If you just started listening to Rap Music when you began watching BET six months ago, there are some things you should know. There were some legendary Rap radio shows that will remain noteworthy forever, among them are "Mr. Magics' Rap Attack", "Pete Rock and Marly Marl In Control", "Rap This" with P- Fine, "P-5" with Jeff Foss, "DNA And Hank Love", "The World Famous Supreme Team" and "The Awesome 2" just to name a few. These shows played an endless number of Rap records that are no longer being heard or talked about.
Although vintage Rap radio and classic Rap records go hand-in-hand there are an almost infinite amount of underground classics that go unheard. When DJs play "so-called" Old School Rap, they seem to play the same handful of records, Special Ed "I Got It Made", Eric B And Rakim "Eric B For President", Doug E. Fresh And Slick Rick "The Show" etc. While all of these are great records, 80's and 90's Rap is so much bigger than one crate of really great records.
In Tru Skool Corner we aim to focus on more obscure records that have largely been forgotten about. Old heads will be able to reminisce on days long gone, and new heads will have a chance to learn about the records that laid the ground work for the very music they listen to now. while some of these records may sound dated, there is a lesson to learn in each one.
This week our focus is on a Bronx Hip-Hop trio known simply as The B Boys. The group featured Donald D, who later moved to California and joined forces with Ice T in The Rhyme Syndicate, Chuck Chillout, who is a New York Hip-Hop radio legend and Brother B. They released a 12 inch in 1985 on Vintertainment Records which featured two cuts, "Stick Up Kid" and "Girls". On underground and weekend Rap shows "Girls" was in heavy rotation, it's somewhat taboo subject matter pushed the envelope before the days of Parental Advisory Stickers.
The record was all about females and some of the improprieties they may or may not be involved in. It got the attention of underground heads because it mentioned female names and situations. We can assume all of the names and circumstances were purely fictional, but it was a very humorous and entertaining record none the less.
The production was very stripped down, which was a typical production style in the 80's. The drum machine that was used sounds like an Oberheim DMX. Apart from that there are some simple horn hits and a hook that says "girls" on what sounds like a Vocorder.
The formula worked so well that The B Boys did a second version of "Girls", which expounded on even more females and more stories. The second version used the exact same production with no changes.
Years later Stetsasonic used a piece of "Girls" for their 1988 single "Sally", from their second full-length album "In Full Gear'.