HISTORY OF WESTCOAST RAPP
The Rappers Rapp Disco Record Co., also known as Rappers Rapp Records, was based in Hollywood, California and founded in 1981 by New York Transplant Duffy Hooks III.
Duffy had worked at Enjoy Records the sister co. to Sugarhill Records. It was there that Duffy saw the potential of a new genre of music called rap! Duffy along with his father decided to relocate to the west coast and launch L.A's first Rap label. After the labels first release " The Giggalo Rapp " c.1981 by Disco Daddy & Captain Rapp. Duffy held auditions in Hollywood Ca. for a 6 member act modeled after New York's Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. After an open casting call in Los Angeles, Duffy had narrowed it down to the six finalest's. The Rappers Rap Group consisted of five of L.A's top rappers and one white DJ / rapper from Taft California. There first release was "Rappin Party Groove" (c. 1981).
Captain Rapp was never an international superstar, he was one of the pioneers of rap on the West Coast and enjoyed a small cult following in that part of the United States. The Los Angeles resident first made his mark in the early '80s, recording a 1981 single, "Gigolo Rapp," as half of the duo Disco Daddy & Captain Rapp.
At the time, rap was dominated by the East Coast -- most of the hip-hoppers who were well known in 1981 (Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, the Treacherous Three, to name a few) were from New York or, in the case of the Sugarhill Gang, nearby New Jersey. But Captain Rapp realized that hip-hop could be big on the West Coast, and he wasn't alone. The people who gave Disco Daddy & Captain Rapp the chance to record "Gigolo Rapp" were Duffy and Jerry Hooks, who had a small indie label called the Rappers Rapp Disco Record Company.
The father/son team admired what Sylvia Robinson had been doing on the East Coast with Sugarhill Records -- which was considered the Motown of hip-hop in the early '80s -- and envisioned their label as a West Coast counterpart. While "Gigolo Rapp" received very little attention on the East Coast, it was a minor hit in L.A. and enjoyed some airplay on a few local urban stations. After parting company with Disco Daddy, Captain Rapp went solo and in 1983 recorded the socio-political cult classic "Bad Times (I Can't Stand It)," which Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis produced with electro-hopper Rich Cason.
A major departure from the lighthearted, feel-good escapism of "Gigolo Rapp," the sobering "Bad Times (I Can't Stand It)" addressed such topics as AIDS, child abuse, abortion, poverty, homelessness, and U.S. foreign policy in El Salvador. Lyrically, the single (which came out on the Saturn label) is every bit as gutsy and hard-hitting as any of the socio-political gems that Run-D.M.C. and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five provided on the East Coast in 1983. After "Bad Times (I Can't Stand It)," Captain Rapp didn't do a lot of recording. But the MC did return to the studio in 1992, when he provided a socio-political sequel to "Bad Times," titled "Bad Times, Part 2: The Continuance."
The Rappers Rapp Group was a group of rap artists that enjoyed a short period of fame in the early 1980s.
Group members included DJ Flash, King MC, Lovin C, Mr. Ice, MC Fosty and Mack-A-Moe. Later in the 1980s they signed with AVI Entertainment, under the group name Dark Star, but their album was shelved and never released. The group broke up shortly afterwards.
DJ Flash and King MC became The Future MC's and had two hits, State of Shock Rap and "Erotic City Rap". King MC then went solo with his hit "What Have I Done For You Lately Rap" which was an answer to a Janet Jackson song. DJ Flash and MC Fosty later recorded "The Beverly Hills Rap". MC Fosty and Lovin' C. had two hits, 1983's infectious street/clubhit "Radio Activity Rap" and "When Doves Cry Rap". The 12" single also included a version by Captain Rapp, who had just released the smash single *Bad Times (I Can't Stand It)" with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It also featured Kimberly Ball on vocals.
While King MC toured Europe, DJ Flash remained in Hollywood polishing his production skills with a string of both critical and commercial successes.
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