Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, and Chubb Rock

There's an argument to be made that Douglas E Davis is responsible for the term beatboxer becoming an expression at all. It was he who coined the nickname “The Original Human Beatbox” while he was making a name for himself as a rapper and performer around Harlem, and while others might have enjoyed more commercial success than him with their skills, they still own one hell of a debt to Doug E. Fresh. His first recorded appearance was on the Spoonie Gee and DJ Spivey single “Pass The Buddha”, and after that, his most notable early performance was with The Treacherous Three for their track “Beat Street”. This exposure meant that Fresh began building up some hype around himself, and began to release solo singles with the labels Enjoy and Vinetertainment.

By the end of 1985, Fresh was one of the biggest names in hip-hop with his group The Get Fresh Crew (which featured a young Slick Rick in its line up). He was having hits on both sides of the Atlantic with his single “The Show” hurtling into the top ten of the UK singles chart at number 7. By 1988, he had gone some way of earning the title he gave himself on his second solo album “The World's Greatest Entertainer”, which is a title he keeps to this very day. Remaining an influence even today, it was even Fresh's dance moves that inspired the Cali Swag District to record the smash hit single “Teach Me How To Dougie” in 2010, a good couple of decades after Fresh's last charting hit. Some talents never truly die, and as long as true hip-hop is still a cultural force, Doug E. Fresh will still be one of the men to thank for that. Highly recommended.

Born in Mitcham, London, UK, to British Jamaican parents, Walters was blinded in his right eye by broken glass at an early age and has wore a distinctive eye patch ever since. The family moved to Brooklyn, New York, U.S. in 1977 with Walters starting his music career in late 1983 after going Doug E. Fresh’s Get Fresh Crew under the moniker MC Ricky D. Within the hip hop genre, Walters recorded a series of highly acclaimed tracks including “La Di Da” and “Children’s Story” which received modest mainstream attention.

In 1988 Walters released his solo debut album “The Great Adventures of Slick Rick” on Def Jam Records, the biggest hip hop label at the time, due to an acquaintance with head Russell Simmons. The album achieved critical acclaim and reached No. 1 on Billboards R&B/Hop-Hop chart and featured the charted singles “Hey Young World” and “Teenage Love” and the highly popular but radio unplayable “Treat Her Like A Prostitute”.

Walters was incarcerated for five years in 1990, two years for shooting his cousin Mike Plummer after Plummer had Walters shot outside of a club, and three years for his continued struggle with Immigration and Naturalization Services over his U.S. residency. Before the sentencing Russell Simmons bailed him out and Walters’ second album “The Ruler’s Back” was released to limited commercial success and acclaim. His third studio album the suitably named “Behind Bars” was released in 1994 whilst he remained in prison and received much of the same lukewarm approval of his second.

Dubbed as the follow-up to the classic “The Great Adventures of Slick Rick”, “The Art of Storytelling” released on May 25, 1999, was Walters’ most successful album charting at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Featuring artists OutKast, Nas and Snoop Dog, the album cemented Walters’ position as a disciple of the golden age of hip hop.

Walters is known as a pioneer of narrative rap with his laudable storytelling and adoption of various voices in his tracks, as well as being noted for his use of the ‘Queen’s English’ including enviable diction and British-tinged pronunciation. The influence of Slick Rick on the hip hop genre is evident with consistent references to him in modern pop culture and covers of his songs.

Griffin was born on 28 January 1968 and at the age of 18 became involved in the New York hip-hop scene. At first he was known as Kid Wizard, but took the name Rakim Allah when he joined The Nation of Gods and Earths. He teamed up with Eric Barrier (aka Eric B) and together the pair recorded and released four albums before parting ways in 1992.

From 1995 through 1996, Rakim recorded several demos/songs by himself, and in 1997 released “The 18th Letter.” Two years later he also released “The Master” which, along with “The 18th Letter” was very well received. Rakim was then signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment record label in 2000, however, due to numerous changes in artistic direction and personnel the album that he had been working on had been delayed several times. This resulted in Rakim leaving the label in 2003.

Rakim retreated to his Connecticut estate to work leisurely on music, and it wasn’t until 2009 that he released any new music. Because he was able to retain the tracks he had made with Dr. Dre, Rakim released “The Seventh Seal” in 2009 on his own label, and it was followed shortly by a live album. In 2011, Rakim performed Paid in Full in its entirety at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City, and in honor of its 25th anniversary Rakim and Erib released a special edition of the record.

While every rapper who’s ever spit is in effect an artist who writes lyrics there are more than a few rappers who truly earn the term “lyricist”. In the same way that Nick Cave are Leonard Cohen are famous for their making their lyrics true poetry while Luke Pritchard of The Kooks is most definitely not, some rappers transcend pop music and create a poetry of their own. Right up there with the legends is Big Daddy Kane, a man rated by everyone from Kool Moe Dee to The RZA as one of the greatest ever. To the extent that there’s a persistent rumour that Rakim, widely thought to be the greatest rapper of the eighties, turned down the chance to take on Kane in a rap battle.

Kane’s first appearance in the spotlight was as part of the Juice Crew, a hip-hop collective based in Queensbridge, New York City. The crew had already been together since 1983 when Kane and his mate Biz Markie (“the human beatbox”) joined three years later. However it wasn’t until 1987, that his solo career really started to take off. He signed to Cold Chillin’ Records and his first single “Raw”, was a big hit in the underground scene, the year after his first record came out, and “Long Live The Kane” remains one of the benchmark rap debuts to this day.

It was ecstatically received at the time and was a mild commercial success as well. In a time when rap was only just proving itself to be more than a fad that was a lot to hope for, but the best was yet to come. 1989 was the same year that Markie had his massive (and utterly hysterical) hit “Just A Friend”, and Kane went on to release “It’s A Big Daddy Thing” a record that might not have been quite as succesful at the time, but it’s still considered to be one of the greatest rap records of all time, so y’know, swings and roundabouts.

Since then, his work has given way to a generation of MCs enamoured with his work, and was even one of Jay-Z’s early patrons, taking him on tour in the early 90’s. It’s a testament to his influence that he was able to stop making records in 1998 and to this day his name is still spoken with respect and admiration. He can also still put on a show to remember and his records, even the ones released nearly three decades ago, hold up against anything released today. For that reason alone it’s a pleasure and a privilege to still have him around. Highly recommended.

Having moved to Brooklyn, New York from Kingston, Jamaica at an early age, Simpson later studied at the revered Brown University before dropping out to concentrate on his music. The rapper was subsequently discovered by his cousin and producer Howie Tee, who produced Chubb Rock’s debut, self-titled album in 1988. Whilst not making any headway into the mainstream chart, the record peaked at No. 54 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop chart and paved the way for his sophomore album “And the Winner Is…” a year later. Peaking at No. 28 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums Chart, "And the Winner Is..." subsequently spawned the No. 15 Rap single “Ya Bad Chubbs”.

In 1991 Chubb Rock issued his third full-length album “The One”, which charted at No. 13 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Led by the singles “Treat’em Right”, “Just The Two of Us”, and “The Chubbster”, the album introduced the rapper’s authoritative delivery to a national audience, and peaked at No. 71 on the Billboard 200. To capitalise on this success, the rapper wasted little time in releasing his fourth studio album “I Gotta Get Mine Yo” in 1992. Self-produced alongside future production stars Trackmasters, the record rose to No. 24 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Chart and hosts appearances from Grand Puba, Rob Swinga, and Poke.

Following a guest contribution to the MC Serch single “Back to The Grill” in 1992, Chubb Rock joined the rap group Crooklyn Dodgers in 1995 alongside OC and Jeru The Damaja. A year later the rapper appeared on the critically acclaimed Red Hot Organisation’s “America is Dying Slowly”, which also hosted the artists Wu-Tang Clan, Coolio, and Fat Joe. Chubb Rock’s fifth full-length “The Mind” arrived in 1997, peaking at No. 45 on the U.S. Rap Charts, after which a recording hiatus ensued which would last until 2009 with the release of the collaborative album “Bridging the Gap” alongside rapper Wordsmith.