Mohandas Dewese (born 8 August 1962), better known as Kool Moe Dee, is an true school MC prominent in the late 1970s, throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. He was born in Manhattan, New York. He was one of the first rappers to earn a Grammy award and he was the first to perform at the Grammys.
Contents
Early career
In the late 1970s, he met Special K and DJ Easy Lee. Kool Moe Dee joined with other rappers Special K and L.A. Sunshine as well as DJ Easy Lee to form the influential old school hip hop group the Treacherous Three. It is with The Treacherous Three that Kool Moe Dee performed his freestyle on-stage roast of old school party rapper Busy Bee Starski, a performance frequently cited as a pivotal moment in the development of the battle rap. In 1981, they moved to Sugar Hill Records along with another Enjoy act Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The Treacherous Three became well known for their singles Feel the Heart Beat and Whip It. They were featured in the 1984 film the breakdance cult-movie Beat Street performing the song Xmas Rap with Doug E Fresh, but disbanded shortly afterwards.
Solo career
In 1985 the Treacherous Three disbanded with each member pursuing solo careers. After leaving the group he attended college in NY and received a degree in communications. In 1986, Kool Moe Dee went solo, releasing a self-titled album, which ranked 83 on Billboard. He co-operated with the young producer Teddy Riley which contributed greatly to the New Jack Swing movement that would gain popularity in the years to follow. Kool Moe Dee released his second album, How Ya Like Me Now which was his most successful album commercially, achieving platinum status. He then went on to release his third album, Knowledge Is King in 1989, which went Gold. The single from this album, "I Go To Work" is considered by some to by the pinnacle of his work, with high speed delivery and superior lyrical content. He was chosen in 1990 to appear on Quincy Jones' album Back on the Block along with fellow rappers Melle Mel, Big Daddy Kane and Ice T. The album gained considerable critical and financial success and winning the 1991 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In 1991 the release of his album Funke Funk Wisdom signaled his downfall and eventual decline. Moe Dee himself has stated that this was his worst album(1). He induced his release from Jive Records in 1992. After a two year lay off he released his greatest hits album which gained some of his former success and acclaim. In 1994 his album Interlude was released and failed to gain Moe Dee much of his former success on the mid 80's. In 1993 he re-united with his fellow ex members of the Treacherous Three to release the album Old Skool Flava on DJ EasyLee's record label Ichiban. His last commercially released was the single Love Love/What You Wanna Do which was released onSpoiled Brat Entertainment inc
Feud with LL Cool J
Kool Moe Dee is perhaps most well known for his long running rivalry with fellow New York rapper LL Cool J, he, among other rappers such as MC Shan, claimed that LL had stolen their rap styles. He also felt that LL was disrespecting the reigning MCs at the time, himself, Melle Mel and Grandmaster Caz by proclaiming that he was the greatest without paying due respects to those who came before him. He challenged LL on his platinum selling album How Ya Like Me Now on the single of the same name. He also took a shot at LL by appearing on his album cover with a jeep in the background with the wheel crushing one of LL's trademark red Kangol hats. The feud continued on with both MCs proclaiming themselves the victor.
Other appearances
Kool Moe Dee appeared on Will Smith's #1 pop hit "Wild Wild West" from Smith's 1999 motion picture, Wild Wild West, on which he re-performs the chorus to his 1988 single also named "Wild Wild West".
Contents
Early career
In the late 1970s, he met Special K and DJ Easy Lee. Kool Moe Dee joined with other rappers Special K and L.A. Sunshine as well as DJ Easy Lee to form the influential old school hip hop group the Treacherous Three. It is with The Treacherous Three that Kool Moe Dee performed his freestyle on-stage roast of old school party rapper Busy Bee Starski, a performance frequently cited as a pivotal moment in the development of the battle rap. In 1981, they moved to Sugar Hill Records along with another Enjoy act Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The Treacherous Three became well known for their singles Feel the Heart Beat and Whip It. They were featured in the 1984 film the breakdance cult-movie Beat Street performing the song Xmas Rap with Doug E Fresh, but disbanded shortly afterwards.
Solo career
In 1985 the Treacherous Three disbanded with each member pursuing solo careers. After leaving the group he attended college in NY and received a degree in communications. In 1986, Kool Moe Dee went solo, releasing a self-titled album, which ranked 83 on Billboard. He co-operated with the young producer Teddy Riley which contributed greatly to the New Jack Swing movement that would gain popularity in the years to follow. Kool Moe Dee released his second album, How Ya Like Me Now which was his most successful album commercially, achieving platinum status. He then went on to release his third album, Knowledge Is King in 1989, which went Gold. The single from this album, "I Go To Work" is considered by some to by the pinnacle of his work, with high speed delivery and superior lyrical content. He was chosen in 1990 to appear on Quincy Jones' album Back on the Block along with fellow rappers Melle Mel, Big Daddy Kane and Ice T. The album gained considerable critical and financial success and winning the 1991 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In 1991 the release of his album Funke Funk Wisdom signaled his downfall and eventual decline. Moe Dee himself has stated that this was his worst album(1). He induced his release from Jive Records in 1992. After a two year lay off he released his greatest hits album which gained some of his former success and acclaim. In 1994 his album Interlude was released and failed to gain Moe Dee much of his former success on the mid 80's. In 1993 he re-united with his fellow ex members of the Treacherous Three to release the album Old Skool Flava on DJ EasyLee's record label Ichiban. His last commercially released was the single Love Love/What You Wanna Do which was released onSpoiled Brat Entertainment inc
Feud with LL Cool J
Kool Moe Dee is perhaps most well known for his long running rivalry with fellow New York rapper LL Cool J, he, among other rappers such as MC Shan, claimed that LL had stolen their rap styles. He also felt that LL was disrespecting the reigning MCs at the time, himself, Melle Mel and Grandmaster Caz by proclaiming that he was the greatest without paying due respects to those who came before him. He challenged LL on his platinum selling album How Ya Like Me Now on the single of the same name. He also took a shot at LL by appearing on his album cover with a jeep in the background with the wheel crushing one of LL's trademark red Kangol hats. The feud continued on with both MCs proclaiming themselves the victor.
Other appearances
Kool Moe Dee appeared on Will Smith's #1 pop hit "Wild Wild West" from Smith's 1999 motion picture, Wild Wild West, on which he re-performs the chorus to his 1988 single also named "Wild Wild West".
In 2003 he authored a book called There's a God on the Mic. The book breaks down his 50 favorite MCs in terms of originality, concepts, versatility, vocabulary, substance, flow, flavor, freestyle, vocal presence, live performance, poetic value, body of work, industry impact, social impact, longevity, lyrics and battle skills, where he ranked himself as number #5, ahead of MCs such as The GZA, and Tupac (ironically, he placed LL Cool J at #7, despite the past beef that the two had, even referring to him as an "unbreakable master").
In 2007 he appeared on the remix to Nas' "Where are They Now Remix", with fellow old school artists. On his Myspace page he has released some new tracks and a video to accompany one of the songs.
In 2008 he took the job of hosting a new Hip Hop talk show called "SpitFire with Kool Mo Dee". The show contains discussion on issues relating to both Hip Hop culture and general issues that affect the world. Each show has a different panel of guests, including; Xzibit, Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, DMC and many others. The show is broadcasted on www.iamhiphop.com.
Acting career
Kool Moe Dee had a brief cameo appearance in the movie Wild Style and appeared in the film Beat Steet with the Treacherous Three and young Doug E. Fresh. Since then he has appeared in a total of 17 Movies and TV shows as an actor and 21 as himself.
One of my favs.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWd1B5uceYM&feature=related
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment