Emcees
THE SAGA BEGINS… Rakim Allah was born William Michael Griffin Jr. on January 28, 1968 in Wyandanch, Long Island, N.Y. to a musically talented and working class family. Under the tutelage of his soft spoken and artistic father William Griffin Sr. and his mother, who sang jazz and opera, William Jr.’s innate musical abilities were
In present times, dance songs are not taken seriously in Hip Hop but they were a driving force that fueled the culture in the seventies and eighties. Many emcees released an array of classic dance tracks that stood the test of time. But 1988 was the year Rob Base and D.J. E-Z Rock gave the
Lovebug Starski (aka Kevin Smith) was born on May 16, 1960 in the Bronx, New York and began working with various local DJs in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He began his career as a record boy in 1971 at age 11 when Hip Hop culture and music began to make its first
Hip Hop legends Marley Marl and Mr. Magic assembled a renowned group of artists (predominantly from Queensbridge with a couple coming out of Brooklyn). This astonishing collective consisted of: Roxanne Shante, MC Shan, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, Biz Markie, Masta Ace, Craig G, Tragedy the Intelligent Hoodlum and TJ Swann.
The 2 Live Crew introduced the world to the Miami bass sound; which is an up-tempo style of music equipped with banging bass, hard-hitting snares and a heavy emphasis on mixing. This style of music became popular in various dance clubs in the inner cities. And by late 1990, Luke introduced the world to his
Fab Five Freddy (Fred Brathwaite) was born in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn in 1969. As a teen in the 1970s, he became a member of graffiti crew “The Fabulous 5” and got his name after consistently spray painting his name on the number 5 train on the IRT subway. After having an epiphany
