of the music label was a 12-inch vinyl record being dipped into a cup of coffee.

Hip-hop or hip hop, formerly known as disco rap, is a genre of popular music,that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s primarily from African American, Afro-Latin, and Afro-Caribbean musical aesthetics practiced by youth in the South Bronx. Hip-hop music originated as an anti-drug and anti-violence social movement led by the Afrika Bambaataa and the Universal Zulu Nation. The genre is characterized by stylized rhythmic sounds—often built around disco grooves, electronic drum beats, and rapping, a percussive vocal delivery of rhymed poetic speech as consciousness-raising expression. The music developed as part of the broader hip-hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, breakdancing, and graffiti art or writing. Knowledge is sometimes described as a fifth element, underscoring its role in shaping the values and promoting empowerment and consciousness-raising through music. In 1999, emcee KRS-One, often referred to as "The Teacher," elaborated on this framework in a Harvard lecture, identifying additional elements that extend beyond the basic four. These include self-expression, street fashion, street language, street knowledge, and street entrepreneurialism, which remain integral to hip-hop's musical expression, entertainment business, and sound production. Girls’ double-dutch was also recognized as a key stylistic component of breakdancing, according to KRS. While often used to refer solely to rapping and rap music, "hip-hop" more properly denotes the practice(s) of the entire subculture. The term hip-hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping may not be the focus of hip-hop music. The genre also centers DJing, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.

Egyptian Empire Records is the oldest electro record label owned by Egyptian Lover. Known for its unique style of electro music, it also has a political background because Egyptian Lover was the first Afroamerican Label Owner.

Bobby Ervin, known professionally as Bobcat or DJ Bobcat, is an American record producer, songwriter, DJ, and music executive. He is perhaps best known for his co-production work on LL Cool J's 1990 single "Mama Said Knock You Out", which won a Grammy Award and remains one of the most popular songs in hip hop.

Memphis rap, also known as Memphis hip hop, or Memphis horrorcore, is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-late 1980s.

<i>1983–1988</i> 2016 compilation album by Egyptian Lover

1983–1988 is a 2016 compilation album by the Egyptian Lover. The compilation was compiled by Peanut Butter Wolf and released by Stones Throw Records. The album contains unreleased tracks by the Egyptian Lover and has music recorded between 1984 and 1994. The album received positive reviews from AllMusic and Pitchfork.

References

  1. Gueraseva, Stacy (2005). Def Jam, Inc: Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, and the extraordinary story of the world's most influential hip hop label. Random House, Inc. ISBN   978-0-345-46804-8