Kangol Kid
Encyclopedia
Shaun Shiller Fequiere, known by his stage name, Kangol Kid, or, alternatively, The Kangol Kid, is a Haitian-American hip hop
producer
, songwriter
, break dancer, and emcee. Fequiere is probably best known as a member of the old school hip hop
group, UTFO
.
, and emigrated to the United States
as a child, eventually settling with his family in Brooklyn
, New York
.
Fequiere acquired his nickname, The Kangol Kid, from neighborhood friends during the early 80s, because of the many Kangol
hats he owned and wore. He was also officially sponsored by Kangol Headwear, Inc.
as a breakdancer. In 1984, UTFO became one of the most popular rap and breakdance acts in the country on the strength of their breakout single, "Roxanne, Roxanne."
During the mid-80s, as "Roxanne, Roxanne" gained popularity and chart position, UTFO was voted best rap group, at the 1988 Urban Music Awards
, had featured spots on Don Cornelius
' Soul Train
, The Phil Donahue Show
, and performed live for actors such as Dustin Hoffman
, and Tony Danza
. UTFO was the first rap group to perform at Harlem
's Apollo Theater
as they opened for Hall & Oates
and the Temptation
's Eddie Kendricks
and David Ruffin
.
In 1987, UTFO released their most popular selling album, Lethal
. The title song featured the rock group Anthrax
and later that year became the number one rap album in the United States.
platinum album.
Later that year, he formed, managed and produced the rap group, Whistle
. In 1986, Whistle's first single, "(Nothin' Serious) Just Buggin'" (written and produced by Fequiere and Howie Tee
) became an international hit which contains a distinct whistling sample that can be heard scratched on DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
’s recordings.
In 1989, Fequiere left UTFO and began production of a re-make of Heatwave
's "Always & Forever
" for Whistle
which also became a Top 10 seller. His success with this project landed more producing projects with LAM 'n R.E.C., Gerardo
, 7669, and Cheryl "Pepsii" Riley.
Fequiere also produced baseball
player Darryl Strawberry
's (then, of the New York Mets
) rap record "Chocolate Strawberry" then later wrote the theme song for professional basketball player Scottie Pippen
's (of then Chicago Bulls
) Sega
CD-rom
Slam City with Scottie Pippen.
commercials & animations, jingles for New York City's HOT 97 radio station and wrote his own column in Black Beat magazine entitled, "Yo Kangol". The column was designed to answer music related questions for up & coming artists nationwide.
In 2004, Fequiere scored the music for an independent film
entitled Nightmare which later won an award for “Best Movie Score”.
Fequiere currently balances his time between Producer, Composer, Performer, Artist Manager, Songwriter, President of his music production company, Kangol's Kreations, Inc., and CEO of his Public Relations firm, Kreative Media Group. Fequiere's lecturing at High Schools and Colleges nationwide on today's business of music has led this Brooklynite to receiving a proclamation from the City of New York for being among the first Haitians in Hip-Hop Music.
Today, the Kangol sound can be heard on female R&B groups such as 3LW
, Tres Jolie, and Blaque
, as well as Latin pop
group C-Note
, who recorded a remake of UTFO's "Right Next To Me".
Fequiere's "Yo Kangol" column can be found monthly on the Allhiphop.com
site, while up and coming projects include his first solo R&B recordings, scoring the independent film The Other Side of Hip-Hop, which will include new songs, written and produced by Kangol which will feature his son’s R&B group, Project: Plan B.
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, break dancer, and emcee. Fequiere is probably best known as a member of the old school hip hop
Old school hip hop
Old school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music , and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended . Old school hip hop is said to end around 1983 or 1984 with the emergence of Run–D.M.C., the first new school hip hop group...
group, UTFO
UTFO
UTFO is an old school hip-hop group, popular in the 1980s, that was mentored by the contemporary R&B group Full Force. The group consists of the Kangol Kid , the Educated Rapper , Doctor Ice , and Mix Master Ice...
.
Early life
Fequiere was born in HaitiHaiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, and emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a child, eventually settling with his family in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Fequiere acquired his nickname, The Kangol Kid, from neighborhood friends during the early 80s, because of the many Kangol
Kangol
Kangol is a British clothing company famous for its headwear.Founded in Cleator, Cumbria, England in 1938 by Jaques Spreiregen, Kangol produced hats for workers, golfers, and especially soldiers...
hats he owned and wore. He was also officially sponsored by Kangol Headwear, Inc.
Kangol
Kangol is a British clothing company famous for its headwear.Founded in Cleator, Cumbria, England in 1938 by Jaques Spreiregen, Kangol produced hats for workers, golfers, and especially soldiers...
UTFO member
Fequiere originally joined the rap group UTFOUTFO
UTFO is an old school hip-hop group, popular in the 1980s, that was mentored by the contemporary R&B group Full Force. The group consists of the Kangol Kid , the Educated Rapper , Doctor Ice , and Mix Master Ice...
as a breakdancer. In 1984, UTFO became one of the most popular rap and breakdance acts in the country on the strength of their breakout single, "Roxanne, Roxanne."
During the mid-80s, as "Roxanne, Roxanne" gained popularity and chart position, UTFO was voted best rap group, at the 1988 Urban Music Awards
Urban Music Awards
The Urban Music Awards is a HipHop, R&B, Dance and soul music awards ceremony launched in 2003 and now held in six countries annually.The awards ceremony is held annually by Invincible Media Group. The UMA's is now held in 6 countries annually...
, had featured spots on Don Cornelius
Don Cornelius
Donald Cortez "Don" Cornelius is an American television show host and producer who is best known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance/music franchise Soul Train, which he hosted from 1971-1993...
' Soul Train
Soul Train
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
, The Phil Donahue Show
The Phil Donahue Show
The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, is an American television talk show that ran for 26 years on national television. Its run was preceded by three years of local broadcast in Dayton, Ohio, and it was broadcast nationwide between 1967 and 1996.In 2002, Donahue was ranked #29 on TV Guide's...
, and performed live for actors such as Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
, and Tony Danza
Tony Danza
Tony Danza is an American actor best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss?, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards...
. UTFO was the first rap group to perform at Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
's Apollo Theater
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...
as they opened for Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
and the Temptation
Temptation
A temptation is an act that looks appealing to an individual. It is usually used to describe acts with negative connotations and as such, tends to lead a person to regret such actions, for various reasons: legal, social, psychological , health, economic, etc...
's Eddie Kendricks
Eddie Kendricks
Eddie Kendricks was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group The Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. His was the lead voice on such famous songs as "The Way You Do The Things...
and David Ruffin
David Ruffin
Davis Eli "David" Ruffin was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations from 1964 to 1968...
.
In 1987, UTFO released their most popular selling album, Lethal
Lethal
Lethal is an adjective meaning capable of causing death.Lethal may also refer to:* Lethal , an American heavy metal band* Leigh Matthews, Australian rules footballer nicknamed "Lethal" or "Lethal" Leigh...
. The title song featured the rock group Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
and later that year became the number one rap album in the United States.
Production, management, and songwriting career
In 1985, Fequiere wrote and composed a song on the Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full ForceLisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force is a 1985 album by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam in collaboration with the band/production team Full Force. It is best known for the lead tracks "I Wonder If I Take You Home", "Can You Feel the Beat," and "All Cried Out." The third of these hits also features Full...
platinum album.
Later that year, he formed, managed and produced the rap group, Whistle
Whistle (band)
Whistle was an American 1980s hip hop and R&B group, consisting of Jazzy Jazz, Kool Doobie, and DJ Silver Spinner. They later brought in Kraze and then Terk after Kool Doobie left the group to go solo. Their biggest hit single was " Just Buggin" in 1986...
. In 1986, Whistle's first single, "(Nothin' Serious) Just Buggin'" (written and produced by Fequiere and Howie Tee
Howie Tee
Hitman Howie Tee is an English-born hip-hop DJ and producer of West Indian origin but raised in Brooklyn NY. Howie Tee is best known for his work with U.T.F.O, Chubb Rock, Special Ed and The Real Roxanne....
) became an international hit which contains a distinct whistling sample that can be heard scratched on DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince is a hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Vocalist Will Smith met Jeff Townes while trying to make a name for himself in West Philadelphia's local hip hop scene. After joining forces with Clarence Holmes the team members became local celebrities...
’s recordings.
In 1989, Fequiere left UTFO and began production of a re-make of Heatwave
Heatwave (band)
Heatwave was an international funk/disco musical band featuring Americans Johnnie Wilder, Jr. and Keith Wilder of Dayton, Ohio, Englishman Rod Temperton , Swiss Mario Mantese , Czechoslovak Ernest "Bilbo" Berger , Jamaican Eric Johns and Briton Roy Carter .They were known for their successful...
's "Always & Forever
Always and Forever (Heatwave song)
"Always and Forever" is a R&B song written by Rod Temperton and first recorded by the British-based multinational funk-disco band Heatwave in 1976...
" for Whistle
Whistle (band)
Whistle was an American 1980s hip hop and R&B group, consisting of Jazzy Jazz, Kool Doobie, and DJ Silver Spinner. They later brought in Kraze and then Terk after Kool Doobie left the group to go solo. Their biggest hit single was " Just Buggin" in 1986...
which also became a Top 10 seller. His success with this project landed more producing projects with LAM 'n R.E.C., Gerardo
Gerardo
Gerardo Mejía , better known as simply Gerardo, is a Latin rapper and singer who later became a recording industry executive. Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, he has based his career in Los Angeles, California since his family moved to Glendale, California, when he was 12 years old. He became known for...
, 7669, and Cheryl "Pepsii" Riley.
Fequiere also produced baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player Darryl Strawberry
Darryl Strawberry
Darryl Eugene Strawberry is a former American Major League Baseball outfielder who is well-known both for his play on the field and for his controversial behavior off it...
's (then, of the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
) rap record "Chocolate Strawberry" then later wrote the theme song for professional basketball player Scottie Pippen
Scottie Pippen
Scottie Maurice Pippen is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association . He is most remembered for his time with the Chicago Bulls, with whom he was instrumental in six NBA Championships and their record 1995–96 season of 72 wins...
's (of then Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
) Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
CD-rom
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
Slam City with Scottie Pippen.
Current activities
Besides writing and producing songs, Fequiere has recorded voice-overs for various MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
commercials & animations, jingles for New York City's HOT 97 radio station and wrote his own column in Black Beat magazine entitled, "Yo Kangol". The column was designed to answer music related questions for up & coming artists nationwide.
In 2004, Fequiere scored the music for an independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
entitled Nightmare which later won an award for “Best Movie Score”.
Fequiere currently balances his time between Producer, Composer, Performer, Artist Manager, Songwriter, President of his music production company, Kangol's Kreations, Inc., and CEO of his Public Relations firm, Kreative Media Group. Fequiere's lecturing at High Schools and Colleges nationwide on today's business of music has led this Brooklynite to receiving a proclamation from the City of New York for being among the first Haitians in Hip-Hop Music.
Today, the Kangol sound can be heard on female R&B groups such as 3LW
3LW
3LW was an American hip hop soul and R&B girl group that enjoyed a number of modest hits during the early 2000s. Its founding members were Naturi Naughton, Adrienne Bailon, and Kiely Williams. Jessica Benson later replaced Naughton after she left the group in 2002...
, Tres Jolie, and Blaque
Blaque
Blaque is an American Urban-R&B group that had a string of hits in the late 90’s. The group's name stands for Believing, Life, Achieving, Quest, Unity, Everything. Their debut album sold more than 1.5 million copies and was certified Platinum...
, as well as Latin pop
Latin pop
Latin pop generally refers to pop music that has what may be perceived a Latin American influence...
group C-Note
C-Note (band)
C-Note is a boy band from Orlando, Florida. The group scored success in 1999 with their debut album, Different Kind of Love.-History:...
, who recorded a remake of UTFO's "Right Next To Me".
Fequiere's "Yo Kangol" column can be found monthly on the Allhiphop.com
AllHipHop
AllHipHop.com is a hip hop news website. It was founded in 1998. At five million visitors a month, it is the world's most popular hip hop website. Essence magazine has dubbed it "the CNN of hip-hop". In 2006, AllHipHop won the Rising Stars Award from Black Enterprise magazine. In 2007, PC Magazine...
site, while up and coming projects include his first solo R&B recordings, scoring the independent film The Other Side of Hip-Hop, which will include new songs, written and produced by Kangol which will feature his son’s R&B group, Project: Plan B.