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Shawn Moltke (born September 6, 1965) better known by his stage name MC Shan, is an American hip hop and R&B recording artist. He is best known for his song "The Bridge" produced by Marley Marl, and for collaborating with
Snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet ...
on " Informer", the international number-one hit single. MC Shan's New York birth records state he was born in Queens, New York.


Career

In 1985, Shan started on
MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wi ...
with his first and only MCA single, "Feed the World". He was also interviewed in the 1986 cult documentary '' Big Fun In The Big Town''. MCA were not sure about what to do with hip hop, thus he was dismissed from the label. Not long after, Shan signed to Cold Chillin' Records due to his relationship with Marl, and joined Marl's Juice Crew. His debut album ''
Down by Law Down most often refers to: * Down, the relative direction opposed to up * Down (gridiron football), in American/Canadian football, a period when one play takes place * Down feather, a soft bird feather used in bedding and clothing * Downland, ...
'' was released on Warner Bros in 1987. MC Shan was one of the first hip hop artists to have a major record deal with
Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
. He also found himself to be a key player in the noted hip-hop rivalry, known as the Bridge Wars, between the Juice Crew and
Boogie Down Productions Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip hop group originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the release of BDP's debut album, '' Criminal Minde ...
. Controversy rose from his most famous single "The Bridge b/w Beat Biter". The A-side, one of the first song to sample " Impeach The President" (before was "Get Physical" for Steady B, also produced by Marley Marl) tells the story of how his crew got started in Queensboro Bridge. It also provided a template for other artists to use it as Queens representative anthem. The B-side is a mild-tempered diss-track aimed at LL Cool J for his song Rock The Bells which took the beat from "Marley Scratch", a promo by
Marlon Marlon is a masculine given name. According to the ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', the popularity of Marlon Brando led to general awareness of the name (his father was also named Marlon), though the origin of the name is not known. Speculatio ...
and Shawn from 1985 on NIA Records. Although at the time this practice was not allowed, KRS-One however responded with a parody of "The Bridge" named "South Bronx," and the Juice Crew sampled that song with a reply, "Kill That Noise." ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' magazine described the conflict: "In 1986, it was a beef that launched the star of KRS-One." A week later, Boogie Down Productions then released " The Bridge is Over," widely celebrated among hip-hop fans as the highest rated diss track. Somehow all the negative attention went to MC Shan. Years later, MC Shan remade "The Bridge" into "Da Bridge 2001", and strongly denied the bridge "was over", saying: :''The Bridge was never over'' :''We left our mark'' :''This jam is dedicated to you and your boys'' :''I brought my Queensbridge thugs to kill that noise'' Shan's second album, '' Born To Be Wild'', followed in 1988 and revealed Shan's b-boy persona, with production once again by Marley Marl. 1990's '' Play it Again, Shan'' displayed a more mature style but it also proved to be his last album. When Cold Chillin's sub-label Livin' Large was active, Shan was listed as one of its artists but only released two singles ("Hip Hop Roughneck" b/w "Watchin' My Style" and "Pee-Nile Reunion" (prod. Large Professor, feat. Kool G Rap, Neek The Exotic, Snow, and Diesel) b/w "Don't Call It A Comeback"). Despite the fact that he focused more on his production career (like Snow's '' 12 Inches of Snow'', which featured " Informer", on which he appeared) he recorded "Da Bridge 2001" for Nas' 2000 compilation called '' QB's Finest'', which also featured Mobb Deep, Cormega, and
Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans ar ...
. Shan had a brief stint in films, playing a bit role in Steve Martin's '' L.A. Story'' as Rappin' Waiter. Shan is credited as the guest rapper on the Sum 41 song " Dave's Possessed Hair/It's What We're All About" in the album '' Half Hour of Power''. In June 2017, MC Shan released his first new studio album in 27 years titled ''Bars Over Bullshit'', which was released digitally through iTunes and Google Play.


Discography


Studio albums


Unreleased albums

*''You Love to Hear the Story'' (2007,
Bungalo A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single- story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a ...
)


Compilation albums


EPs


Singles


As lead artist


Singles

*1985: "Marley Scratch" *1985: "Feed The World" *1986: "The Bridge"/"Beat Biter" *1986: "Jane, Stop This Crazy Thing" *1987: "Left Me Lonely"/"Kill That Noise" *1988: "A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste' *1988: "I Pioneered This" *1988: "Juice Crew Law" / "They Used To Do It In The Park" *1990: "I Ran The Game" *1990: "It Don't Mean A Thing" *1991: "Time For Us To Defend Ourselves" *1991: "Ain't It Good To You" *1993: "Hip Hop Roughneck" *1993: "Pee-Nile Reunion" / "Don't Call It A Comeback" *2001: "Da Bridge 2001" (w QB's Finest) *2012: "Let's Bring Hip Hop Back" *2013: "Everybody Wanna Be A Big Star Drive A Big Car"


References


Notes


Citations


External list

* MC Shanat
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shan, MC 1965 births African-American male rappers People from Long Island City, Queens Living people Rappers from New York City Cold Chillin' Records artists 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people Juice Crew members