...And Twiiiiiiiins!

Do It To The Crowd - Twin Hype

To continue the "dance" hip hop theme for today, I have dug around in the various caverns of my ThinkPad to find today's selection. You should see that thing. On some Luray type ill.

I don't profess to know the historical dealing of The Brothers Hype but here is what I could find:

New Jersey's Twin Hype released a pair of albums during a short career that spawned one undeniably brilliant single in the form of "Do It to the Crowd." Twin brothers Sly (Glennis Brown) and Slick (Lennis Brown) (Ed. Note: Glennis & Lennis?, that's better than Ronnie & Lonnie Productions! Represent!) were joined by DJ King Shameek (Jose Matos) for a self-titled 1989 album and Double Barrel, a 1991 follow-up -- both of which were released on Profile. Each album had its fair share of filler, and neither Slick nor Sly were exemplary rappers, but singles like "Do It to the Crowd" and "Wrong Place, Wrong Time" provided thrills. The trio presumably split after the second album.

So their history is a little blahzay blahzay. They are not unlike most other "Twins of Entertainment", meaning that they are destined for 14 minutes, 58 seconds of fame. But their most famous single, "Do It To the Crowd", sort of pulled a "little engine that could" for the Hip House movement, which could or could not have ushered in the whole Techno/House/Breaks/Trance/Electric jamboree that we see today. But more than likely, that opinion is one of ignorance and "don't-care-idness" (new word alert!), cause I hate techno and all things related to it. Homeboy here I think has a better explanation to the origins.

But for whatever reason, I've always like this song for a few reasons. First being the Monkees sample right off the bat. That musta took some nerve. I mean who used a Monkee sample back in the day? Wasn't it prohibited if it wasn't James Brown or Nautilus? Just kidding. Second, the driving bass rhythm through out the track drives both girlies and eardrums crazy. Think I'm, fibbing? Pop this 12 on the techs the next time you have a house party...Asstackularness (new slang alert!) ensues. Finally, and most importantly, you can do the Tyrone the Crackhead dance to it. Then again, I have yet to find a song that you couldn't do the Tyrone Biggums jig to.

Now-a-days, you can see their remains in artists like Tricky, Chemical Brothers, Anti-Pop, and Chap The Avenger. Like all forms of art, it's cyclical. So eventually, under this theory, breakin' and high top fades should be right around the bend. YES!

Never ever, ever, ever fakin' the funk,

Brother B aka DJ Set Busy Activated

* Shameek is still doing his thing, apparently.