Kool Moe Dee
Overview
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...
MC prominent in the late 1970s through the early 1990s. He was born in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, 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...
. He was one of the first rappers to earn a Grammy Award and was the first rapper to perform at the Grammys.
In the late 1970s, Kool Moe Dee met Special K
Special K (artist)
Kevin Keaton, a.k.a. Special K was an American old-school MC prominent in the late 1970s, throughout the 1980's and early '90s.- Early career :...
, DJ Easy Lee, and LA Sunshine
LA Sunshine
Lamar Hill, a.k.a. LA Sunshine is an American old-school MC prominent in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.- MC career :...
to form the influential 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 the Treacherous Three
Treacherous Three
The Treacherous Three was a pioneering hip hop group that was formed in 1978 and consisted of DJ Easy Lee, Kool Moe Dee, L.A. Sunshine, Special K and Spoonie Gee , with occasional contributions from DJ Dano B, DJ Reggie Reg and DJ Crazy Eddie...
on Enjoy Records
Enjoy Records
Enjoy Records was a record label owned and operated by Bobby Robinson from 1962 through the mid-1980s, and was run out of his record shop at 125th Street and 8th Ave. in Harlem...
. It was with The Treacherous Three in 1981 that Kool Moe Dee performed his freestyle
Freestyle rap
Freestyle rap commonly refers to rap lyrics which are improvised through a acapella or with instrumental beats, i.e. performed with no previously composed lyrics, or "off the top of the head"...
on-stage roast
Roast (comedy)
A roast is an event in which an individual is subjected to a public presentation of comedic insults, praise, outlandish true and untrue stories, and heartwarming tributes, the implication being that the roastee is able to take the jokes in good humor and not as serious criticism or insult, and...
of old school party rapper Busy Bee Starski
Busy Bee Starski
Busy Bee Starski born October 26, 1962, in the Bronx, New York, is an old school hip hop musician, and MC...
, a performance frequently cited as a pivotal moment in the development of the battle rap
Battle Rap
Battle rap is a type of rapping that includes a lot of braggadocio content "combined with put-downs, insults, and disses against real or imaginary opponents"...
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