Where I'm From: Past Iz History (eBook)

Chapter 1

The Beginning

In the beginning, it was so simple, life and music were so easy to do and love. Hip-hop hit me like most kids growing up in Philly, once I heard “Rapper’s Delight” on the radio it was on. Before that record I had never heard of anyone rhyming outside of singing, poetry or stand-up comedy. When I was young I loved music so much, even before rap came along I used to listen to the radio and bang on pots to keep the beat. I always wanted to learn how to play the drums or blow on the sax. I never thought of myself as a singer, but I wanted to be an entertainer, like Michael Jackson. Back in the day he was the man as a young buck and I wanted to be just like him, making my fans scream and faint. This was my dream, but I was honest with myself, knowing that I could not sing or dance, I would never be as good as him (Michael Jackson), until rap came along, entertainment was just a fantasy to me.

After hearing “Rapper’s Delight”, it hit me, this was something that I could do and I was actually good at it. Back then in the late 1970’s and early 80’s hip-hop and rap was considered a fad, one that would pass quickly. Every new record that was released was considered the last of its kind by the community that did not understand it or the youth of its time.

In the very beginning of the “game” for me I was just a fan. I listened to Lady B and free-styled, never writing anything down, but I could “spit” as they say now. Wherever I lived, whether it was in Philly, New Jersey, or Virginia, I knew I was a rapper that could rhyme. I knew I was good because I would defeat any MC that wanted to rhyme against me. I need to say thank you to Lady B and Mimi Brown for feeding me hip-hop that got more complex each year since its birth. As rap grew, I grew with it as a fan and as an MC.

After hearing and seeing it, I was pushed deeper into this new culture. My best friend and I, (who is now my DJ) Xzotic D went to see Beat Street in 1983. Before seeing this movie, I was into karate flicks and martial arts in general. After seeing Beat Street, we became exposed to the breaking, the graffiti, DJing and rapping all at once, and seeing it all at once made us want to do it all at once. I took on the name Double K for the Karate Kid, and Xzotic D always had his name, it just used to be spelled “Exotic D” back then. We drew on everything, paper, the walls in my room, even the streets. We did not do trains though, drawing on my room walls was dangerous enough. We danced and even had a few breaking crews as kids. All I could do was Pop, but Xzotic D became so good, he could even do windmills (and still can).

Now after seeing Beat Street, Wild Style, and Breakin’, I thought of myself as somewhat of an expert on the hip-hop culture. God Bless my mother, she took me to see all three of those movies at the same time during a triple feature. These three movies made me become more interested in the rapping part of this new “Hip Hop” culture. I changed my name to Mally Mal and started writing rhymes down and using them instead of freestyling. The next movie to influence my life was Prince’s Purple Rain, and all the passion Prince put into his character while on stage. But, the movie that changed my life forever was Krush Groove. When LL Cool J said “Box” and watching him do “Can’t Live Without My Radio”, I knew where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. I think Xzotic D and our other friend Chris aka Cosmic Chris had the same epiphany that I did. Watching LL Cool J, Cut Creator and E Love was like watching ourselves. I knew right then and there that I was going to be an LL Cool J type MC, a worldwide, versatile artist loved by everyone. Xzotic D knew he wanted to be a DJ and Chris knew he could be our main man to keep us grounded.

We Started a group called DJ Xzotic D and the Hard Rock MC’s. Xzotic D received a beat machine for Christmas and began creating our beats. He was always good at the cutting and scratching, and Chris and I rocked the Rhymes. Chris had a cousin that was a DJ and he was plugged into the striving local music scene. His name was DJ Kurt and he was cool with all the local stars such as Steady B, MC Breeze, Exotic Don, and Master Vic to name a few. He would throw concerts and parties in Sharon Hill, PA with a different hot artist from Philly headlining every event. We were lucky enough to convince him to let us, The Hard Rock MC’s, open for one of them. We had to get everything tight for our first show. Kurt let us use his crib to practice, one, because we did not have any other place where we could really get into it, and two, because he wanted to make sure we would not embarrass him come show time.

It was the night of our first show ever and we were ready. We had practiced for weeks on Kurt’s Technique 1200 turntables and had Charlie Bass on the Roland 808 drum machine. We were the opening act for Exotic Don & Master Vic and MC Breeze at the famous Studevan School in Sharon Hill, PA. It was known to get rowdy there so we knew we had to represent. My homie Killer gave us a little shot of liquor before we went on and even though I said a different verse than the one we had rehearsed, we still did well. I told everyone that I was sick but they insisted it was just nerves. The next day, I found out that I had a temperature of 103 degrees and had come down with pneumonia. We still went on because even back then we had dedication and determination for the game. Now I hear cats bitch about a hangnail, while I have performed with sprained ankles and all kinds of illnesses.

The show at The Studevan School was important to us because it showed us that we could do it on the same level as the big boys. It was our first show and we kept the crowd interested and didn’t get booed. It showed me that if we work hard and keep good relationships with the people plugged into the game, we could also become successful. Knowing Kurt enabled us to do what other cats dreamed about, rock a show with big names on the bill at The Studevan School. From day one I have been blessed to know the right people to get me into the right places and situations. In the rap game it is more about who you know and less about the talent in the beginning but having talent gives you the double bubble that will only increase your chances of making it.

Now the movies got me open to ideas but there was nothing like going to New York City and chillin’ in the spots where these movies were made. I had a cousin that lived in the Bronx, New York that I visited often growing up, but after hip-hop dropped these visits became more like business trips. Thinking back, I must have looked like a clown in New York City. Xzotic D and I were rockin’ tall box fade haircuts, suede Pumas, Cazellies, big fur hats, and you cannot forget the fat laces in the sneakers. Even back in the mid 1980’s New Yorkers had their own style and my DJ and I looked like Graffiti characters when we stepped off the Greyhound. We were lucky to be there though, a lot of young hip hoppers from Philly never left the block, while we were strolling through the projects in the borough where our new love was born. It was through the grace of God that we did not get robbed because we sure looked like “marks”.

Those trips were so important because every record we were buying back home all had New York addresses. New York was the Mecca of hip-hop, but we always had our Philly pride, because at that time we had just as much history and stars as New York did. Philly has the same problem now that it did then, all the talent but no business outlets. From the beginning Philly was full of selfish crooks out to get what they could get from you until there is nothing left. There are entirely too many horror stories of “has beens”, and “never beens” in Philadelphia. In the 80’s Philly was considered second only to New York in the hip-hop business, but as of now the midwest and the south is kicking our ass.

In the 80’s Philly had major cats that were doin’ it and makin’ it. DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Yvette Money, Malika Love & DJ Bones, DJ Cash Money & MC Marvelous, MC Robbie B & DJ Jazzy Joe, Hilltop Hustlers, Larry Larr, The Tuff Crew, The Crown Rulers, DJ Miz & Freshco, Da Youngsters, Bahamadia and The Roots were some of the artists that Lady B and Mimi Brown played on their rap shows. Lady B’s Street Beat was on Power 99fm on Friday nights, Mimi Brown’s show was also on Friday nights but on WDAS 105.3fm. I used to tape both of their shows and rock the tapes all week in my boom box. Philly artists got a lot of their shine on those shows. MC Breeze and Schoolly D were my favorites back then. I liked Breeze’s versatility, he could sing, rap, had a great personality on stage and had an overall great stage show. Schoolly D was dead serious, the original “gangster”, his lyrics were raw and off the street. I always bought their albums and singles from Funk-O-Mart. To this day both of those Cats still influence me.

All those artists were just some of the acts making records in Philly. Some of them got signed to major labels in New York, but most of them joined independent labels in Philly. Pop Art was a label that had artists from New York like The Whole Juice Crew and Salt and Pepper. Word Up Records had Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, Bobby Dance had his own label that had Malika Love and DJ Miz. Schoolly D and MC Breeze put records out under their own independent labels, doing their own artwork and everything.

Shows, parties and major concerts were always going down in the city of...