JAYQUAN : Peace....Crash is one of
my favorites....im very honored.
Yoda : Peace thank you......glad we
could finally talk.
JQ :Lets start with the original
name for the Crash Crew as a unit.....it was Poison Clan right ?
Yoda : Yes , we were 25 deep....the
Crash Crew is just 5 top Emcees ......but the whole click was the Poison Clan.
JQ : You guys started a basketball
league....kinda like a Emcee all star type thing ?
Yoda : Yes... the
Entertainers Tournament......we had Treacherous 3 , Furious 5 ,Disco 4 and Sugarhill Gang
to name a few. It started at Rutgers Park . Greg G from Disco 4 still runs that tournament
till this day at Mt Morris.
JQ : Its funny that you mention
Sugarhill Gang....how was it at the Sugarhill label...with so many authentic groups being
signed and then Sugarhill , who never really paid any dues was there ....was everyone
friendly and respectful to them ?
Yoda : Yes....but because we had to
be . They were the big money makers for the label ; and even though they were a put
together group , and we didn't like what they stood for - we were polite to them because
we had to be.
JQ : What was the atmosphere at the
label.....did everybody hang out at the studios or in the lobby ? - There were so
many big names...was it like we see on the Motown movies...everyone chillin.
Yoda : Not really...we were one of
the few Manhattan crews besides Treacherous 3...and we kept to ourselves....we recorded
our joints and left.The tour bus was like a Motown revue though...Sugarhill Gang , Crash
Crew , Furious 5 , Sequence , Funky 4....all the groups.
JQ : Damn....did anyone get
pictures....does anything like that exist ? I woulda flipped as a kid to see all you cats
together in one spot !!
Yoda : Rodney C from Funky
4......he may have some.....but there aren't that many...we didn't really know at the time
what we were doing....that we were making history or that Hip Hop would ever be so big.
JQ : There was a little beef
between Crash and Furious 5 over both of you using the "Get Up And Dance" break
by Freedom. How big did the beef actually get.
Yoda : Well it got big...never
physical...but we would tour with them and they would tell us that we couldnt do our
record. But our joint was a routine in the parks before it was a record so we werent
backing down.There was supposed to be a batlle for who could use the beat.."The
Battle For Freedom"...it never happened though..
JQ: Your song was Hi Powered Rap.
That was your first record right?
Yoda : Yes on Mike & Dave
Records. It was the first single on that label.
JQ : Were Mike & Dave managers
or what?
Yoda : Yes ....they were promoters
that gave big jams...all the flyers you see will have A Mike & Dave production ,
or Bros Disco.We sold that record out of the trunk of our cars...the first 500 had white
labels with a checkerboard design on the B side. Everything
after that had the black with gold writing.....those were our colors. Mike & Dave also
had Boogie Boys , Rob Base , Dougie Fresh and Biz Markie.
JQ : Did that single land you your
deal with Sugarhill?
Yoda : Kinda....they were scooping
up all the hot groups...we were the premiere group in Manhattan. We were a self contained
unit...we had our own Djs , Emcees , equipment , management and security......we didnt
have to go outside or our crew for anything.
JQ :I have a record that Tuff City
put out on you guys...were you ever signed to Tuff City , and it says from the vaults of
World To World...what is World To World ?
La Shubee :We were never signed
....but we gave them some of our outtakes and throw away material. So they have the rights
to it.... World To World was a management company....we did some stuff with Howie Tee on
there.
JQ: Teddy Riley produced a joint on
there.."Crash Crew Is Back" from 86....how did that come about ?
La Shubee : We knew him from back
in the days in Manhattan and he was a producer for the label so he liked us from back then
so we worked together . None of that was ever released....they would put it out there ,
then take it back....it got a buzz , but they kept pulling it....then they sold the track
to Al B Sure.
JQ :Ok you cats never had a full
Lp...but Sugarhill put out a mini lp with some older joints and a song called
"Scratching".....but it is has no Scratching and it is instrumental......what
was the deal.
La Shubee :You are right we never
did an Lp...and Scratching wasnt finished . They took our promo pictures...the ones on the
bikes and used it for the cover. We never finished that song...they just put it out.
JQ : Ok....even more strange is I
have a cd from overseas called..." The Crash Crew - We Are Emcees " it has that
same track with vocals but its called " We want You To Dance " .
La Shubee : Yes.....that was still
unfinished....they also released "Ice Cream" ..."Charlie
Brown" and " Mc Wars"....they were all unfinished demos.
JQ : What was the deal with
"On The Radio" being on Bay City instead of Sugarhill?
La Shubee : Yeah they would do
that.....they had different labels....when we would ask about the books ; they would
say....oh that didnt do well - it was on Sugarhill. They had 4 or 5 labels they released
under.She (Sylvia Robinson) said she loved us all like we were her children - but she
robbed us.
JQ : How about 2468(Here We
Are)....it had a mellow version on Sugarhill....then my Tuff City copy has a more up
to date drum machine version.
La Shubee : Yeah the mellow one is
the original....the drum machine version was a remix that we did.
End of Part One.....as told to
JayQuan 1-6-02
ŠJayQuan Dot Com
HOME
