Recently I was listening in my car to that track entitled "Don't Try" from the female emcee Quannie and off of the Nick Wiz's Cellar Extras (Part One) CD.
I didn't make the connection before that, but I realized that I was listening to Quannie Quan that day !! Does that name speak to you ?
If you're fond of New Jersey hip-hop, that name should remind you something... Quannie Quan a.k.a Quannue Quan is a female emcee from East Orange New Jersey who is an original member of Gee Rock's crew... Tha CND Coalition with N.I.G Dee, Skee Love, Skully, Sarge Roc, Da Mad Artist & Punkincee. She featured on some tracks released by Gee Rock & Tha CND Coalition in the mid/late 90s. Some of them were also re-issued on the famous "Tha Untouchable" album in 2019 on Heavy Jewelz Records.
She also features on 2 other joints produced by Nick Wiz, from the Cellar Selections compilation series. The tracks were recorded in 1994 and one of them features the group Lyrical Strong Demonstrators (Asiatic Dramatic RIP & Buddha Black) who were also from East Orange, NJ.
Gee Rock & Quannie Quan - Photo courtesy of Gee Rock
Gee Rock : " In 1994, I met Quannie at her job one day by a friend of mine who knew I was looking for a female who could spit and said he met a female who could rap, so we went to the Diner where she worked and she dropped a little something on the spot, and I told her to come to my house later that week for an audition, she came and ripped it… Long story short she became my first female MC and First Lady of Force One Networkz. "
The Force One Networkz Family - Photo courtesy of Quannie Quan
In 1994, Gee Rock produced her debut EP titled "Every Which Way But Soft", but unfortunately it never came out. The last track "Straight Off Da Dome" from Gee Rock & Tha CND Coalition's "Tha Untouchable" album is off of this unreleased project.
Gee Rock : " The EP was not meant to be released because of the timing…we did those songs to get to know each other better, when we first met she didn’t have any material… So 'Every Which Way But Soft' was born… after that project we got serious about her career and the rest was history. "
Her Rap name at the time was Quannie Quan, She later became TreAzure. In 2001, she dropped her debut 12" (What's My Name? / Playin' With Me) on Echo International. I don't know if the tracks are dope because I've never had the chance to listen to them.
Quannie a.k.a TreAzure - Photo courtesy of Quannie Quan
Quannie a.k.a TreAzure & Percee P - Photo courtesy of Quannie Quan
Quannie a.k.a TreAzure & Big Daddy Kane - Photo courtesy of Quannie Quan
Of all the groups which feature on the Nick Wiz's Cellar Selections compilations Series, LSD is certainly the one which deserves to be highlighted. Internet is a huge source of information, but if you are looking for some about these cats, you'll be disappointed to see that there is nothing online... so it's time to get some shine on them !
L.S.D which stands for "Lyrical Strong Demonstrators" is a Rap duo from East Orange, NJ consisting of the emcees Asiatic Dramatic and Buddha Black.
From Left to Right : DJ Hollywood - Asiatic Dramatic & Buddah Black - Photo courtesy of Buddha Black
Buddha Black :"I met Asiatic Dramatic in 8th grade, I started a crew called The Chilly 4 at the time and Asiatic has been my right hand in Hip-Hop ever since. We founded the group LSD in 1991, it was a branch of the Stardust Crew, some of the top MC's of the late 80's in Ill Town... Chill Get Down was one of the original members."
Asiatic Dramatic :"Well... before LSD we were the Stardust Crew with Tiny Tee, DJ Hollywood, Godfather D, J Scratch, B Twista, DJ Kaos (RIP)... My mother sponsored us when we formed Stardust in the 8th grade... She would try to get shows and recognition for the group at local clubs and bars. Afterwards Buddah's parents saw the effect hip-hop was having on us and our community and decided it would be best for him to leave Illtown, NJ to pursue a better environment and and lock in on education and sports.
Upon this return from college we then had me as well as other members getting into a street lifestyle that mainly was dealing with selling PCP (LSD) to the locals in our community where as we become the city of Illy Ill, leaky leak Illtown, NJ.
We then took the negative part of LSD into a hip-hop group called Lyrically Strong Demonstrators (L.S.D) to show and prove the positive aspect of what that drug could do."
From the early to mid 90s, the duo recorded a lot of material with the legendary Nick Wiz... tracks entitled "Flip The Script", "Parkside Madness", "The Ism", "Rollin' ", "Cash Money", "Don't Fuck With I" or "Rowdy at the Party" which recently featured in an episode of the fourth season of TBS' series "The Last O.G."
Buddah Black : "Nick Wiz is my man... I gave him the name Nick Wiz ! I was playing basketball one day with his manager Fred Crawford at the time, he said he had a young beat maker he wanted me to meet cause he heard me spit. He took me to Teaneck and I met Nick in the basement of his mom's house. It was dark and he had on a hoodie and he came out the back like a little wizard... I said "this is him my man"... He said "yeah this is Nick"... I said "okay Nick The Wiz"... "
There is also no info online about that but a full LSD album was recorded in 1994 and was supposed to be released officially... It was produced by Buddah Black, Nick Wiz who did 85% of the joints and Nick's boy named Body Bag.
Buddah Black :"That's the most incredible story that you ever want to hear, we got a deal with RCA... the connection with RCA happened through this guy Chris who signed Skee-Lo the God. They took the album then the label fired the people in charge of the project and never let us submit that material again and never gave us a reason why... crazy !! ... Right after that Asiatic got locked up... and I went on start groups like The Fugees, wrote joints for Lauryn Hill and Nonchalant, and started a lot of other movements until the God got out... but that album meant a lot to me because that was the beginning of the family."
Mad Props to Asiatic Dramatic & Buddah Black, thanks for your time fellas.
Here is the excellent debut single "Biz With The Skillz" released on 12", cassette and CD by the Indianapolis-based group Fugatives From Hell in 1993, Hip-Hop trio consisted of DJ Smal, PG & LSD.
The 12" and the CD versions are still something very hard to find nowadays. It came out on Finesse Records and consists of the tracks "Biz With The Skillz" produced by LSD, "Nuthin' But The Bluz" and "Peace 2 My..." produced by DJ Smal.
Scan courtesy of Frederic Thecle
DJ Smal, who were the original members of the group exactly and where did you all come from?
DJ Smal :"I am from Indianapolis, Indiana. The city is nicknamed NapTown. PG, one of the MC's is from Naptown by way of Richmond VA, and LSD is from Naptown by way of Evanston, Illinois. I met LSD when we were kids, around 10-11 years old. We went to high school together and formed seperate groups. LSD was one of the best rappers in the city. We got together after high school and made a demo for him. Several labels looked at us but we were not signed. We had about 20 good songs. LSD joined a group called BMW that signed with Luke Records (Luke Skywalker of the 2 Live Crew). During that time I was producing tracks for a rapper named Smoothe Teddy B on Finesse Records. PG was signed to Finesse Records, so I began producing his album. I introduced the two MC's and they hit it off instantly. We put PG on some of the songs we already had and he fit like a hand in a glove !!"
From Left to Right : LSD - DJ Smal - PG and Dave Hall (PG's brother and manager)
DJ Smal :"We completed an album that was never released. Later, we left Finesse and created Gate 7 Records and formed the group 360 Degrees. We released several singles, got a lot of radio play and did major tours. LSD was not on the 360 Project that was released but he is on the unreleased Fugative tracks."
Who did manage Finesse Records ?
DJ Smal :"Finesse Records was managed by Les Reed and Andrew Scanlon... two great men. Les was and is a successful stock broker. Andrew is a successful business entrepreneur. They liked the Fugatives because we were different than everyone else. Each one of us could rap, we all could DJ and LSD and I produced music, together and seperately. At shows, since no one knew us, we would rap each others lyrics and I would them take turns DJ'ing at shows. It was dope !
Andrew 'Chris' Scanlon... I knew him growing up when he went by Chris. When he got paid, he was Andrew, lol... He wore suits to high school and told everyone he was going to make it... He did. I think he retired a millionaire when he was about 35 years old..."
Could you give me more info about Gate 7 Records ?
DJ Smal : "Finesse Records was ahead of their time, but being in Naptown slowed us down. We moved Gate 7 Records to Atlanta, before it blew up, and had a large following on the East coast, Washington DC, Philly and New York.
The Fugatives went to Rap It Up convention in DC, Jack the Rapper in Atlanta and may other music conventions. A few labels wanted to sign us but the contracts were horrible...
When we formed Gate 7 Records, we had a distribution deal with Solar Records, around the same time Death Row was recording Tupac and the Dog Pound, early 1995. That deal fell through so Gate 7 remained independent. We set up our own distribution network that gave Atlanta artist the blueprint to go national...360 degrees is completion.
We still do shows and have influenced the next generation of MC's in the city."
360 Degrees - PG & Smal
What about the unreleased album ? Have you ever though of releasing it after that ?
DJ Smal :"Yes, we were going to release it with a record label in Germany before the pandemic. Now we are going to put it out on the Gate 7 label later this year."
When did you start producing and what were your music influences ?
DJ Smal :"I started DJ'ing when I was in about the 6th grade. Hip hop was young and fun. I was offered the opportunity to DJ for a dope female MC, Precise. We did a lot of shows and toured in 1989. On tour I met DJ Scratch of EPMD. At the time he was DJ'ing for BDP (KRS One)."
DJ Smal & DJ Scratch - 1987 - Photo courtesy of Lisa Wright Holland
Precise & DJ Smal - Photo courtesy of Lisa Wright Holland
DJ Smal :"After that tour I started producing tracks. I didn't have the proper equipment so the songs were wack. I finally got hold of the right samplers and drum machines and started making bangers! I presented them to LSD because they fit his underground, grungy style. LSD and I formed Tear Shit UP Productions and we just got better and better. We were influenced by everything and everyone that was dope. We both had mad records form our parents and older siblings that we sampled and made music from... As a DJ, I had a good ear. We figured out how to use our equipment and the rest, as they say, is history ! "
From Left to Right : LSD - DJ Smal - PG and Scoo-no G (Crew Member & Hypeman)
Mad Props to DJ Smal, thanks for your time.
Big thanks to Precise for the throwback photos and Fred Thecle for the scans of the CD covers.
Back in '94 with this rare 12" released by Olori Rock, a young MC from Harlem 'Grant Projects' (125st & Amsterdam Ave). The wax is composed of 2 tracks 'Ruff-N-Tuff' and 'Don't Test Me', both produced by a cat named LSD. It came out on LonGevity Records and was also engineered by LG, Positive K's DJ. The main single of the 12" is 'Ruff-N-Tuff' available on the 'That Ride' side, in its Wrekless Radio Mix version and Rugged Butta Remix version, but the flip side wins this time with the excellent 'Don't Test Me (Smooth Radio Mix)' which is Olori's favorite track too, according to him.
Olori Manns : "I was already discovered by a group from Brooklyn 3-4 years prior to that, Witchdoctor & the Dominating three MC's on loan on Timberwolfe Records, which I made a record with, doing the human beatbox."
Olori Manns :"Timberwolfe Records was managed by Susane Buckley and Fred Porter. DJ Witch Doctor a.k.a Norman Glover (RIP) was the DJ's name also known as Platinum producer on Biggie Smalls album 'Ready to Die' years later."
Olori Rock (Bottom) / Superlova Cee and Casanova Rud / Mellow Nate Dee / Rock Master J Count Cool Out & DJ Witchdoctor - Photo courtesy of Olori Manns
Olori Rock / Rockmaster J Count Cool Out / Mellow Nate Dee / DJ Witch Doctor - Photo courtesy of Olori Manns
Olori Manns : "I met Steven Brown a.k.a LSD at the Apollo. He came down to see me performed when musician Nat Adley recommended him to go and see me. Nat Adley played Instrument for Luther Vandross and his daughter went to school with my sister. She was 4 years younger than me probably about 11 or 12 when my sister's friend's mother heard my demo, she told her husband who is Nat Adley and he called Steven Brown ... that's how the connection happened.
Longevity records was put together by Steven Brown and Stanley Brown who is Steven's Father. Steven got his dad to give him $10,000 to invest in my first Single "Ruff-N-Tuff / Don't Test Me" in 1994."
Mad Props to Olori Manns a.k.a Olori Rock, thanks for your time !
