Here’s Old Art 2 – Overalls
Mountain Brothers are a hip hop group from Philadelphia with members Styles, Peril-L, and Chops. Besides Key Kool & Rhetmattic, Mountain Brothers were some of the only Asian American cats rhyming and putting out records. Coming from the Bay you see lots of writers, B-boys, and DJs, but very few MCs. That all changed when I saw this trio from Philly. Their first album “Self: Volume 1” came out in 1999, and their second and last album came out in 2003. They also had an EP titled Microphone Phenomenal. MB were pioneers for Asian Americans in hop hop and although Peril-L and Styles are pursuing medicine and science Chops still continues to make music. In fact the group united for a song on a Chops record in 2013 along with cats like Dumbfounded, Bambu, Rocky Rivera, Geo of Blue Scholars, Neil Armstrong, DJ Roli Rohl, and more. The guys are Chinese Taiwanese and simply by making great music and being themselves they have made history and given young Asian American artists role models. Galaxies!!!
Sources: Wikipedia, TaiwaneseAmerican.org,
Did you catch the one of Mndsgn ?
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MC and rhyme champion Lisa Lee. I saw her in Wild Style and Beat Street and wondered, “yo, who is that rhyming” and then she said her name. Lisa Lee was born and raised in the Bronx. In an interview she said her and her brothers started to learn drums and mixing at a very young age in the 70s. She went to a party being held by Afrika Bambaataa and Disco King Mario where she got on the mic and started rhyming. She went on to be a part of the Universal Zulu Nation, an organization founded by Bambaataa to unite all the gangs in the Bronx around peace, love, music, and culture. Lisa would go on to star in the films I mentioned as well as make several records such as “I’m a pioneer”. I feel like she does not get enough shine and there needs to be more of a spotlight on her life and achievements while she’s still here. Much respect to Queen Lisa Lee!
Sources: Bee Shine (youtube), Real Queens of Hip Hop (site)
“Sha-Rock is the woman with the magical touch. I’m like burning fire! You know I’m much too much!” was the line I remember from seeing Sha Rock on the mic in Beat Street as a kid. Later on I would hear “They’re four fly guys, i’m the best female. I’m telling the truth not a fairytale” while she rhymed with the hip hop legends “Funky Four + 1”. Sha Rock, is the earliest women on the mic during the birth and pioneering years of early hip hop mcing. She’s still alive and rocking, but I wanted to give her some props for Black History Month! Much love Sha, I play your records for my son so he knows the sisters were there from the start.
-Rob