Breezy Beat MC
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Breezy Beat MC (Luis Cabrera) was a Miami Bass rapper of the late 1980s/early 1990s. He took a special interest in fusing Miami Bass with pre-rave House music, as well as recording more traditional Hip-Hop songs as b-sides to his singles.
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[edit] Childhood
Born 1969 in Chicago, Illinois to a musical family, the young Puerto Rican rapper-to-be first took to playing the guitar, impressing his father by performing Billy Joel songs. He spent his childhood moving between Chicago and Puerto Rico. He became hooked on rap music with the release of Kurtis Blow's seminal 1980 single The Breaks, and decided to become a rapper after hearing The Treacherous Three's 1981 release of Feel the Heartbeat. While in Puerto Rico, he began playing guitar with a local Folkloric quartet, which served as a great educational tool for learning the classic standards of legendary Puerto Rican songwriters such as Rafael Hernandez and Don Felo. After returning to the U.S., his family finally settled on living in South Florida as a way to lessen the effects of his asthma.
[edit] Early Years in Florida and Performing
Upon arriving in South Florida in 1986, he met aspiring musician DJ Nasty, who in turn introduced him to established local recording artists such as Double Duce's Mighty Rock, entering the world of Miami Bass and local Hip-Hop. After Breeze and Nasty began working up performance routines, they signed with a booking agent who got the duo shows touring with LeJuan Love, Beatmaster Clay D, Afro-Rican, and opening for the established New York Hip-Hop act Whodini in 1987.
[edit] Shake the Joint and Debonaire Records
Finding a somewhat outdated local studio, Breezy and Nasty began recording a demo version of their debut song Shake the Joint, which led to a meeting with a former DJ for DXJ/Maggotron turned producer named Claudio 'DJ Debonaire' Barrella. Debonaire offered the duo a deal to release a two-song 12" single, on the condition that the song be re-recorded and produced by Deb himself. Reluctant to give up the role of producer, the group took the deal, and also recorded the traditional Hip-Hop flavored track Catch My Drift as the b-side. Immediately upon release in 1988, the single made waves on all three of the big radio stations in South Florida, and more performances followed.
[edit] Showroom Records
Breezy and Nasty decided to take their act into their own hands, booking time with an unknown studio to record their follow up entitled Partytime (Louie's House), but the new engineer wouldn't allow Breezy hands-on production, compromising the record. Regardless, the crew was approached by the infamous record promoter Nick Salerno, who created Showroom Records in 1989 for the release of the duo's work. Nick had also worked with Debonaire, and due to a debt between the two, Nick took control of Debonaire's SP1200 sampler for Breezy to use to produce their follow up record, No Money, No Girlfriend (b/w Puerto Rican House Rocker). Shortly after, Breezy ended his partnership with Nick to seek out further options, while DJ Nasty remained at Nick's side.
[edit] Tone Def Records and Extracurricular Production
Along with Yolie of Perfect Timing Records, Albie Nieves of The Bladerunners founded Momentum Records to finance Breezy's debut album, but before the album could be finished, the deal abruptly ended with only the single and video for No Good Unless They Love You recorded. Breezy was allowed to take his new song to another label, Danny Cannary and the now famous Diaz Brothers' Tone Def Records. This partnership proved fruitful as Breezy was hired to produce other acts on the label such as A Step Beyond. During this time, outside sources also began hiring Breezy to produce songs, including the Henry Stone and Paul Klein's empirical label Hot Productions.
[edit] Guest Appearances
Dave Noller, founder of Dynamix II, had also briefly worked with DJ Debonaire, and with the formation of Dynamix II Records, Noller approached fellow Debonaire refugee Breezy to update Dynamix's classic Just Give the DJ a Break in 1990 by adding intricate vocal rhythms to the track. This highlight in his career was trumped yet again when longtime friend and Power 96 radio personality DJ Laz asked Breezy to contribute vocals to two songs on Laz's groundbreaking debut LP in 1991. Around this time, he was also was featured in a number of projects that were never released, including S.P.I.C. (Spanish People in Control).
[edit] Wizzzard
For the next two years, Breezy Beat avoided the music industry as he was disillusioned by fleeting success and constant short-changing, but in 1993, Ish Ledesma, famous for his Disco group Foxy and his Freestyle music group Company B, approached Breeze with a unique concept; to create a contemporary fusion of HiNRG dance music with famed Soul-singer Betty Wright, and Ish himself. The group called themselves Wizzzard, but the resulting album entitled Bettishbreeze, failed to find its audience.
[edit] Hiatus from Recorded Urban Music
The exhausted Breezy took an extended break from his recording career, returning to playing guitar and singing live bi-lingually for local clubs. During this period, Breezy formed the band Sinamen Skunk, a funk rock band with rapping and a live DJ in 1993. This was followed with his formation of the Band Imagine That in 1995, releasing an original album in limited quantities. At the end of 1998 Breezy moved to Asheville, North Carolina, and joined a Latin Salsa band named Soul Rhythms.
[edit] The Return of Breezy Beat MC
After years of absence from the world of recorded Urban Music, Breezy returned to South Florida in 2001, first writing and producing an album of non-urban Spanish music entitled Ahi Esta in 2002. He then reunited with former Hot Productions co-owner Paul Klein to record for Paul's new outfit, Empire MusicWerks. Paul has commissioned Breezy to produce Reggaeton, as well as updating classics such as Shake the Joint.
Many Miami Bass veterans list Breezy Beat as the greatest Miami Bass MC ever. Breezy continues to live and record and South Florida.
[edit] Discography
- 1988: Shake The Joint b/w Catch My Drift (single)
- 1989: Partytime (Louie's House) (single)
- 1989: No Money, No Girlfriend b/w Puerto Rican House Rocker (single)
- 1990: No Good Unless they Love You (single)
- 1990: Dynamix II feat. Breezy Beat MC - Just Give the DJ a Break 1990 (single)
- 1991: DJ Laz feat. Breezy Beat MC - Latin Swing b/w Back in the Days (album cuts)
- 1993: Wizzzard - Bettishbreeze (album by group)
- 1995: Imagine That (album by group)
- 2002: Ahi Esta (solo album)
- 2003: 305 Sex (single)
- 2004: Roll with Me (single)
- 2004: Gozala Fiesta va Comenzar (single)
- 2005: Senor Bris - Tengo Sed, Tengo Hambre (single)
