# 2,454
DJ Yella “Slice” b/w “Kru Groove” (1984)
Remember a time when real scratching was a thing in hip-hop? Does anyone mention it in this decade any more? Almost no fucks are given by the new crop of mainstream artsts in this super-selfish world of rap who don’t even bother recognizing the greats that paved their way to get to the top. There’s turntables and apps- that even mix digital files now on latops. Times have changed In the mid-Eighties, however, you could take a look at this record cover and see a nod to that decade’s punk leather culture as spiked hands and wrists physically rip through the record with its’ own fingernail. That’s also a nod to scratching as that’s what’s was all about back then. Here’s the first record to ignite the entire N.W.A. legacy starting with DJ Yella’s “Slice”. Though he’s also been in The World Class Wrecking Cru’s company alongside fellow producer and rapper Dr. Dre, this would be his first solo shot and behind Cli-N-Tel’s vocals, urging him to “just cut it up” as his Melle Mel vocal style never misses a beat. Rap circa 1984 was rife with clap-tracks, smack beats, electro hits, and heavily ripping on the one’s-and-two’s and that’s what you’ll hear on “Slice”, the next step from scratching. Dr. Dre may have barely knowledged or even totally abandoned his Wrecking Cru’s roots because of the dress or gangsta’ code, Yella still hangs on to it to this day. Why wouldn’t he? It’s what got him to where he is now.
