Tru Skool Corner: Izzy Ice And DJ Majesty "SoulMan"


By Ralo

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 Izzy Ice And DJ Majesty. The New York duo released an independent classic called "Soulman" in 1988 on Scottfree Records. Production credits on "Soulman" goes Hitman Howie Tee, who also produced tracks for Special Ed and The Real Roxanne years earlier. Howies' cousin and feature artist, Chubb Rock got production credits on "Soulman" as well.  Anyone living in the New York area in 1988, could hear "Soulman" in heavy rotation on Marley Marl and Pete Rocks' "In Control" radio show on New Yorks' WBLS.

"Soulman" sampled a song of the same title written by Isaac Hayes and recorded by Sam And Dave in 1967. The Izzy Ice version was so popular it caught the attention of Jive Records, and was re-released on Jive a year later in 1989. On the Jive version, the vocals were re-recorded. Although it sounds more polished, the Scottfree version has a more authentic feel.

When the vinyl was released on Jive it said Isidore AKA Izzy Ice, the Scottfree version said Izzy Ice And Dj Majesty. There was never an explanation as to why that was. The Jive release also excluded Chubb Rocks' name from the credits.

Izzy Ice and DJ Majesty reappeared years later as The King And I and signed a deal with Rowdy Records in 1992. They released their first full length album in 1993 called "Contemporary Jeep Music". DJ Majesty got involved with R&B production in the late 90's and did some work SWV in 1998.