Raw Material - Teen Scream - 1993

 

12" - 1993 - GNU Breed Records

Raw Material was a three man group comprised of A-SWIFT, ROB-FLOW and P.O. POP  from Flatbush, Brooklyn. 

Their first and only 12" was released in 1993 on Gnu Breed Records. The single also came out on cassette tape. For those who don't remember, this is the same independent label that released the excellent Yasheen & The Murder-1 Squad EP in 1994. It was run by Bob Bish. 

Raw Material's debut 12" consists of 2 tracks : "Teen Scream" (Original, Instrumental & Radio Edit) produced in 1993 by Mark 'Boogie' Brown on the A-side and "Face Before The Pookie" (Original, Instrumental & Radio Edit) produced in 1992 by Frank Nitty for Trackmasterz on the B-side.

I tried to find more information about this group but couldn't come up with anything. I spoke with Mark 'Boogie' Brown, but unfortunately he doesn't remember much. All I know is that Bob Bish introduced them to Mark 'Boogie' Brown. At the time, he was selling studio time and producing as well as selling beats, but Boogie haven't seen the group members since. I was also in contact with Robin Hannibal, who was their stylist for the photo used on the cassette cover, but she doesn't recall anything about the group...

Yasheen & The Murder-1 Squad ‎- Bring It! - 1994

12" - 1994 - GNU Breed Records 

Yasheen & The Murder-1 Squad... what an amazing record !!! Everything is good from the beginning 'til the end... the kind of wax which is really hard to find for sale in a record store or online nowadays... This EP came out in 1994 on GNU Breed Records, a record label managed by Bob Bish from Queens, NY. Yasheen & The Murder-1 Squad consisted of Yasheen Allah, Biggs, Dust (RIP) and Squirrel. 

The wax is composed of 4 tracks : "Brooklyn Niggaz", "Get Da Loot", "Keep It Bangin' " and "Bring It!" which is the lead single of the record. For the info an official video of "Bring It" exists, they shot the video on a rooftop of a Brooklyn's building, but the video has never been uploaded online...








 


All the tracks of the EP were fully produced by D. Trotman. I was in touch with him with the help of my man Prime aka Mellow-E. I took the opportunity to ask him a few questions. 

When did you start as a producer ? 

D. Trotman : "I always had love and acknowledgement of the music from a very young age in the mid 1970's. Acquiring DJ equipment in the 80s as a teen then evolving into a beat maker. First professional break into the industry was being a producer for Supermen Productions under DJ Clark Kent. Three songs I produced with an artist named Amber Sun Shower, the album was titled "Walter T Smith". Most of us end up doing demos for everyone before we actually make it professionally."

What were your influences ? 

D. Trotman : "My influence was organic. Hearing the grooves and melodies in those old records. Issac Hayes, of course James brown. In the late 70's we use to go to park jams. That was a major influence. For it was there you would hear the rare records and the DJ's that would play those records. Once I learned about the technology that enabled me to sample the records the rest was history."

Could you give us more info about Yasheen and this EP ? 

D. Trotman : "I met Yasheen... in Brooklyn back then 90's of course. My man Mickey from Far Rockaway introduced us and we recorded a few demos. I let a guy named Bob Bish hear it... he wanted to start a label, which he did... GNU Breed Records. At the time Bob owned a local video store and he sold the store to start the label. Yasheen was very talented... and he had his boys ... Squirrel and Big Dust, they were from Brooklyn. Prior to me working with Yasheen he spent time in California recording songs with various other producers. The earthquake that happened in California in 1989 made Yasheen come back to Brooklyn. Yasheen knew a lot people... He once took me to Russell Simmons house hoping to secure a deal... of course that didn't happen..."

Mad Props to D. Trotman & Prime aka Mellow-E.
Vinyl rip courtesy of 90's Hip-Hop blog.