"It's a Demo" is the 1986 debut single by American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

duo

Kool G Rap Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Cr ...

DJ Polo The Juice Crew was an American hip hop collective made up largely of Queensbridge, New York–based artists in the mid-to-late 1980s. Founded by radio DJ Mr. Magic, and housed by Tyrone Williams' record label Cold Chillin' Records, the Juice C ...

. Originally a non-album single with "I'm Fly" as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

, a remix of the track was featured on the duo's 1989 album ''

Road to the Riches ''Road to the Riches'' is the debut album by Hip hop music, hip hop duo Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, which was released in 1989 on then-prominent hip hop label Cold Chillin' Records. The album is notable for being one of the blueprints for the mafioso ...

'' and later on the compilation albums ''Killer Kuts'' (1994), ''The Best of Cold Chillin'' (2000), ''Greatest Hits'' (2002) and ''Street Stories: The Best of Kool G Rap & DJ Polo'' (2013).

Background

The song was recorded at

Marley Marl Marlon Lu'Ree Williams (born September 30, 1962), better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge Houses, Queen ...

home studio Home recording is the practice of recording sound in a private home instead of a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a home studio or project studio. Home recording is widely practiced by voice actors, narra ...

in Queensbridge, Queens,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and was originally indented to be a demo track. It proved to be popular, however, and became Kool G Rap & DJ Polo's first single, premiered by DJ Mr. Magic on

WBLS WBLS (107.5 MHz) is an urban adult contemporary radio format, formatted FM broadcasting, FM radio station, city of license, licensed to New York, New York. It is currently owned and operated by Mediaco Holding, along with sister station WQHT (97 ...

days after it was recorded. In a 2011 interview, Kool G Rap recalled:

Samples

"It's a Demo" samples the following songs:It's a Demo at Who Sampled
/ref> *"

Funky Drummer "Funky Drummer" is a song by James Brown recorded in 1969 and released as a single in 1970. Its drum break, Musical improvisation, improvised by Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequently sampling (music), sampled music recordings. Recor ...

" by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

*"Singers" by

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

And was later sampled on: *"Mister Cee's Master Plan" by

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American Rapping, rapper, producer and actor who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influe ...

featuring

Mister Cee Calvin LeBrun (August 17, 1966 – April 10, 2024), known professionally as Mister Cee or DJ Mister Cee, was an American DJ, broadcaster, record executive, and radio personality. He guest appeared on Big Daddy Kane's 1988 debut album '' Long ...

*"Butcher Shop" by Kool G Rap & DJ Polo *" First Nigga" by Kool G Rap *"Nostalgia" by

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

featuring

Masta Ace Duval Clear (born December 4, 1966), better known by his stage name Masta Ace, is an American rapper and record producer from New York City. A lead member of Mr. Magic's hip hop collective Juice Crew, he is best known for his guest appearance alo ...

Track listing

;A-side # "It's a Demo" (3:59) # "It's a Demo" (Dub) ;B-side # "I'm Fly" (5:43) # "I'm Fly" (Dub) (5:32)

References

External links

*
It's a Demo
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{authority control 1986 debut singles Kool G Rap songs Songs written by Marley Marl Songs written by Kool G Rap Song recordings produced by Marley Marl 1986 songs Cold Chillin' Records singles