Cold Crush Brothers:
The Cold Crush Brothers are a legendary hip hop group that formed in 1978 in the Bronx, New York, the home of hip hop, during its beginning, alongside other hip hop icons such as Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force, Grand Wizard Theodore & the Fantastic Five, and DJs Baron and Breakout and The Funky Four Plus One. The group's original lineup consisted of the founder, Original DJ Tony Tone, Easy A.D., DJ Charlie Chase, Whipper Whip, Mr. Tee, and Dot-A-Rock. Eventually, Whipper Whip and Dot-A-Rock left and joined the Fantastic Five, which they considered to be a more established group at the time. The Fantastic Five was originally the "L" Brothers, which consisted of DJ Mean Gene, DJ Cordio, DJ Grand Wizard Theodore, MC Smiley, Master Rob, the Original Kevie Kev and Busy Bee Starski. Tony Tone, Easy A.D. and Charlie Chase brought in Grandmaster Caz (formerly DJ Casanova Fly), Almighty Kay Gee and J.D.L. Money Ray (Eric Hoskins) would be added to the group in the late '80s.
The Cold Crush Brothers were especially known for their memorable routines which included harmonies, melodies and stage-stomping performances. The Cold Crush Brothers set the standard for emceeing. They became known as the Rolling Stones of hip hop. Because of the attention they began to attract, many groups would try to battle them to gain street credibility and for hip hop supremacy. This would lead to a fierce and well known rivalry with The Fantastic Five, culminating in a lyrical battle between the groups on July 3, 1981. The grand prize was winner takes all, $1000 cash. The Fantastic Five won the battle.
The Cold Crush Brothers began to release records commercially. The first single was "Weekend" on Elite Records. It was a party and dance record that described ways to have fun on the weekends. The second single was "Punk Rock Rap" on Tuff City Records and distributed by CBS. This was the first time an independent hip hop label and a major record company worked together. "Punk Rock Rap" was the first recording to fuse hip hop and rock together. The phrase, "Oh My God!" sampled on Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew's single, "The Show", came from "Punk Rock Rap". The most successful Cold Crush single to date is "Fresh, Wild, Fly & Bold", released in 1984, which sold 16,000 units in its first week of release. A distribution dispute between Tuff City Records and Profile Records hindered the sales of the single with the most potential of reaching gold status.In 1988 they release
The Cold Crush Brothers traced their origins to the Bronx freestyle ethos of the late 70s, when the line-up was fronted by The Original DJ Tony tone after leaving The Brothers Disco to start his own group. He met Charlie Chase and they put The Cold Crush Brothers together. Kay Gee The All, "Eazy AD", JDL and Grandmaster Caz. DJ Tony Crush and Charlie Chase climbed behind the decks to provide the group with their distinctive brass and reed riffs, drawn from old Stax Records and soul classics. The Cold Crush Brothers were responsible for the "Punk Rock Rap' single/novelty, "Fresh, Fly, Wild and Bold "and "Heartbreakers" on Aaron Fuchs' Tuff City and Smokin label. They had formerly recorded "Weekend" for Elite , but by the end of the 80s they had moved on to B-Boy, as a duo comprised simply Kay Gee and DJ Tony Crush. The double a-side 12-inch, "Feel The Horns"/"We Can Do This", gave them a minor hit, but it proved to be a fleeting success.
