L.E.S.Lady

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The year was 1978 I remember like it was yesterday. There were a few guys playing music in the parks on the Lower East Side (Alphabet City) as it was know as back in the day. Let’s see there was the L.E.S. Crew, which featured a DJ who called himself Master Lee. There was also the Untouchable Crew, which featured a DJ who called himself Sir Gamble. Both Crews were hot, but nothing could have prepared me for that night when a guy named David Morales pushed the button on his boom box and out came the words using and echo chamber “to the depths of hell to the beat yawl” initially I thought it was the song that hooked me, (Take me to the Mardi Gras/The Bells by Bob James. But as I stood there I became mesmerized by the sound of Kid Creoles voice. Then something even more amazing happened Mele Mel got on the microphone and his voice was like none that I had heard before. That was it for me, I wanted to be a part of this but at that time I thought that only guys were doing it. That was until a few months later when David Morales said check this out. He hit the button again and out came the voice of the female MC. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing so I asked David is that a female? He said h yeah her name is Sha Rock. I went home that night and wrote my first rhyme. Next I began recording my rhymes over the latest beats using the pause button on my brothers’ boom box. , I would play these tapes for my friends as we congregated in the hallway of my building in Baruch Houses, or on the benches in the many parks in the neighborhood. One day a guy I’ve know since kindergarten named Troy Harris got off the elevator in our building and asked who the female he was hearing on the microphone was. I remained silent but my girls Denise and Mildred said that’s Cynthia she calls herself Precious Cee. Troy asked if it was in fact me. Hesitantly I said yes. That is when Troy said he was down with a crew, and he thought that I was good. He told me to come to their next practice so that the rest of the crew and the DJ who called himself Slice could hear me. I went, got the spot, and went on to become a fierce and respected female MC on the Lower East Side. My reign with the Galaxy Crew, as we were known only lasted about 1 year. Troy moved on the Untouchable Crew. I flirted with joining the L.E.S Crew but by this time I no longer had the passion to MC. I just wanted to go to the Jams and enjoy the party like everyone else. You see music is a passion of mine. So it was very hard being an MC having to rhyme over a track you wish you were in the crowd rocking to. I wasn’t only known for my ability to rock the Microphone. I also rocked many on the dance floor. It’s not like they weren’t warned, I wore my sweatshirts with the Old English letters that said Precious Cee will rock you.I’ve never been a person who craved the limelight so my decision not to MC anymore, though disappointing, wasn’t the end of the world. In fact it allowed me to channel my need to write into poems and short stories. During my years attending Staubenmuller J.H.S 22 1976-1979 and my years at Washington Irving H.S 1979-1982 I kept many of my girlfriends and classmates entertained with my stories. My decision not to MC anymore also afforded me more free time. It was during this period that I began venturing out to see how the other boroughs and neighboring states held it down when it came to hip hop. It was during this period that I got to see just about every great name in hip hop at the time. I was totally consumed with the art form at this point, and traveled as far as Trenton NJ, and as close as Alfred E. Smith houses (a neighboring public housing development) to listen to this music. Everyone didn’t feel the way I did about hip hop. There were a few haters out there who said please that’s nothing but a bunch of noise. In fact I remember traveling to Boston Massachusetts, and North Carolina in 1978 or 1979 and being asked by family to turn off that mess. However, once Rappers Delight dropped I had the same relatives calling me to see if I could send them autographs and or tapes. They assumed that because I lived in NYC and was so into the culture, that I must have known all the crews.These days my love affair with what’s referred to as old school hip hop hasn’t waned. I listen to all the classics and make sure that my niece and nephew understand that Jay Z and 50 cent didn’t create the culture. I’ve been know to pull out my flyers, and or the wild style movie, which I was in attendance during the taping at the Amphitheater and can be seen quickly as the cameras scanned the crowds, so that they understand that it wasn’t about who was the biggest gangster, who had all the bling, woman degrading themselves, or allowing others to exploit them. It was about bringing you’re “A” game to the party, because then you were only as good as your last party.I’m a lot older now, and the hip-hop culture I love and remember seems to have faded to just my memories. I’ve worked for the Post Office for the last nineteen years and believe me the songs from that part of my life got me through many of rough days. If I had to sum up my love for the hip hop culture I would put it like this: If Motown was the blueprint of young America in the 60’s, then hip-hop is my Motown.