May 17, 2018

MC Shan "Hip-Hop Roughneck" (1993)


Bringin' it back at you straight from the Bridge... MC Shan dropped the single "Hip-Hop Roughneck" in 1993 after the Juice Crew MC switched to Livin Large Records from Cold Chillin. The press release says it was to be released on his forthcoming album "Penile Reunion," but that ended up being Shan's second single featuring Neek The Exotic, Snow, Kool G Rap & Diesel ... both ended up being only 12" releases. It'd been three albums & 6-7 years since his smash single "The Bridge" became a Queens anthem, plus the famous beef with KRS-One / Boogie Down Productions. To sum it up, Shan says "Shan was dead, but now I got reanimated / Had the buttons to push, but didn't know how to operate it..." I've always held Shan in high-regard, even on "The Bridge," which was originally just a dubplate of sorts for Marley Marl to rock at live shows, Shan dropped gems in the 3rd verse about mind elevation and straight positivity, which I always respected. We kept in touch in the early '00s, where he was still recording and releasing music; I think his last project was in 2017: a digi-release entitled "Bars Over Bullshit." To be respected & known around the world as a pioneer of this rap shit is no easy feat, his legacy is deeper than 1 battle. The bridge will keep rockin...