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Andre Manuel, a disc jockey and record producer called The Unknown DJ or DJ Unknown, was a pioneer in the Los Angeles area's 1980s music scene, moving from electro
Techno Hop RecordsDiscography
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unknown DJ, The Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American hip hop record producers West Coast hip hop musicians
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
and electro rap to gangsta rap
Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...
. Now a legend of West Coast rap
West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast region of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the e ...
, he worked with rapper Ice-T in the early 1980s, then with Alonzo "Grandmaster Lonzo" Williams, and with MC Eiht
Aaron Tyler (born May 22, 1971), better known by his stage name MC Eiht (pronounced MC eight), is an American rapper and actor. Many of his songs are based on his life in Compton. His stage name was partly inspired by the numeral in KRS-One's na ...
's group Compton's Most Wanted
Compton's Most Wanted (C.M.W.) is an American gangsta rap group and part of the early West Coast hip hop scene. The leaders of the group are MC Eiht and Tha Chill.
History
Formation and early years
C.M.W. included rappers MC Eiht, Tha Chill, ...
in the early 1990s.
Music career
Manuel started in the music industry through Alonzo Williams, a DJ and party promoter in the Los Angeles area. Since his start in 1974, Williams, working under his brand name Disco Construction, earned the title "Grandmaster Lonzo." In 1979, Lonzo took over The Eve After Dark nightclub, about a quarter mile outside of Compton. Lonzo mentored Manuel, and they began working together. In 1984, Lonzo formed the Wreckin' Cru, a social group of his nightclub's resident DJs. While working with the Cru, Manuel took on a DJ name, The Unknown DJ. The Wreckin' Cru, which includedDJ Yella
Antoine Carraby (born December 11, 1961), better known by his stage name DJ Yella, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer and film director from Los Angeles, California.
DJ Yella began his career as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru a ...
and Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...
, soon gained a rapper, CLI-nTEL, and began recording the electro rap.
After taking classes at Long Beach City College
Long Beach City College (LBCC) is a public community college in Long Beach, California. It was established in 1927 and is divided into two campuses, the Liberal Arts Campus in Lakewood Village and the Pacific Coast Campus in central Long Beach ...
to further his abilities in electronic music and recording, Unknown launched Techno Hop Records. Since 1984, he produced or released such "techno hop" songs—fusions of electro funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
and hip hop—as "Basstronic," "808 Beats," and "Let's Jam." He had also produced early tracks of Ice-T, and then gangsta rap
Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...
's inaugural anthem, Ice-T's 1986 B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
" 6 in the Mornin'." Later, Unknown DJ produced for MC Eiht's crew Compton's Most Wanted
Compton's Most Wanted (C.M.W.) is an American gangsta rap group and part of the early West Coast hip hop scene. The leaders of the group are MC Eiht and Tha Chill.
History
Formation and early years
C.M.W. included rappers MC Eiht, Tha Chill, ...
. Other artists include A.L.T.
Alvin Lowell Trivette (born May 17, 1970), known as A.L.T., is an American rapper. known for the 1991 hit "Lowrider (On the Boulevard)" (as a member of Latin Alliance) and the 1992 hit "Tequila" (No. 48 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100).
Biography ...
, Brownside, N.W.A
N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...
, Bobby Jimmy
Russ Parr (born 1959 in California) is an American radio DJ, film director, writer, actor and television personality known for such television shows as ''Rock 'N' America''.
Career
Parr began as a Production Services Director at ABC TV.
Russ was ...
, and King Tee
Roger McBride (born December 14, 1968), better known by his stage name King T (formerly known as King Tee), is an American West Coast Hip hop rapper from Compton, California. Emerging as one of Compton's earliest hip hop artists, he was signed ...
.
The Unknown DJ also figures, if tangentially, into the story of Death Row Records
Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre ('' ...
, whose cofounder Dr. Dre is a Wreckin' Cru alumnus. Reportedly, Dre's colleague The D.O.C.
Tracy Lynn Curry (born June 10, 1968), better known as The D.O.C., is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. In addition to a solo career, he was a member of the Southern hip hop group Fila Fresh Crew and later collaborated with ga ...
had suggested naming the newly forming label Def Row. But, already owning the rights to that name, DJ Unknown would later explain that he had made the name for a potential record label to open under Morgan Creek Entertainment Group
Morgan Creek Entertainment is an American film production company that has released box-office hits including '' Young Guns'', '' Dead Ringers'', '' Major League'', ''True Romance'', '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'', '' The Crush'', '' Robin Hood: ...
. In July 1991, Unknown sold the rights to Dre's team, including Suge Knight
Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. (; born April 19, 1965) is a American former music executive, convicted felon, and the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight is considered a central figure in gangsta rap's commercial success in ...
at the forming label's helm. However, the team chose, by 1992, to name the label more bluntly.
Discography
Albums
*''Unknown's House'' (Techno Kut, 1990)Singles
*"808 Beats" (Techno Hop, 1984) *"Beatronic," with DJ Three D (Techno Hop, 1984) *"Let's Jam" (Techno Hop, 1985) *"Break-Down (Dance Your Pants Off!)" (Techno Kut, 1988) *"X-Men," with DJ Slip (Kru-Cut/Techno Kut, 1988) *"Revenge of the X-Men," with DJ Slip (Techno Kut, 1988) *"Basstronic" (Techno Kut, 1988) *"This Is Electro" (Techno Hop, 2008)References
External links
Techno Hop Records
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unknown DJ, The Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American hip hop record producers West Coast hip hop musicians