Top Choice Clique - Boston Legal
Straight Outta Tha Bean. Circa early 80’s. Top Choice Clique was a talented crew of hungry young B-Boys determined to make a mark on their local Hip Hop scene. For an underground crew with a deep love of raw Hip Hop, Jawn-P, DJ Gemini and MC Force went way beyond their own expectations when they made national noise with a dope series of independent releases. In 1993 TCC signed to major record label A&M. After a soundtrack feature and 12” release the group found their album shelved and time stood still…Until now; as Boston’s own Brick records has collected all those lost and forgotten tracks and repackaged an anthology and legacy to showcase the Top Choice Clique as true pioneers of the Golden Era. I caught up with rapper Jawn-P last week for an interview.
What year did Hip Hop became apart of your life?
Like all kids I was a true product of my environment growing up so I didn't know much about Hip Hop due to the fact that I wasn't exposed to it, there was very little rap in mainstream culture back then, so I guess Hip Hop became a part of my life in 1984 when I switched schools to a middle school that was right next to the pj's in Malden, that's where I met Gemini, he put me on with Run DMC’s ‘Rock Box’, I was hooked instantly.
Who were the crews you first heard locally and nationwide?
No question, the first crew I followed on a local level was RSO Crew, they were the first group from Boston to put out product. On a national level Run DMC, and the Fat Boys is what I had on Blast, from 84-86 they didn't release a bad album, I feel the Fat Boys are overlooked due to the way they went out, but I can't hate them for trying to get paid.
What inspired you to start rhymin'?
The level of respect MC's got back in the day inspired me to try to get mine, plus I couldn't sing or dance. I started out as a beatbox, but I was weak and further more I was down with Andy-F who was a very good beatbox, so I had to find my place to fit in.
Any conflict around being a racially mixed crew back then?
I'm sure there was some heads that hated on the racial make-up of the group, but we never really paid any attention to what anyone said or thought about us. I believe the location of our origins hurt us more than our race; we were from what was then considered the suburbs. Most of the other groups were from the right zip code I guess. What did Rakim say? It ain't where you’re from, it's where your at? That shit applied to us.
What was the Boston scene like in the 80's?
Definitely an exciting time, I'm fortunate enough to have two different perspectives first as a fan, and then as a participant. We had crews like RSO, and TDS Mob releasing wax, also when the compilation Boston Goes Def (EDO G’s debut) dropped, it showed people in the game that Boston was definitely an untapped resource.
How did Top Choice Clique form?
We met through legendary Boston radio host Magnus Johnston, he hosted a college radio show. His show was made up of mostly local music, Guru from Gang-Starr was a regular contributor. Keith was from the Bean before he started reppin’ the NYC.
Did you write rhymes as a group or individually?
Our process was the same from the beginning until the end. Force would lace the instrumental, and then we would lock ourselves in his home studio, until we had written and recorded our lyrics together, which developed our chemistry.
How did you hook up with Waltz records?
We found Waltz Audio in a music magazine. Tom Waltz had an 8 track analog studio, and charged us $8 an hour for our first few sessions. Eventually we ran out of money to record, and Tom stepped up and gave us spec studio time. Tom believed in the sound and offered to press a 12".
What do you view as the greatest achievement of your Hip Hop career?
Hands down the greatest achievement of our career collectively is the release of Reel Chemistry The Anthology. There have been a number of singular achievements that were very cool like appearing on BET and MTV Raps but to finally have a complete body of work to reflect on is by far our greatest achievement, even if it did come 13 years after the fact.
Promote the album a little…
The new record is split into two disc's. Disc 1 is basically the unreleased A&M record we did back in 95, It truly is a Golden Age record that has been preserved in it's original state, which is a good thing. Disc 2 is comprised of original 4 track cassette demos from 1987-95. You can hear our sound being shaped and influenced by what was happening in the game.
How did you get hooked up with Brick Records?
Through my homeboy Esoteric, we discussed and agreed in principle to release the anthology at Eso's wedding. They did a great job capturing and then developing our vision of the record. They are very good at what they do. We consider ourselves to be somewhat a pioneering group in Boston, so it was natural fit to put this record out with Brick, they are pioneers in their field as well.
What's been the response to the album?
Overwhelming and very humbling. We are happy with the response thus far.
Any chance TCC will reform for new songs?
Force and I have been plotting some new music. We may return to the studio this winter.
Final shouts or messages?\
Force, Gemini, Marino, Gino, Brick Records, Nabo Rawk, Recall, Salt La Rock, DJ Dee-Ville for hooking this shit up. Good look and I would like to give a special shout out to Xavier Patrick Ryan, welcome to the world lil’ Homie!
Top Choice Clique - The Powers In The Words EP 1988
D O W N L O A D
smecheri astia .