Crooked Ozone - I Declare War - 1994

 

12" - 1994 - Crooked Ozone Records  

Crooked Ozone was a group from Southside Jamaica Queens, consisted of 7 OD and the Voodoo Priest (RIP), together they formed a duo called Doom Of Darkness along with Chris Lo, and L OD who were a duo called Mass Hysteria, and two other cats from their neighborhood named Smoke Screen and D Lo Peasant Career. 

Photos courtesy of 7 OD

Their first and only single "Insane / I Declare War" was released on vinyl and cassette in 1994 on the small indie label Crooked Ozone Records. All the productions were handled by Tony T, who was also known at that time for his productions for the famous Brooklyn Zoo crew.

- 7 OD, How did everything first start for the group ?

7 OD : " Crooked Ozone was formed from a song we made where I called my neighborhood CROOKED LETTER (S) OZONE base off South Ozone Park, NY where I was born and raised. 

So since we all represented from the same hood we said we should bring it together under one umbrella individually and collectively and represent as one though we all had different lanes and didn’t sound the same we had a crooked way of thinking so to speak can never get things straight (laugh)

We all went to the same junior high school and high school and hung around each other on the block everyone brought something to the table at the time. I was on two records at the time and was trying to break in the industry, me and the Voodoo Priest did a song in Harlem one night at a producer's home that my god sister connected us with, and the very next day we met up on Sutter ave on the corner of 135 PL in Queens in the back streets of Rockaway blvd, my man Chris Lo heard the song and said Yo! L that part in the hook where you say crooked letter ozone repetitively we should come together and call our selves CROOKED OZONE being that we all was from Southside Queens, South Ozone wasn’t being talked about as much we didn’t see the vision until we saw that that’s the lane we were going to go with and when we were together we were a force to be reckoned with with this rap shit. "

- The productions were managed by Tony T. Could you give me more info about him ?

7 OD : " Tony T was the producer, he hailed from Coney Island and produced on a record for Mack Da Maniak who was signed to Select Records that featured myself, Rog-A-Rab of The Brooklyn Zoo, Mr Cheeks and Freaky Tah of The Lost Boyz who is also from my neighborhood as well as Onyx. "

7 OD : " We are still friends to this day, Tony T had a studio in Coney Island we would all go to and record, he djs now in club New York in Las Vegas. But it was L OD who set up the single with Tony T to do a A side & B side that we would press up ourselves and distribute ourselves with a 1000 vinyl and 500 cassettes at first. "

- Why is there no more single dropped by the group after the 12inch in 1994 ? Does an unreleased album exist ?

7 OD : " So unfortunately we lost a brother out the group the Voodoo Priest who took his life due to suicide and it took a toll on everybody... we all did music individually but couldn’t quite come together. In 2017 we put out another song in commemoration of our falling brother and was once again going the independent route but life and other situations for seen the project. I will send you the last record we did but for the most part we still have hopes of dropping again. "

The 12" remains hard to find in a record store. I think I've never seen a copy for sale from my own eyes. So Discogs will be your last chance in my opinion if you really need it in your record collection.