Tune In, Turn On
By Doug Deutsch
Forgive yourself if you thought rap, specifically the gangster (or gangsta) rap genre, was created by rap artists on either the West Coast or New York City. It’s actually credited to longtime rapper Jesse Bonds Weaver Jr., also known as “Schoolly D,” from Philadelphia, not far from here at the Jersey Shore.
His music has been sampled by a wide range of well-known music artists including Lil Wayne, the Chemical Brothers, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and The Roots.
Deemed a pioneer by no less a hip-hop authority than Jay-Z, and credited by Ice-T as having the first gangsta rap record (PROPS magazine), Schoolly D’s career has given inspiration to countless musicians and fans alike.
Songs such as “Gucci Time,” “Saturday Night,” and “P.S.K. What Does It Mean?” are classics and illustrate the uncompromising narrative of hardcore gangsta hip-hop of the 1980s. His true-to-life lyrics tell tales of the streets in his aforementioned hometown, and the influences that drugs and gang life had on him as a young man.
Schoolly, whose first hip-hop memories were of West Philly row houses (since burned down) and watching Royal Rhyme and other rappers rehearse for a neighborhood block party, consented to an interview prior to his show this Friday, June 21 (9 p.m.) at Anchor Rock Club in Atlantic City
tickets: https://www.tixr.com/groups/anchorrockclub/events/schoolly-d-105333
DD: It’s said you more or less invented gangster rap when you rapped about the gang Park Side Killerd in the early ’80s. What is your reply to that?
Schoolly D: When it comes to inventing gangster rap, yes, the cadence of the music and vocals was me. The subject matter is a bit of a toss-up because there was hardcore rappers and rap around back then buuuuut I told the story of what it was really like on a Saturday night in almost every black neighborhood in America, which scared the sh** out of America. Spin magazine did a story on the gangs and the music they listened to and it was PSK, so they coined it gangster rap.
DD: What do you think of the rap scene as it exists today, and where do you see rap and hip-hop going in the future?
Schoolly D: I don’t usually talk about the state of hip-hop or where I think it’s going.
DD: Talk about your longtime collaboration with filmmaker Abel Ferrara. How did that come to be?
Schoolly D: I met Abel while he was editing the film “King of New York.” He loved my music so much he asked me to leave making music for record companies and join him for making music for films, and that was the beginning of my composer life, which I’m still part of (such as) “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” on the Cartoon Network.
DD: Are you planning on recording any new music or making any videos?
Schoolly D: Yes, I have a new album out now, “Cuz Schoolly D is Crazy.”
Also This Weekend: Start the weekend off Thursday night, June 20, with guitarist Kurt Vile and The Violaters, presented by North to Shore and Philly radio station WXPN, also at Anchor Rock Club.
Vile, former lead guitarist for popular rockers The War on Drugs, previously sold out the 600-plus Anchor in January 2022, on a frigidly cold January night and while one of the Covid strains was active, no less! Come kick off summer with South Jersey rock heroes Billy Walton Band, at Morrow Beach in Somers Point, Friday, June 21. Word has it that BWB is set to record some singles of their original music; we’ve heard the tracks and they’re killer.
Doug is the owner/operator of Doug Deutsch Publicity Services, which since 1995 has been servicing nationally touring acts, and working record release campaigns for clients. Doug also hàs experience writing for the one time shore-based weekly publication, Whoot! He also was a team member with Chip Braymes Advertising. Doug loves bicycling and aspires to bring the Blues to Atlantic City. He can be reached at ShoreLocalDoug@gmail.com and www.facebook.com/dougdeutschpublicity.
