Original Hip-Hop: THE COLD CRUSH BROTHERS

“Anyone steppin’ our way gets crushed…cold crushed.”
- DJ Tony Tone

The Cold Crush Brothers started in 1978 in New York City – or more specifically the Bronx. However to accurately begin this tale we must rewind a little further back to focus on the groups most valuable asset.

Grandmaster Caz, a crucial Cold Crush MC, began his journey into hip-hop way back in 1974 when he witnessed one of the legendary Kool Herc bloc parties. He immediately aspired to be like this legend on the wheels of steel, and took up DJing as well. As time went on, he started to emulate his mentor by playing parties under the moniker Cassanova Fly, which as history dictates was the growing foundation for everything within the genre of hip-hop today.

Soon after Caz went on to team up with another future Cold Crush MC known as JDL (Jerry D Lewis); and together they became “The Notorious 2.” During this period Caz began to further his skills and would occasionally MC along with JDL. This became an important feat in hip-hop history, as he was the first DJ to rhyme and cut simultaneously, and was even inducted into the Technics “DJ Hall Of Fame” in 1999 because of such abilities.

By this point the groundwork for The Cold Crush Brothers had already begun (with JDL) by DJ Charlie Chase and DJ Tony Tone. The collective then approached Caz to audition for the group in 1979. As he recollects “Charlie was tricking me into joining the crew…I didn’t realize it at the time.” Once he was finally assimilated The Cold Crush Brothers were officially born.

The original line up was as follows: The founders - DJ Charlie Chase and DJ Tony Tone. The Cold Crush MC's - Easy A.D, Almighty Kay Gee, Grandmaster Caz, Money Ray and Jerry D Lewis.

After perfecting their routines for over a year they began doing live performances, specializing in numerous lyrical battles that took place during that period. One such historic battle was captured in 1981 and released in 1991 on a disc entitled Afrika Bambaataa Presents: Hip-Hop Funk Dance Classic, Volume 1. This recording, along side their later released All The Way Live in ‘82 album, fully embody the genre before it became the commercial juggernaut in the 90s, or to where it currently resides today.

In their prime the Cold Crush Brothers performed with the likes of Grandmaster Flash, Treacherous 3, New Edition, Kurtis Blow and of course their arch nemesis The Fantastic 5. They were also involved in the first hip-hop beef when their successors The Sugarhill Gang released the song "Rapper's Delight" in 1979, which is widely recognized as the first hip-hop single (along side Fatback Band “King Tim III”). According to the legend, a verse used for it by Henry “Big Bank Hank” Jackson was literally swiped from one of Grandmaster Caz’ own rhymes. This was one in a long line of artists to reap the benefits of the Cold Crush genius, and could have been seen as foreshadowing for the future of their career(s).

“90 percent of the emcees that came from the mid 80s, and early 90s studied the Cold Crush. They studied the old school emcees. Caz, definitely, without question being the lead man and the point man in the equation, was like the prototype for all of the studying that was going on. Some emcees will admit it, and some won’t.”
- Kool Moe Dee

Despite the commercial setbacks of that time (and to follow) they solidified their infamy early on with an appearance in the movie Wild Style (1982), which would later become a hip-hop classic. They battle and perform in the film, which centres on a graffiti artist and the troubles of the South Bronx in the late 70s. As their cameos can attest they may also be exclusively responsible for introducing the “b-boy” look and style to hip-hop culture.

That same year Cold Crush finally had their first official release on wax in the form of a 12” entitled “The Weekend,” which was a party record that bragged about having fun on the weekend. The second single was “Punk Rock Rap” (1983) released on Tuff City and distributed by CBS. This was the first time an independent hip-hop label and a major worked together. For the better or worse of times to come, “Punk Rock Rap” was also the first recording to combine rock and rap together.

“Fresh, Wild, Fly & Bold” (1984) followed and was the most successful Cold Crush single to date, which sold 16,000 units in its first week. The record was filled with huge drum machine breaks, b-boy force, and electro blips. In yet another unfortunate turn for the group, a dispute between Tuff City and Profile for distribution hindered the sales to come, which many believe would have gone gold. The other obstacle was that by the time it was readily available, groups like Run DMC and LL Cool J were making the old school a thing of the past.

In 1986 hip-hop fans started to fully embrace the new era of artists leaving Cold Crush behind, and things inevitably went south. That same year Grandmaster Caz left the crew, and the group subsequently called it quits. Two years later Kay Gee and Tony Tone reformed Cold Crush as a duo, releasing "Troopers"(1988) to little notice. Around that same time Grandmaster Caz dropped two solo albums “The Judge” and “The Hitman” for Tuff City Records. The albums demonstrated that Caz was able to make the shift in rap styles better than any of his contemporaries, but still gained little commercial ground.


Thanks in part to old school revival of 90s era hip-hop, some interest did return and The Cold Crush Brothers reunited to perform once again. In 2002 the group did one of their annual parties for their 22nd Anniversary in New York City. They performed with such artists as Doug E Fresh, Biz Markie, Rakim, KRS One, Big Daddy Kane, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Grand Wizard Theodore. It was almost as if history gave them a swan song, as later that year original member Eric Hoskins (Money Ray) died of Cancer. Since then Cold Crush continue to linger on and perform all across the United States.

Despite having never made a record that lives up to their name, they do have number of influential singles on the record books that paved the way for all of the acts within the genre to follow. Their legacy could be compared to that of the Rolling Stones, as they remain one of the most influential and legendary crews in the history of hip-hop.

Selected Discography:

The Weekend 12” – Elite (1982)

Punk Rock Rap 12” – Tuff City / CBS / Epic (1983)

Wild Style Soundtrack – Animal / Crysalis / ICA Projects (1983 orig. / 2005 reissue)

Fresh, Wild, Fly & Bold 12”– Tuff City / Profile (1984)

All The Way Live In ’82 – Tuff City (1994)

Terminator X – Terminator X & The Godfathers Of Threat (Superbad) - P.R.O. Division (1994) (appearance on the song Stylewild ’94)

Fresh, Wild, Fly & Bold (A Retrospective Collection) – CD - Night Train / Ol’ Skool Flava (1995)

Party People (feat Grand Wizard Theodore) – Tuff City (1996)

Vs. The Fantastic Romantic 5 (LIVE) – Slammin’ (1998)

Troopers – Traffic Entertainment (1988 orig. [on B-Boy Records] / 2006 reissue)
(as a duo only, spearheaded by Kay Gee & Tony Tone)

Grandmaster Caz solo:

The Judge – Tuff City (1987)

The Hitman – Tuff City (1989)

Sources:
Coldcrushbrothers.com
All Music Guide
Wikipedia – The Free Online Encyclopedia
The Rough Guide To Hip-Hop 2nd Edition – Rough Guides – 2005
There’s A GOD On The Mic – Thunders Mouth - 2003

Mixtape Essentials: Quicksand’s Slip

I first heard Quicksand more than a decade ago in the smoky attic bedroom of a kid named Larry. Larry (who would later make national headlines when he and another Canadian kid disappeared into thin air during a trip to the Netherlands) was a much older, much cooler guy, and as far as I was concerned he knew everything about music.

We’d been up all night drinking, smoking – doing all the things teenagers do on blacklit weekend nights. We’d been listening to Blur and Throbbing Gristle and Dead Kennedys; we’d been doing shots of vodka and feeding crickets to Larry’s pet lizard; we’d been complaining about school and girls and jobs; but mostly, we’d been talking about music.

“You have got to hear this band, Quicksand. They are completely amazing,” Larry said, as if it were the most serious thing anyone had said all our lives. “They’re slow and grinding, but at the same time they’re catchy. I’ve never heard anything like it before.” He made the universal palm-muted chugging guitar motion: left hand in the air, right hand digging an imaginary pick hard into imaginary de-tuned strings. I knew what it meant, and it was a good thing.

And so, after a few seconds of rummaging through piles of discs and some quick button presses, we were in it. Quicksand’s Slip was indeed like nothing I’d ever heard before. The guitars were thick, slow and intense; the rhythm section punishing and deadly precise; the vocals exactly halfway between singing and shouting. It was the kind of music that made you want to punch a hole through the wall - but at the same time it was familiar and tuneful. You could even shout along to it. It was like a more deliberate, more elegant version of the hardcore I was used to.

Quicksand mapped the uncharted territory between Helmet’s raw power and Fugazi’s blinding sophistication. Songs like “Freezing Process” had parts that wanted to be pop, but the music underneath the melody was too harsh and grinding to let them be.

And the music was only half the story – singer Walter Schreifels, known for his earlier stints with hardcore stalwarts Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits, had a voice that was raw and emotional and real. Seeing them live years later, I saw Walter do something that would forever link itself to his vocal style in my brain: during the verses, he’d reach up with both hands and grab his hair, pulling it tighter as the music built up to the choruses, face reddening, as if he were about to rip a chunk out of his head.

Quicksand were a prime example of music that worked not because of what was played but how it was played. The guitars throbbed and simmered, building a tension that almost made you grind your teeth – you could feel the pick grinding the strings in slow, hard bursts. And when the tension became too much, and the fierce, glorious release finally came, it was enough to give you goose bumps.

As track 6, Lie and Wait, broke into its dissonant guitar solo, I was hooked. And from that night on, I’ve divided people into two groups: those who understand Quicksand, and those who don’t.

Though Quicksand had a minor radio hit two years later with Landmine Spring (from their second album, Manic Compression) they never enjoyed a tremendous amount of commercial success. And while creative differences indefinitely stalled the release of their third album during the late 90s, Quicksand’s trademark sound was appropriated by dog-chain and mesh-shirt-wearing mooks and perverted into what would eventually become known as Nu-Metal.

Though I can’t think of a worse genre to have spawned (and for my own satisfaction, I’d rather blame Helmet), Quicksand remain an important (and often overlooked) piece in the 3-D puzzle of rock history. A true “band’s band”, Quicksand have influenced an entire generation of musicians, and firmly bonded the group of fans who saw the genius in the music they played. Slip is, without question, a masterwork of post-hardcore. Thank you for the introduction, Larry.

Recommended Tracks:

• Fazer
• Dine Alone
• Lie And Wait
• Omission

Buy it here.

THE BLUES...and Mike Todd

The following is a brief interview that was pieced together from various segments of correspondence with a comrade of the Niagara Mixtape Union who goes by the name of Mike Todd. We picked his brain for some recommendations and thoughts about Blues music, since it’s been one of his driving fascinations for quite some time.

Mike is generally known for his contributions to skateboarding in the Niagara region, as he operated a number of stores throughout the late 90s until just recently. Although he no longer works in that field, he still lives to thrash and operates a Blog that we strongly encourage you to check out.

Enjoy…

Okay so you want to get into or learn more about the Blues? Well my brother Joe C. Blues once said,

"Blues ain't nothing but a good man being down."

You see a bad man can't have the blues, he is too busy in his crimes to find emotion, and since the day of the light cometh like a thief in the night, he will be blind to the sound of the blues. You on the other hand are a good man, full of emotion, but maybe you are feeling alone like a stone? Or work is hard to find? Or time off work is hard to get? Or the opposite sex pays no attention? Or love feels one sided? Four bald tires? Parents suck? The world is the shits? Best friend gone? Are the bad men keeping you down with their racket??? Not a racket per-se, but maybe some fuck stole your bike or broke into your car? Well let’s just say a blues artist steals our feelings and puts them into songs and lyrics we just can't. Now that’s a form of racketeering at its finest. And since you're a good man and not the first to be blue as the sea, you can now relate to the blues through someone who also has been in those troubled waters before you - or basically go read a book, or check out my mixtape below to find the artists I am backing.

The best things in life are the times you have getting somewhere; the searching. You'll find what suits you, so I won't drop names, my feet already hurt enough as it is. Just don't go out and buy an Eric Clapton or BB King record. Or even worse yet - that one where they are in a car together. For all I care they crash that shit the Mississippi River. Give me that kind of confetti I would throw it around too... Who needs a drink??? You can't be that rich and keep singing the blues.

Learn more here.

When was the first time you ever first made or received a mix tape?
Probably in grade 5 or 6, I got a ghetto blaster for X-mas. So I took my turn table, all my favourite albums, and recorded each of my choice songs onto a tape in the ghetto blaster... Funny thing, I was young and the tape player didn't have proper 'line in,' but did have a mic input, so I got a mic and closed the doors of my room. I told my parents to be quiet and put the mic to the speakers of the turn table... and I did that a lot. As a skateboarder most my life, I must say, making mixed tapes of songs from our favourite videos was the baddest shit, it just made you want to sk8. There were tons of those sk8 mixes around our group of friends.

What got you into the blues?
Well, my friend Jeff Hardy loved the Blues Brothers movie, and I met him in grade 8, so that was my intro. Than I realized my dad had a Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee album at home, so I rocked that and also went out and found the Blues Brothers albums at flea markets. But than it faded cause all I wanted to do was skateboard. Blues tunes aren't exactly tunes that light a fire under your ass to go jump down shit. But than I met my brother Joe C. Blues, he was into the Blues Brothers movie and records too, so we clicked and it turned into a friendly competition to find the most blues records. I would have to say Joe won, but we were both into finding the original tunes that The Blues Brothers had in them... when Joe brought home a Son House record... we lost our minds - that song "Grinnin' in Your Face" it caught our hearts in its hands.

What is your favourite blues artist?
Ahhhh, that’s so hard. How about, Big Bill Broonzy, Son House, Louisiana Red and Blind Willie Johnson

What is your favourite blues album?
Midnight Rambler by Louisiana Red

If you made a blues Mixtape right now, what would it include?
Artist – Song

Louisiana Red – Sweet Blood Call
Little Water – Key To The Highway
R.L. Burnside – Goin’ Down South
Tommy Johnson – Just A Dream
Big Bill Broonzy – Just A Dream
Big Bill Broonzy – When I Been Drinking
Louisiana Red – Too Poor To Die
Jessie Mae Hemphill – Lord, Help The Poor And Needy
Albert King – Born Under A Bad Sign
Jimmy Reed – Bright Lights, Big City
Blind Willie Johnson – Jesus, Make Up My Dyin’ Bed
Elmore James – The Sky Is Crying
Howlin’ Wolf – Little Red Rooster
Jimmy Reed – Big Boss Man
Blind Willie Johnson – It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine
Lightnin’ Hopkins – Bring Me My Shotgun
Little Walter – Boom, Boom Out Goes The Light
Louisiana Red – Midnight Rambler
Louisiana Red – Turkey Killer
Muddy Waters – Back Door Man
Son House – Grinnin’ In Your Face
Slim Harpo – I Need Money
Muddy Waters – Dust My Broom
Willie Mabon – I’m Mad
Willie Trice – Trying To Find My Baby
Louisiana Red – First Degree

CBC Radio 3: “Summer Road Trip Mixtape” SPOTLIGHT

Amongst many others standing strong, there is a great radio program called "CBC Radio 3" that happens weekly here in Canada - airing across the country, which is also now available on Podcast. The most recent episode of this excellent program (number 62) offered a themed special called the “Summer Road Trip Mixtape,” which is pretty self explanatory – and that you can download, or find out more information about by visiting HERE.

If you’re not familiar with exactly what a Podcast is, or how to subscribe, please visit their home site for all necessary information before downloading it – specifically the section entitled “Podcast.” For further information that site is as follows: http://radio3.cbc.ca/

This highly praised website and Blog for the show also contains current music news, tours in our great nation, and interviews. I greatly encourage everyone out there to subscribe to this critically acclaimed Podcast, or just simply tune-in weekly cross Canada on Saturdays via CBC Radio 2 (94.1FM around here) from 7:30PM – 12:AM ET, 2:00PM – 5:00PM Pacific, or even try Sirius Satellite Radio (Channel 94) if you’re outside of Canada. To even further cater to your needs, you can find what FM frequency CBC Radio 2 is in your area by checking this site.

Also, please visit NEW MUSIC CANADA’S website HERE, as it’s an excellent source to accompany the program, or find out about pioneering things happening right in your own back yard.

BACKGROUND on CBC RADIO 3:

Years ago I always used to listen to a program called “RadioSonic” hosted by Canadian semi-celebrity Grant Lawrence, of The Smugglers fame, which aired on CBC Radio 2 every Saturday evening on 94.1FM out here on the east coast. Since the days of David Wisdom on “Realtime,” the shows previous incarnation, or Mr. Lawrence’s later reign – things have changed some. In 2003 – the “RadioSonic” name was dropped in favour of the all-encompassing “CBC Radio 3” tag, which it now holds today. A year ago the program even went back to it’s ‘live to air’ format, as it once was some ten years previous.

The spotlight has pretty much remained the same throughout all of these changes over the years, and is primarily focused on Canadian talent, independent, unknown or emerging for the most part. Since this leap forward - they’ve enhanced quite a bit with a solid website to accompany the weekly program, and even an ‘on demand’ Podcast that offers almost every previous episode aired. They also have a plethora of guest hosts and contributors - Chris Murphy and Jay Ferguson being amongst some of the names, that are more commonly known from their work in Canadian super-group Sloan.