Zoo Crew Records : Supreme C. / MRKD Men / Quan Capone

 The Zoo Crew from Brick City, New Jersey, is a multifaceted community initiative that began in 1991. Initially, it was a group of friends organizing parties and events for young adults in Newark, providing much-needed recreational activities for those aged 21–27.

Over time, the Zoo Crew expanded its mission to include youth development and community engagement. In 1996, they established the Zoo Crew Basketball program to offer young people an alternative to street life. This program has positively impacted thousands of lives over the past 25 years.

All the members are from different parts of New Jersey, but a street called Chadwick ave in Newark was where they all called home base. That's where the Zoo Crew was born...

The interesting part is that the Zoo Crew was also in the music business. In the early 90s, 2 members named Supreme C. and L-Boogie founded the record label Zoo Crew Records. They dropped 3 records featuring Quan Capone, Supreme C. and MRKD Men. which remain very hard to find nowadays !

12" - 1992 - Zoo Crew Records

"Time To Think" is the debut 12" released by Supreme C in 1992. The wax contains 4 songs on the A-side titled "Mad Props", "Fatal Attraction", "Stray Bullet" and "Time To Think", all produced by Pzaz.

The B-side contains all the instrumentals.

If you're looking for more info about Supreme C., you need to know that he felt into hip-hop when he was very young. His father had a record collection with Jazz, James Brown and some of the first hip-hop records like Rappers Delight. He was a kid that got into graffiti and breakdancing as the culture developed. He was born in Brooklyn so he used to travel a lot all over the city so he was exposed to all the elements of hip-hop from an early age. Then his family settled in New Jersey so between the back and forth he became a seasoned emcee. When he was coming out his Piers were artists like Nas, Biggie, MOP. He was influenced by the Zulu nation and then later the 5% nation, so Eric B & Rakim was a big influence on him.

Although there is nothing else released officially between "Time To Think" and his appearance on the tracks "Neva Faded" released by Lords Of The Underground in 1994 or "Lick A Shot" released by Rottin Razkals in 1995, Supreme C. worked on a bunch of material during this period. He was a ghostwriter for the group Da Youngsta's from Philly, Pa. Marley Marl asked him to help him to produce the album "No Mercy" after the first time he met him and heard him. Marley did the tracks and Supreme C. did most of the songs ("Hip Hop Ride" / "Mad Props" / "No Mercy" / "Backstabbers"/ "No More Hard Times"). 2 unreleased albums were also recorded but never saw the light of day : One when Queen Latifah gave him his first deal on Flavor Unit and the second one when he was on RCA records.

12" - 1992 - Zoo Crew Records 

"Funkin With The Wrong People" is a 5-song EP delivered by the MRKD Men in 1992, a group comprised of 2 emcees named Big Rell & Pzaz who also managed all the productions. The A-side contains the tracks "Stroke", "Bashin Heads W/A Concept", "P-Funk" and "Keepin On", and the B-side contains the track "Standin On The Block" and 3 instrumentals. 

Pzaz was dope as a producer and he also had Rhymes. At that time Supreme C. was the primary artist and Zoo Crew Records plan was to introduce Pzaz as they grew. For your knowledge, you need to know that in addition to producing for his Crew, Pzaz also produced for other Brick City groups such as Black Widow Society and Newark Natives, who were dropped on cassette tape at the time.

Photo courtesy of Big Rell

12" - 1992/1993 - Zoo Crew Records

The last 12" was dropped by Quan Capone who was not a real artist... Quan was an official street dude and not a rapper. Supreme C. actually wrote that song for him and it was almost a joke, Supreme C. was trying to encourage guys in the crew to pick up the mic because he knew the game was changing and they had amazing opportunity ahead of them. The wax came out around 1992-1993 and contains 4 songs entitled "Fuck What You Heard", "All Caged In", "Big Fu"and the lead single "Get a Grip", all produced by Supreme C.and Pzaz of Mrkd Men.

Mad Props to Supreme C., thanks for your time.