Posts Tagged ‘Spoonie Gee’
Members
Kool Moe Dee (Mohandas Dewese) b.?/?/63
L.A. Sunshine
Special K
DJ Easy Lee (Theodore Moy’e)
This group was founded in the late 70′s and has recorded on and off since that time.
Kool Moe Dee, Special K, and DJ Easy Lee all went to the same high school (Norman Thomas). LA sunshine went to Brandise HS in Manhattan.
The group of high school friends developed a reputation for hip hop around New York. Spoonie Gee introduced them to producer Bobby Robinson, who in turned signed to Enjoy Records.
They also had two other DJs named Dano B and Reggie Reg.
Their first single was released in 1980 and was called “The New Rap Language.” This single showcased a much faster style of rhyming that they would perfect and continue to use throughout their career.
On “Body Rock” they became the first hip hop group to use guitars in a song.
They did two other singles on Enjoy before moving to Sugar Hill Records in 1981 where they continued to record for the next few years. They became a force in the hip hop world and participated in several battles for MC supremacy.
Kool Moe Dee and Special K appeared as co-hosts on the short lived television show “Graffiti Rock” in 1984. They battled Run DMC and also performed the segue into commercials.
The group had an excellent cameo in Beat Street with their song “Xmas Rap” which featured a young Doug E. Fresh.
They did break up in he mid 80′s and Kool Moe feeling he still had what it took struck out on his own.
Special K put out a 12″ on Republic Records in 1987 which was called “Special K Is Good” which sounded really close to something his brother TLA Rock was putting out at the time.
The group resurfaced in 1993 to do a reunion album on Easy Lee’s label. Easy Lee has also gone on to produce other current groups.
Check out Treacherous Three Live at Disco Fever in 1981
Additional info by Ed Roberts
Members
Cheryl the Pearl (Cheryl Cook)
Angie B (Angie Brown/Stone)
Blondie (Gwendolyn Chisholm)
Although this trio recorded several singles for Sugar Hill Records in the early 80′s, there is little information on them.
Their first single, “Funk You Up,” was released on the heels of “Rapper’s Delight” and was their most successful.
They also recorded “Monster Jam” with Spoonie Gee.
Angie B is currently an R&B singer and songwriter. She is also the mother of D’Angelo’s child.
Check out “Simon Says”
Spoonie Gee, born Gabriel Jackson, had something a lot of other old school hip hoppers didn’t have- an uncle in the music industry.
Bobby Robinson was already an accomplished producer when he decided to sign Spoonie to Enjoy! Records.
Although Spoonie originally wanted to be an R&B singer, he knew he didn’t have the voice for it. So he took to rapping instead. His uncle helped him get his first recording “Spoonin Rap” for a small record store recording, before moving him to Enjoy!.
Spoonie introduced his friends and band mates, The Treacherous Three, to Robinson who also signed them. Their first Enjoy! single was Spoonie’s “Love Rap” with The Treacherous Three’s “New Rap Language” on the other side. Spoonie and T3 shared Easy Lee as their DJ.
“Love Rap” earned Spoonie the reputation as the love rapper as its theme was different from just the normal party type song.
Like other Enjoy! artists, his contract was sold to Sugar Hill Records where he went on to record several songs including “Spoonie is Back” and “Monster Jam” with The Sequence.
In 1981, Spoonie made the move to Tuff City Records where he went on to record there with producers like Kurtis Blow’s deejay AJ and Davy DMX.
He recorded the album “The Godfather Of Rap” on Tuff City 1987 which was produced primarily by Marley Marl and Teddy Riley. Stand out tracks were the single “The Godfather” and “Take It Off”.
Other 12′s include “All Shook Up” in late 1987 and “You Ain’t Just a Fool (But you’s an old fool)” in 1988.
Check Out Spoonie in 2008
Additional info by Ed Roberts