Just as hip-hop production developed more rapidly during the mid eighties, so did the vocal styles. At the close of the decade Ice Cube would comment to Chuck on how he was influenced by Chuck when it came to that particular cadence and flow. Chuck responded by saying he got it from Schoolly D and Mr. Magic. When it was brought to Schoolly D’s attention he admitted he was influenced by Melle Mel.
But while Spectrum were becoming more and more involved with the recording process they still didn’t want to be recording artists. They wanted to work full time in radio. The crew looked up to the likes of the World Famous Supreme Team (who in time would go on to make ‘Buffalo Gals’ with Malcolm McLaren), who had a show on WHBI, and ‘Chief Rocker’ Frankie Crocker who played on WWRL. A gig along those lines, and the chance to continue with their DJ gigs, would have suited them just fine.
A big reason for their hesitancy to become recording artists was that during their time at WBAU the Spectrum camp had been observing the harsh realities of the developing rap game. Inflated egos meant that they had to treat the upcoming acts who played at their gigs like kings. But after the shows the Spectrum crew would then drive those acts back to the same impoverished neighbourhoods that they’d always lived in. Driving supposed rap stars back to the projects made an impression. ‘None of them were really getting paid off records so I was like, “Damn”,’ is how Chuck assessed the situation.
In among everything else that was going on, Spectrum were still actively courting local talent. It was around this time, late ’84, early ’85, that DJ Johnny Juice joined the crew, after impressing Chuck and Hank at a talent contest they held at Spectrum’s headquarters. Juice would also play his part in the future careers of the individuals who would go on to form Leaders of the New School, the Long Island-based group that released hits like ‘International Zone Coaster’, ‘Case of the PTA’ and ‘What’s Next’ before their most popular member Busta Rhymes went solo. When the young Juice arrived in Long Island he realised that, unlike in The Bronx, he would have to go looking for hip-hop vibes. ‘In The Bronx you just had to look out the window and it was there,’ he says.
Juice met a guy named DJ Will who in turn introduced him to Darryl Higgins, aka DJ Hig. Hig had been DJing for a long time around Long Island and this was how he met Spectrum. He was particularly tight with Eric Sadler: ‘Hig also had his own little sound system, they were like competing sound systems but they were friends, they knew each other.’
Hig and Will had been teaching Juice, already a natural at breakdancing, how to scratch and mix, with the result that Juice and Hig’s brother Charlie Brown, who went to the same school, formed their own little DJ crew. Trevor Smith, aka Busta Rhymes, also attended the same high school as Juice who, because he was a few years older, was helping to tutor the young break-dancer. ‘As gifted students if we tutored other kids in certain subjects we’d get extra credit. Busta was a popper and he was nasty. He came looking for me to be a part of my breakdancing group kinda before I even met Brown.’
Before long, Juice would introduce the artists who would be known as Busta and Charlie Brown to each other. At the time they went by the excellent old-school names of MC Chill O-Ski and KB MC, short for Krush Brown. Rolling with older breakdancers allowed the three youths to shuffle past security and into the Spectrum parties. ‘I was with Hig so I was introduced to MC DJ Flavor, Chuckie D, Mellow D and DJ K-Jee.’ The B-boy in Juice still makes him speak his mind: ‘Honestly, I wasn’t too impressed with ’em. But they were still rocking the shit.’
Johnny Juice was back in The Bronx visiting family when Charlie Brown called him up about the talent contest that led to him joining PE. ‘I got back and there was a message from Brian like, “There’s a contest, they’re looking for rappers and DJs”. I was like, “Aiight”. My moms drove me over. I was only something like sixteen.’ Juice and Brown attended the contest with a couple of extra friends: a breakdancing Michael Jackson impersonator called Fame Jackson, and Juice’s homie Daqwuan. He was pulled in to replace Busta, who, at the last minute, had decided to spend the weekend with his father in Brooklyn.
When they arrrived at 510 they found a line around the block. Everybody wanted to be a star. Juice and co. were the youngest guys there and Juice the only non-black person. ‘I was the only Puerto Rican there,’ he reflects, ‘but I didn’t give a fuck.’ 510 South Franklin Ave is a big building. Back in those days, Eric had a demo rehearsal place on the first floor. Directly above him was the dentist’s. Spectrum City and EJ the DJ shared the space above Dr Gant’s office.
When they finally reached the end of the queue Juice and Brown discovered two things. Firstly, that they would have to audition individually as solo acts. This meant the routine they had practised would have to wait for another day. Even worse, there would be no battling. They would have to showcase their skills in a different way. Juice was especially upset with this. ‘Me? I’m the battle dude. I thought I was gonna battle K-Jee and Mellow D. I was like, “I’m dying to fuck these dudes up, I can’t wait!” They were amused by my attitude. I know they weren’t worried about it. But I was dead serious.’ Instead he had to prove his worth on two SL-1300 turntables. Armed with two copies of ‘Funky President’ he proceeded to scratch – once he had acquired some milkcrates to stand on.
For their competition, the rappers had to sift through some beats on a drum machine. Once they chose something they liked, each contestant had a minute and a half to show and prove. Brown and Daqwuan grabbed the mic. A week after the talent contest Juice got a job at Burger King. On his second day, a Sunday, Chuck called him with the good news. At 8 o’clock on Monday morning, Juice (and all of the other young guns that were picked) showed up at 510 South Franklin to see if this was something he was really gonna rock with, or if Brown’s apprehensions were well founded. Brown hadn’t been picked and was perhaps a little green-eyed.
Upon arrival, Juice was shocked to see logos and names for seven groups that didn’t yet exist. One of the groups was Leaders of the New School. Another was Terminal Illness Crew, supposedly the first white rap group. There was also the Kings of Pressure, Son of Bazerk, Hellraisers, True Mathematics and The Invisible Empire.
At the time there weren’t many hip-hop groups with a lot of members. Stetsasonic were yet to put out any records and the Wu-Tang Clan wouldn’t blow up until the start of the next decade. So putting six emcees and two DJs in one group, when four was usually the limit, was unheard of, it was a big deal. But this was the Spectrum master plan: ‘Chuck was like, “I’ve picked you guys for your speed and for your attitude.” That’s when I realised he liked my whole “fuck you” attitude.’ The penny dropped. The names, concepts and logos for these groups had been pre-chosen, and the talent contest had taken place to find members to fit. Juice decided this was something he was gonna mess with and he joined the Kings of Pressure, a name evidently inspired by the nickname of a Philadelphia suburb, ‘King of Prussia’.
The Kings of Pressure immediately went to work on some four-track demos that would win them a lightly lucrative deal with Next Plateau Records. Throughout the time Juice was recording with the Kings of Pressure, the future PE personnel heard him scratch and earmarked him for the record that would become Yo! Bum Rush the Show. ‘They were like, “Yo,