Ebony Brothers a.k.a E.Bros

12" - 1995 - Tommy Boy 

Here's the 12" that features the single "Funky Piano", released in 1995 by the Harlem duo E.Bros, a track I consider a true classic. The song appears on the original soundtrack of the movie New Jersey Drive and is produced by Roc Raida (RIP) & Knobody, with co-production by Sean C.

E.Bros was comprised of DJ JayBee and Pimp D a.k.a. Wayne-O. At the time, Wayne-O used several names, he also went by Mack D a.k.a. Mack Daddy, which he used when making mixtapes with JayBee. The two met through Wayne-O's cousin Mark, who lived in the same building as JayBee. Mark initially wanted JayBee to battle Wayne-O in an electric boogie contest when they were kids. I can't say who won that battle, but what's certain is that they became good friends afterward. Wayne-O discovered JayBee was a DJ, told him he could rhyme, and soon they began working together.

The name Ebony Brothers / E.Brothers (later shortened to E.Bros) actually came from Wayne-O's cousin and another friend. Their connection with producers Roc Raida and Knobody was made possible through Sean C, another East Harlem DJ. Wayne-O linked up with Knobody to learn production, while Roc Raida, fresh off his DMC championship, joined them for live shows which gave the group more notoriety. Knobody and Sean C, if you don't remember them, were also behind productions for the group Call O' Da Wild in 1995… but we'll get into that in another post.

In 1997, E.Bros dropped their second 12" (A Toast / Harlemites) on Ghetto Starz Entertainment, once again with Knobody on production. 

12" - 1997 - Ghetto Starz Ent.  

Sadly, it would be their final release. An album was never recorded. DJ JayBee eventually moved away and stopped making mixtapes, while Wayne-O focused more on production and left rapping alone.