Various Artists - Strictly Breaks: Brand Nubian Collection [7]

Title: Various Artists - Strictly Breaks: Brand Nubian Collection
Year/Genre/Sub-Genre/City: 2006, Hip Hop, Funk, New Rochelle, New York 10/26
Matrix #: SB-9822 (Strictly Breaks, 2xLP); runout not legible in photo
Condition: VG+ (LM) | Members: Various Artists (N/A); samples used by Grand P (66' - ), Sadat X (68' - ), Lord J (68' - )
Cultural Facts: [7]

1. Rhymes by Cassette at the Boys Club: Grand Puba, born William Brewster Dixon III in New Rochelle in 1966, learned to rap at the Remington Boys Club, where DJ Grand Mixer DXT sent out cassette tapes the kids studied. His first cousin Dr. Who would bang out beats on the tables while the two traded rhymes, and the cousins later formed Masters of Ceremony together. When that group broke up after its 1988 album Dynamite, Puba went looking for new partners and found Sadat X, Lord Jamar and DJ Alamo.
2. Named at the New Rochelle Mall: Elektra A&R man Dante Ross liked the new crew but told them they needed two things first, a name and a song. They cut their first demo, "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That," at Jazzy Jay's studio, then started hunting for a name. "Nubian" came from a book Lord Jamar had been reading, "Brand" was added for brand new, and Puba has said they finally settled it while hanging out at the mall in New Rochelle.
3. Edie Brickell in the Hook: Side B here holds two of the records behind the 1991 hit "Slow Down": Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians' folk-rock single "What I Am" and Kool and the Gang's "Kool It (Here Come the Fuzz)." Brand Nubian lifted Brickell's guitar riff and part of her chorus, turning a Dallas band's pop hit into a rap anthem that reached No. 3 on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart.