Rodney O | West Coast Rap Artists | West Coast Rap Pioneers | Tribute to the Early West Coast Rap Scene (Kopie 1): Website Title

You are here: > Artists

1: Pioneers.
2: Artists.
3: Groups.
4: Labels.
5: Interviews.
6: Clubs.
7: Articles.
8: Promotion.
9: Hall of Fame.
10: Videos.
11: Lyrics.
12: Record Sale.
13: Forum.
14: Search.
15: Contact.
16: Links.

: Rodney O on the mic

: Rodney O 1988

: Rodney O & Joey Cooley on stage

: Rodney O and Joe Cooley 1986

: Rodney O, Joe Cooley & General Jeff 1987

: Lyrics Everlasting Bass

RODNEY O`S BASS IS EVERLASTING

Born: 1968
Real Name: Rodney Oliver
Artist Name: Rodney O

Rodney O first appeard in 1983 as a member of the Caution Crew. They did two songs on the small Galleon Label called "Westside Storie" and "Rhythm Rock". In 1986 he worked with Egyptian Lover for the title "These are my beats" on Egypt´s label Egyptian Empire.
Together with his partner Joe Cooley he released several titles on Egyptian Empire like "Everlasting Bass" and "This is for the Homies". In the early to mid-'80s, L.A. wasn't famous for hardcore rap; many people associated Southern California with the high-tech, synthesizer-driven electro-hop sounds of the Egyptian Lover, the Arabian Prince, Uncle Jamm's Army, and the World Class Wreckin' Cru (the group that Dr. Dre belonged to before N.W.A.).

But in 1987 and 1988, the disturbing gangsta rap of Ice-T and N.W.A. was giving people a different impression of L.A. rap -- and all of a sudden, hip-hoppers were expecting hardcore rap to come from Southern California. Although Rodney and Cooley both had electro-hop credentials, Me & Joe is essentially a hardcore rap effort. The LP isn't gangsta rap -- Rodney doesn't rap in the first person about gang fights or drive-by shootings -- but even so, it sent out a message that South-Central L.A. could provide aggressive hip-hop (as opposed to crossover stuff).

Moving from Egyptian E. to Atlantic, Rodney-O Joe Cooley tried again for hip-hop stardom with this 1990 album. It again mostly avoided gangsta-style material, although "Three the Hard Way" did try to tap into the "hood" ethic. Rodney O & Joe Cooley made some noteworthy contributions to L.A.'s rap scene in the 1980s, when they embraced hardcore rap as well as high-tech, dance-oriented sounds influenced by Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock." When hardcore rappers on the West Coast starting selling millions of albums, the duo gave up "tech-rap" and went hardcore all the way.

Recorded for Seattle's Nastymix label in 1991, Get Ready to Roll was their hardest album up to that point. This CD wasn't the big commercial breakthrough they were hoping for, although most of the material is decent. "Of Funky Stories" provides some anecdotes about life in the inner city, while "Nutty Block" is a sobering commentary on gang violence in South Central L.A. (Nutty Block, in fact, was the name of an L.A. gang faction). After Get Ready to Roll, Rodney & Cooley continued to focus on hardcore rap, and commercial success continued to elude them.