Apache, a founding member of the original Flavor Unit and cousin of Latee has passed away after years of poor health. Lord Ali Ba-Ski discussed his unfortunate condition a couple of years ago: ‘Apache is on permanent disability now. He has a bruised heart. He got his bruised heart from when he was with that…
Category: Flavor Unit Special
The Original and The Best
Video: The 45 King & Queen Latifah 1990 TV Interview
This reminded me of a couple of important points: 1. All Hail The Queen is the greatest chick-rap album ever. 2. Blazers and sports jackets were running shit in 1990. 3. I’ve never heard that 45 King remix of Madonna. 4. TV presenters are retarded. 5. Footage of the original Flavor Unit = priceless.
Lord Ali Ba-Ski – The Unkut Interview
One of the unsung heroes of the original Flavor Unit was Lord Ali Ba-Ski (aka The Human Body Chart), who wrecked shit something terrible on the 45 King Presents…The Flavor Unit album. I always wondered why he didn’t drop any other records after that album, and after I did a post about him as part…
The 45 King – The Unkut Interview
As one of the most influential beat-makers of the late 80’s, The 45 King brought horns up front like no one had thought to do before him, setting the stage for Pete Rock to flip them for his own signature style during his ’93-’94 takeover. But where he really made his mark was on full-length…
Chill Rob G Interview – Part 1
If, for some ungodly reason, you’re not familiar with the work of Chill Rob G then you might want to check this before you read this interview I did with Rob a couple of months ago. Robbie: In the early days of the Flavor Unit, was it tough for you guys to get accepted in…
Lord Alibaski – The Top Gun
In terms of being low profile, Lord Alibaski would have to be the most elusive Flavor Unit member/affiliate. I’ve never read so much as a paragraph about him in a magazine, seen a picture of him – nothing! All I can tell you is that he featured heavily on original issue of The 45 King…
“Club Music Is Cute, But Rap Is My Vocation” – Chill Rob G
In terms of vocab, concepts, flow and style, Chill Rob G was the top dog in the Flavor Unit wolf pack. His first record remains as one of the finest selections in the impressive Wild Pitch catalog, as all three songs hit equally hard. “Chillin” didn’t end up making the album, but provides a perfect…
More Louie Louie – The Source Producer’s Profile
Adding on the Louie Louie article from the other day, here’s an old interview from The Source. I should also mention my post on Funkmaster Wizard Wiz over at Oh Word for their Crack Week.
Louie Louie – Not Just 45 King’s Sidekick
I can’t confirm that Priority One were official Flavor Unit (actually I’m pretty sure they weren’t), but Louie Louie was 45 King‘s right-hand man for a while, so his work deserves a mention here. His first record was with his crew Priority One, who dropped “I Can’t Go For That”/”Showin’ My Stuff” on Tuff City…
The Hitman Double J
One of the early members of the Flavor Unit, Double J doesn’t feature on much of their output other than his spot on “The Flavor Unit Assination Squad” and a couple of 12″s. He mentions how it all started in an old Hip Hop Connection piece: “We used to do block parties in Jersey City…
Lakim Shabazz – The Voice of Power
Without a doubt, Lakim Shabazz was the busiest member of the Flavor Unit during their peak period, with two solo long-players to his credit and guest shots on every 45 King album that featured vocals. This little guy with the voice of a giant was also staunch representative of the 5% Nation of Islam, which…
The Fresh One
As one of the least prolific members of the original Flavor Unit, Markey Fresh still made quite an impression based upon his performance on “The King Is Here” alone. A brilliant slice of lo-fi theme music declaring the superiority of New Jersey’s king of the beats, this staple of Red Alert‘s Kiss-FM show exists in…