Arthur
Baker was among the most visible and widely-imitated of the
early hip-hop producers, masterminding breakthrough experiments with
tape edits and synthetic beats before crossing over to introduce the
art of remixing into the pop mainstream. He began his career as a
club DJ in Boston, and landed his first production work at Emergency
Records, debuting with Northend's "Happy Days." After relocating to
New York in 1979, Baker
quickly immersed himself in the nascent hip-hop scene; there he was
recruited by the Salsoul label to helm a session for Joe
Bataan which yielded the rap novelty "Rap-O-Clap-O." His stay in
the Big Apple largely unsuccessful, he then returned to Boston,
producing a handful of singles which went nowhere, among them Glory's
"Can You Guess What Groove This Is?"
A move back to New York followed, at which time Baker
joined the staff of Tommy Boy Records, where he teamed with
co-producer Shep
Pettibone to record Afrika
Bambaataa's groundbreaking 1982 single "Jazzy Sensation," a
remake of Gwen
McCrae's "Funky Sensation." Assuming sole production control, Baker
next reunited with Bambaataa
for the classic "Planet Rock," a watershed in hip-hop's early
evolution -- a wholly-synthesized record inspired by Kraftwerk'sTrans-Europe
Express, its programmed beats left an indelible imprint on
the music released in its wake. Baker's
success at Tommy Boy led to the formation of his own label,
Streetwise Records; after helming underground club hits for ... read
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In
one of the weirdest spinoffs in pop history, MC
Skat Kat -- the animated cat that danced and rapped with Paula
Abdul in her "Opposites Attract" video -- released an album of
his own, 1991's The
Adventures Of MC Skat Cat. The album appeared a full two
years after Skat
Cat's video debut, giving the public plenty of time to forget he
even existed.
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