U.T.F.O.'s members include Kangol, EMD (The Educated Rapper), Doctor Ice and one of the nicest D.J.'s Hip-Hop has ever seen, Mix Master Ice. There was a certain image behind each member in the group.

They sometimes referred to themselves as the Village People of Rap. Doctor Ice was Hip-Hop Physician. The Educated Rapper was the oldest of the crew, and he was also in college at the time (which was pretty much unheard of for a rapper 'cause most guys were just leaving high school and try to be rappers). So he was definitely the Educated Rapper, and he reinforced that image with the suit and tie attire.

Next comes the Ninja Mix Master Ice. Mix Master Ice was the D.J., and the way cut shit up on the turntables...he just got nasty like a Ninja does. Kangol Kid was the one who always wore a hat. The name Kangol was given to him because I always wore the hat. He used to known by the name Mellow S, everyone referred to him as Kangol Kid, because he always wore the hat.

With the help of Full Force, U.T.F.O. went from dancers and graffiti artists to recording artists, turning out hits that include "Ya Cold Wanna Be With Me", "Split Personality", and the classic "Roxanne, Roxanne".

The History

Now y'all know that any old school story on the history of Hip-Hop wouldn't even be cool if you don't mention what we liked to call: "The Roxanne Era"!

When U.T.F.O came out with the 1984 classic "Roxanne, Roxanne," they set it off something proper! That one record, set off more 'answer records' than any other record in the history of music.

The first round started when a (then fifteen-year-old) girl named Shante decided to record an answer to U.T.F.O.'s "Roxanne, Roxanne." With the help of DJ Marly Marl, an unpolished demo recorded in Marly's basement, was about the second most talked about song being played on commercial radio. After that, people were putting out "Roxanne" song by the dozen.

For a brief period in late '84, early '85, you couldn't listen to the radio without hearing some rapper going on about a girl named Roxanne. There was "Roxanne, Roxanne", Roxanne's Revenge," "The Real Roxanne," "Roxanne You're Through," "Roxanne's Mother," "Roxanne's Brother," "Roxanne's Doctor"--even "Roxanne's a Man!" It was off the hook, yo!

"Calling Her a Crab," subtitled "Roxanne Part 2" was released later on, but it wasn't nearly as popular as the first "Roxanne" record.

The Group had mass appeal because right off the bat it was different from all othe rap groups. The hype behind U.T.F.O. was the fact the group had all four elements of Hip-Hop (graffiti, rapping, break dancing and Dee Jaying). Mix Master Ice was Dee Jaying, Doc did graffiti, all of them were rappers, and Kangol and Doc were break dancers.

After winning a break-dancing contest, U.T.F.O. hooked up with Whodini, and was added just in time to be a part of what was probably the hottest hip hop concert bill ever.

Along with Whodini, the tour featured hip hop greats like Run DMC , Kurtis Blow , The Fat Boys and Newcleus, U.T.F.O. went on a thirty city venue called "The New York City Fresh Fest" tour. The tour was so successful it was repeated in 1985.

The Highlights

During their early years of popularity, strangely enough, the group found themselves on the Phil Donahue Show, which led to an invite to Dustin Hoffman's daughter's birthday party. (go figure!)

After leaving the "Twilight Zone" ( The Donahue Show!?), U.T.F.O. released a 12-inch of the fast-paced party jam "Beats and Rhymes." Oddly enough, this tune had a better rap flow than its follow-up, "Roxanne, Roxanne" (both cuts were included on the band's first album, along with "The Real Roxanne" and "Calling Her a Crab," subtitled "Roxanne Part 2") but it wasn't as popular.

As steady as U.T.F.O.'s musical progression was, the group's rhymes headed in the opposite direction, and fans just lost interest. Unfortunately, this is a reoccurring trend that ends up separating the pioneers of hip hop from their ever-hungry fans.

When the The Roxanne Era ended, the U.T.F.O. crew were at various levels of popularity around the globe. The Educated Rapper sat out their next record "Skeezer Pleezer", but that didn't stop the group (produced again by Full Force), from making major artistic strides.

A more adult U.T.F.O. (once again including The Educated Rapper) came back harder on "Lethal". Dabbling in gangster rap and performing a cross-cultural mating ritual with Anthrax (on the anti-drug title track), the crew demonstrates a desire to try new things.

Recently, I was contacted by the Educated Rapper himeself. Here's what he had to say:

"I would like to say thank you to you personally [regarding the site and being the #1 favorite group member]. It gave me great satisfaction and made me feel real good. These days I'm in the midst of producing a television show, running a soon to be major entertainment management company that's providing the majors with hot new off the hook talent. My style is tight and mad updated so be on the look out for a new fierce delivery from The Educated Rapper and a solo album and live interviews."

So there you have it. If you are a fan of hip hop in it's original form, and are tired of "rap" as it is today, be on the look out for upcoming projects from the Educated Rapper.

| | |