Don't Sleep #18 MC Chill - MC Story (1986)

It's been ages since the last Don't Sleep but as I just copped this 12" I thought I'd post it up. This is something I first heard back in '88 when I was first getting into this hip hop thing. Like a lot of rap fans in the UK, the Streetsounds albums played a key part in forming my tastes, pulling together a bunch of fresh new US jams for those of us that weren't spending a fortune on imports in Groove Records every weekend. Being only 10/11 years old me and my mate Mark were very much about just finding whatever rap music we could get our hands on and at the age of 10 the bargain bins and sale items were a good place to start. He scored a copy of Electro 12 which I promptly copied (on high speed dubbing too I'd imagine) and was introduced to some top tunes by Grandmaster Flash, Fat Boys, 2 Live Crew and Whodini. The only track I din't like was Square Dance Rap by Sir Mix A Lot. The album also includes the super dope 'Ultimate III Live' (which warrants a post of its own) and the subject of this post - MC Story by MC Chill.

The single was released on Sal Abbatiello's Fever label, which was also responsible for records by Most Wanted, Spoonie G, Sweet G and Cover Girls. It churned out a ton of Latin freestyle records and that whole 80s keyboard thing is in full effect on MC Story (along with a bizarre and very out of place guitar solo at the end). The chorus is kind of cheesy but you do get a class verse from the one and only Melle Mell which makes things well worth the price of admission.

Obviously '86 was a changing of the guard for the music once Rakim and BDP came along so this was very much the end of an era for this kind of rap. It's not a track you would necessarily be into if you didn't hear it at the time, but very much a nostalgia piece for me personally so thought I'd shed a bit of light on it.

It's mad that the Streetsounds series didn't make it to CD, let alone digital or streaming outlets. You can listen to Electro 12 on Soundcloud though.