Hip Hop Be Bop

Barry Michael Cooper first appeared on Express Records in 1981 when he wrote and produced the track What Time? using the recording name Teletron. He followed that in 1982 when he produced Maximus Three’s Rock It Out, before joining forces with Aaron Fuchs to produced Tuff City‘s debut release, Beach Boy by Verticle Lines which also featured legendary graffiti artist, Phase 2. In the same year he went on to produce an electro classic, Smurph Across The Surf, using the recording name, The Micronawts, which featured some additional production from Afrika Bambaataa.

Originally issued on a 3-track black and yellow label, due to demand, the track was stripped down by Bambaataa and overdubbed with a live kick drum on top of the 808, courtesy of Aaron, and pressed again on a 4-track black and grey label with a slight variation on the title.

Among his many talents, Barry went on to become an investigative journalist and screenwriter and was responsible for the 1990’s movies New Jack City, Sugar Hill and Above The Rim, sometimes referred to as his ‘Harlem Trilogy’. He also produced Spike Lee‘s She’s Gotta Have It TV series.

Many thanks to Aaron Fuchs for the additional info on this release.