LA Dream Team

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The LA Dream Team were a hip-hop group based in Los Angeles, California, active 1985-1989, 1993, and 1996. They are known for being one of the early hip-hop acts on the West Coast and one of the pioneers of the West Coast electro-hop scene.

1 History
2 Members
3 Singles
4 Discography
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

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Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

The founder of the LA Dream Team, Rudy Pardee, was born in Cleveland, Ohio on June 29, 1957, and later moved to California. He later met Chris "Snake Puppy" Wilson, who was also interested in similar music. They began to experiment with creating music and together they took elements of the hip-hop electro scene on the East Coast to the West Coast. This was the birth of electro-hop and paved the way for artists such as Egyptian Lover and World Class Wreckin Cru. A third member, Miss Rockberry, was later added.

Pardee and Wilson also formed their own record label, Dream Team Records. Dream Team Records cut a deal with Macola Records to bring out some of the early West Coast rap records such as the LA Dream Team's The Dream Team Is In The House and Rockberry Jam.

By 1986, as electro was faced with some mainstream coverage, the group began to fade into history as gangsta rap on the West Coast began to rise. Even though electro was falling, LA Dream Team managed to release three albums - Kings Of The West Coast (1985) Bad To The Bone (1986) and Back To Black (1989) - on the MCA label. ^[1]

Eventually, Pardee and Wilson went their separate ways. Wilson started a group with himself and one other member. Several songs were finished, but remain unreleased. In the early '90s, Pardee started the Dream Team Posse with two other rappers. They finished several songs that also remain unreleased. Later, a white emcee by the name of Frenzy joined Pardee's group, and the group's name was to Diverse Thought Process (DTP).

Eventually, the other members of DTP left the group for undisclosed reasons, leaving Pardee and Frenzy. A local comedian and reggae singer, Ragaman-T aka TJ, who had collaborated with Pardee in the past, joined DTP as a full-time member. They went on to complete a full album entitled Footsoldiers on Maneuvers.

While producing DTP's album, Frenzy met up with a group eventually named DBS Mob (Deep Brown Style), who were featured in DTP's song "100 Proof (To the Zoom)". Frenzy produced most of the beats for DBS Mob's unreleased debut EP. Around this time, DTP released their first single on vinyl, tape, and CD. The A-side was 100 Proof (To the Zoom) featuring DBS Mob. The B-side was Rockberry (Revisited), which was mainly Pardee rapping, with some parts featuring Frenzy. The singer for the hook was Frenzy's ex-wife. It is unknown how many copies of the single were produced and released.

In 1994, Pardee eventually decided Footsoldiers on Maneuvers wouldn't sell, and he wanted to do gangsta rap. Frenzy wanted no part of it and left the group. He went on to create a new group called Knights of the Camera, comprised of him and one other member, and did several obscure hip-hop songs. TJ was arrested and incarcerated.

In the late '90s, Pardee reunited with Chris "Snake Puppy" Wilson. The duo released a single as the LA Dream Team. Pardee died in a scuba diving accident in 1998.

[edit] Members

Rudy Pardee
Chris "Snake Puppy" Wilson
Miss Rockberry
Frenzy
Ragaman-T aka TJ

[edit] Singles

Dream Team Calling Dream Team (12") (1985)
Rockberry Jam (12") (1985)
The Dream Team Is In The House (12") (1985)
The Dream Team Is In The House (12") (under MCA records) (1986)
Nursery Rhymes (12") (1986)
And The Orchestra (12") (1986)
Rudy And Snake (12") (1987)
You're Slippin (12") (1989)
100 Proof (To the Zoom) (12"), (cassette), (compact disc) (Excello Records) (1993)
Unknown (compact disc) (1996)