Hip Hop Be Bop

Bronx native, Wanda Dee (Lawanda McFarland), began her musical career behind the turntables. She was Kool Herc’s protégée and is labelled as hip hop’s first female DJ. She was also one of the first female MC’s inducted into the Zulu Nation by Afrika Bambaataa.

In 1984, she was cast in the classic hip hop movie, Beat Street, by the late Harry Belafonte as DJ Wanda Dee.

Persuaded by her husband and manager, Eric Floyd, she quit as a DJ and began rapping, releasing her debut single, ‘Blue Eyes’, in 1986 on which she also did her own scratching. The track was produced by Kenny Beck for Pete Waterman Ltd. and was produced, mixed and released in the UK, followed shortly by a US release on Critique.

Three years later she released ‘To The Bone’ for Aaron Fuchs’ Tuff City, produced by Jazzy Jay and the flip by The 45 King. The track was sampled by the UK’s KLF for two of their biggest hits. The use of the samples was unauthorised and the duo was sued for copyright infringement, a dispute which was later settled by the group.

This site is only related to hip hop up to 1986 so I’ve only included her debut single here.

In the early 1990’s, Wanda released a few more singles with a more commercial dance sound and then in the 2000s, a single and album was released on her own Goddess Empire Record Label.

Click the links below to read the more in-depth interviews by Pump It Up Magazine and Werner von Wallenrod.

Pump It Up Magazine
Werner von Wallenrod