Chuck Chillout - KISS FM Radio Show 8/29/86

Chuck Chillout, KISS FM radio show August 28, 1986 (YSI link)

Here's something fun to kick off the week, as we continue to try to dig into the first decade or so of rap music. A real radio show from the mid-80s NYC! It's a great blast from the past, a chance to hear the earliest days of rap music in its most natural setting, the hour and fifteen minute straight mix. Hard to overstate how important these shows were to the development of hip-hop, as they gave the new genre a sense of importance and permanence, a real outlet that could be heard by anyone with a radio.

Chuck Chillout was one of the biggest names in NYC radio during this time. He should also be familiar to Pound for Pound readers, as he was a member of The B-Boys, who we discussed last week. Dude was a master scratcher, releasing a 3 part solo series, worked with Run-DMC, discovered Black Moon and has been an instrumental force in bringing rap to the world. The show's a lot of fun, as you hear the biggies from the day like Run-DMC, LL Cool J and Boogie Down Productions. Chuck mixes it all impeccably, taking us back to stripped down, sample-heavy days.

All of this got me to thinking about how much I miss having the chance to hear great radio shows. I can remember when I was growing up in Philly, trying to catch Friday night rap show on Power 99 or the college radio stations at Princeton and Drexel that played experimental music. There was something wonderful about those early days, these secret little sessions you could have to discover all of this amazing music that seemed endless. Not sure we have that today, since it's so easy to find out about every band or artist ever with blogs and podcasts and whatnot. Obviously, it's much better now, as we want everyone to be able to hear great music as easily possible, but there's something inside of me that thinks the music was a lot more special when it was harder to find.

Lil' Jazzy Jay & Cool Supreme - B Boy Style

Lil' Jazzy Jay and Cool Supreme, "B Boy Style (club vocal)" (YSI link)

Lil' Jazzy Jay and Cool Supreme, "B Boy Style (dub instrumental)" (YSI link)

Yes, yes, more electro rap from the early days! I can't get enough of this stuff right now, so clean and stripped down, love it. Lil' Jazzy Jay & Cool Supreme are everything I love, those flashes that come into the musical world, make a quick mark and disappear forever, a little moment of divine inspiration that makes a small ripple on the music surface that we pick up years later.

The duo was actually producer Rae Cerrano (Cool Supreme) and John Byas (Jazzy Jay) and they dropped this single on Easy Street Records in 1985. This one's so dope, you will immediately be transported back to the 80s, hanging in a park with a boombox, a group of breakers and a large group of friends all dressed in too-short shorts and Kangols. I mean, there's vocoder vocals and nice freestlye female ones! Two for two! You also get some nice synths, a tinkling piano keys, lots of scratches and a cold, hard beat. Add in Jazzy Jay's raps and you have a personal favorite. For those who want to take out the raps, head to the dub instrumental version, which gives you just the female refrain and lots more scratching. Trust me, you need this one. B boys! B girls! Yeah!

B Beat Girls - Hearts A Hurricane

B Beat Girls, "Hearts A Hurricane (Vocal)" (YSI link)

B Beat Girls, "Hearts A Hurricane (Dub)" (YSI link)

During the break, I've begun to dip my toe back into the hip-hop waters, although I still can't say I'm hearing much new stuff that interests me (get at me and let me know what I'm missing currently). However, my love for the early days has only gotten deeper, as I'm becoming obsessed with those late 70s/early 80s tunes when rap came into being. What's most exciting about is to hear the days when rap was so open to dance and electronic music, where it was trying to find its legs.

This B Beat Girls track, "Hearts A Hurricane," is a great example of this period, with the girls rapping over a classic electro instrumental complete with weirdo synths that give it that necessary futuristic sound. I really like the raps on this one, but it's the sung refrain that I love. Gives it a bit of a freestyle feel and makes things much catchier than you would expect. As always, you get the dub for those who favor less vocals. Yeah!

Jamie Jupitor - Computer Power

Jamie Jupitor, "Computer Power" (YSI link)

Jamie Jupitor, "Computer Power (instrumental)" (YSI link)

No better way to start the week than with a classic slab of West Coast electro, so let's get to work. Jamie Jupitor is one of those aliases that comes out of the ether to drop one track and then returns back to outer space, Jupiter apparently, his job done, minds blown, electro victorious. The story behind Jupitor is a tough one to follow. This is lone 12" was written, produced and arranged by The Egyptian Lover, in the ensuing two decades, he has decided to clean up the spelling of his last name, becoming Jamie Jupiter and touring with EL. This one was released in 1984 on Egyptian Empire Records, and would amazingly be the only release by Jupitor, outside of a few remixes.

We shouldn't complain, as we are lucky to have "Computer Power" as dude probably couldn't top thi. It captures that perfect futuristic sound that bubbled up in the early 80s, where computers and machines took the lead. As Jupitor says here, "Computers are the future world, we program for the boys and girls, there's nothing we don't understand, we're smarter than the normal man...Computer power!" What intrigues me most about this music is how uplifting technology seemed in those early days; despite the coldness of the drums and minimalism of it all, there's an uplifting melody and a real attempt to avoid the feeling that technology would turn us all into automatons and make the world into a scene from Metropolis. The instrumental on the flip side might be even better, letting you hear the music without the vocodered voice or Jupitor.