Schoolly D

Career

Schoolly D teamed up with DJ Code Money in the mid-1980s. His lyrics reflected urban realism, violence, and sexual bravado, making Schoolly D the first gangsta rapper. He is also interviewed in the 1986 cult documentary Big Fun In The Big Town. He later embraced an Afrocentric style, bringing Afrocentric culture to hip hop along with KRS-One.

Schoolly D contributed songs and music to many Abel Ferrara films, such as "P.S.K." as well as "Saturday Night" (from Saturday Night! – The Album), as well as the title track from Am I Black Enough For You? which was played during the climactic shoot-out in Ferrara's King of New York; the title track of this movie from How a Black Man Feels and "Signifying Rapper" (from Schoolly's album Smoke Some Kill), which was used in the director's Bad Lieutenant. Because Led Zeppelin successfully sued due to an uncleared interpolation of its song "Kashmir" in "Signifying Rapper", the song was omitted from the soundtrack of the film and from subsequent releases of the film.

Composer Joe Delia tapped Schoolly to co-write and record "The Player" for Ferrara's film The Blackout, which Delia scored. Schoolly also wrote the score to Ferrara's 'R Xmas. In 2006, Schoolly D co-wrote the indie film soundtrack of the historical science fiction thriller Order of the Quest with Chuck Treece. The project series is produced by Benjamin Barnett, and Jay D Clark of Media Bureau. His last album, Funk 'N Pussy, on Jeff "Met" Thies' Chord Recordings features guest appearances by Public Enemy's Chuck D, Chuck Chillout, Lady B and a drum and bass remix of the classic Schoolly D track "Mr. Big Dick" (remixed by UK trip hop crew The Sneaker Pimps).

Schoolly also performed the music and occasional narration for the cult animated series Aqua Teen Hunger Force on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block. He was a guest on an episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast. He also created the song "Sharkian Nights" for the 12 oz. Mouse. The character Jesse B. Weaver from The Rudy and Gogo World Famous Cartoon Show was also named after him.

In November 2006 Schoolly D and Cartoon Network were sued over the Aqua Teen Hunger Force theme music. A drummer by the name of Terence Yerves claimed he had also written the theme music alongside Schoolly D in 1999 while working at the Meat Locker Studio. Yerves was aware the song would be used for a television series but did not approve of it being used for Aqua Teen Hunger Force, however, did not file the copyright to the Library of Congress until May 2006, after the series' fourth season had already started airing. In the lawsuit Yerves demanded he receive $150,000 for every time the series was aired after the lawsuit was filed, he also demanded that all existing copies of the series' DVDs be impounded and for Aqua Teen Hunger Force to cease broadcast.

Legacy

Rapper Ice-T, who is often given credit for the creation of gangsta rap, says that Schoolly D was the first gangsta rapper.

The first record that came out along those lines was Schoolly D's "P.S.K." Then the syncopation of that rap was used by me when I made "6 in the Mornin'." The vocal delivery was the same: "...P.S.K. is makin' that green," "...six in the morning, police at my door." When I heard that record I was like, "Oh shit!" and call it a bite or what you will but I dug that record. My record didn't sound like "P.S.K.," but I liked the way he was flowing with it. "P.S.K." was talking about Park Side Killers but it was very vague. That was the only difference, when Schoolly did it, it was "...one by one, I'm knockin' em out." All he did was represent a gang on his record. I took that and wrote a record about guns, beating people down, and all that with "6 in the Mornin'."

In the DVD extra on the King of New York, Schoolly D claims to have independently invented the sport of snowboarding by sledding down Philadelphia hills on pieces of linoleum. (Snowboarding has roots in snurfing, which was invented in 1965.)

Funk metal band Primus mentions Schoolly D in their song "Harold of the Rocks" on the album Frizzle Fry.

The Beastie Boys sampled Schoolly D's song "Gucci Time" on their 1986 hit "Time to Get Ill."

Studio albums

Compilations