THE FUNKY 4 + 1

Originally they were just the Funky Four - Keith Keith , Sha Rock , KK Rockwell and Rahiem (later of Furious 5 fame). In ' 78 Sharock left and Raheim joined the Furious 4 . Lil Rodney C and Jazzy Jeff ( not of Fresh Prince fame ) joined after leaving the Magnificent 7. Sha Rock returned and made the plus one.The crew was originally called the Brothers Disco . The Funky Four are actually another crew that is full of firsts ; for instance the Funky Four plus one were the first mixed gender crew , the first Emcees to perform on Saturday Night Live ( in 80 opening up for Blondie), and first with two djs - Breakout and Baron . In ' 79 they dropped " Rappin And Rockin The House " on Enjoy records.



They signed to Sugarhill records in 1980 and dropped " Thats The Joint " . a classic by any standards . They lifted an old break from Taste Of Honey and crafted one of the best rap songs of the era. Next came " Do you wanna rock ? " , then " Feel It " and after that " King Heroin " . By ' 83 Lil Rodney C and KK Rockwell had left to form Double Trouble.and they had a few small parts in the movie Wild Style .



Sha Rock joined Lisa Lee from Cosmic Force and formed Us Girls , and they had a small performance in Beat Street. Due to the same politics and lack of industry knowledge that swallowed most first generation rap artists the Funky Four had a shorter career than they should have. Jazzy Jeff sued Jive records in the mid 80s for signing Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff while he was signed with the same name . Jazzy Jeff was the first solo artist signed to Jive /Zomba . Sha Rock is married and she has a daughter who Emcees. Funky 4 are indeed an important brick in the foundation of Hip Hop .