T.S.P - Look What The Wind Blew In - 1996

Tape - 1996 - TSP Ent.

Let's talk about the group T.S.P and their first project dropped on tape in the mid 90's.

T.S.P a.k.a Three Stripe Posse was a group from Chicago, IL comprised of Dirte, DJ Ope-Ski, Tray Mack tha 3rd, Decipha The Verbal Sniper, Poyne the Prophet, Basically Relyntless, Marc Swinga, Papa Doc (now known as Doc Mananoff), Big Marcus a.k.a Biggz, Loose Screws, Sin (RIP), Monsta, DJ Philgood...

From Left to Right : Dirte, Monsta, Decipha (Sitting), DJ Philgood, Papa Doc, Biggz and Tray Mack / Photo courtesy of Vince Eckles

The group was founded in the late 80s/early 90s and started out in High School as a crew of B-Boys doing Graffiti, Break Dancing, DJing, Freestyle battlin' each other and rocking Adidas. The acronym has evolved 'Thugs Servin Packs', 'True Street Poets', 'Takin Sucka's Profits', 'Takin Shit Personal'... 

Tray Mack : "It all started out in high school 1986 our sophomore year at Lane Tech.  Although I had been rocking Adidas since 6th-7th grade. It was 6 of us, Myself, June Bug, P Dub, Craig, B Ski and D Most. We were all  B-Boys that was the connection. We started out as enp 89 posse. We weren't all into house music so that set us apart from other cliques at school. Eventually everybody else in the crew started rocking Adidas that was our symbol to represent Hip-Hop. By the end of sophomore year we changed the name to TSP, we stayed Adidas down to the socks.

We used to write battle raps in class and kick them at the lockers in between periods. And we also used to go over P Dub's crib to mix, he had equipment.

DJ OpeSki was our first recruit he was a freshman at lane in our junior year. Fast forward to 1991-92 guys from my hood North Side (Cabrini Green) had started rocking Adidas cuz of TSP's vibe and influence. Same thing with P. Dub, he stayed on the West side (K Town) guys around him started rocking Adidas, DJ OpeSki in Evanston guys started rocking Adidas, Biggz out South 95th guys started rocking Adidas all because of the vibe and influence of TSP.

We had our most momentum in 94. I grew up with Rick Party from WGCI at the time and he found out we did music. They played our song "Ya Burnt up" on the 4th of July. It was a local hit. They actually had a segment called the Ya Burnt Up Line. Where listeners would call the station and say who and what are burnt up, while playing our song in the back ground.

By '95 WGCI brought Craig Mack to Chicago to do his first show, there Biggie was opening from him and TSP was the opening local act."

Papa-Doc : "well a few of them started the crew in Lane Tech High school back in the 80s, but Tray mack (one of the founders) was from the area around the Cabrini Green projects and influenced all his homies from around there as well cause they all pretty much wore Adidas. The crew grew with members from various parts of the city but the North side Cabrini area was the main base. 

I came in thru one of the North siders, my homie 'Demo', he brought me in the fold because I grew up on the far south side in the Altgeld Gardens projects but he felt that my rap and graffiti skills was an asset to the clique so he brought me in."

In 1996, their first album or I should rather say compilation "Look What The Wind Blew In" came out. It was released on tape only and was composed of 11 tracks produced by Meanwhile and Geno of the group Rec Center, G-Ball, Tray Mack, Woo, Malik, The Loose Screws Camp, Poyne, DJ Ope-Ski, Decipha, Static and Marc Swinga. 

Papa-Doc : " The 'Look What The wind Blew In' radio station concept was my idea. I had recorded a song called 'To those That Hear Me' where I did a funny voice (Like Marley Marl did in the Symphony) acting as a radio host announcing my song being played on the fictional 103.3 WTSP fm. I never actually put the song out (and the couple copies I shared are long lost) but I played it at a crew meeting and everyone asked if it was ok to use the radio concept for the compilation we were planning."

If you're a tape collector, It's the kind of stuff you should have in your collection ... a piece of the Chicago Hip-Hop history ! 

Mad Props to Tran Brown, Vince Eckles and my man Surge HandsOfTime Crew