Marley Marl's cousin, Shawn "MC Shan" Moltke appeared on Marl's single "Marley Marl Scratch" in 1985, then signed to MCA Records that same year and released his debut single, "Feed the World", which went unnoticed. The following year, Shan was interviewed for the Dutch documentary "Big Fun in the Big Town", which was divided into a part dedicated to rock and a second part dedicated to the nascent hip-hop culture, and later became a cult among hip-hop fans. The young rapper from Queens was removed from MCA's roster and shortly after, again thanks to his relationship with Marley Marl, he signed to Cold Chillin' Records and joined the Juice Crew.
In late 1985, Marley Marl and MC Shan released "The Bridge", a track that would later be included as a B-side to "Bite Biter", Shan's 1986 single with Bridge Records in which he attacked LL Cool J for stealing the beat for "Rock the Bells" from "Marley Marl Scratch" and to which LL never responded. In "The Bridge", the emcee describes how he and his crew started in Queensbridge, however, the lyrics are interpreted as him claiming that hip-hop was born there. As a result, shortly afterward, KRS-One and his group Boogie Down Productions released "South Bronx" in response to "The Bridge", declaring that hip-hop was born in the South Bronx and spawning a long series of response tracks that would later be called "The Bridge Wars".
In 1987, MC Shan released his debut album, the first LP by a member of the Juice Crew. The project was entirely produced and mixed by Marley Marl, and consisted of three-quarters of an hour of material divided into nine cuts, among which "The Bridge" stands out. Together with the next cut, one of the main reasons why this album should be searched, found and listened to. Classic. Queensbridge Classic. Ode to Queensbridge, magnificent. Marley Marl steals the intro from Honey Drippers' "Impeach The President" and cleanly cuts the drums to create the rhythm, then MC Shan enters and delivers hardcore a milestone in the history of the genre, with the scratched hook that reads the title and the tight lines in the background. The beat produced by Marl is syncopated, rhythmic, funky and light, vibrant also thanks to Shan's delivery style and the hook also does its duty.
The next choice fuels the Bridge Wars in response to "South Bronx" and that's "Kill That Noise": syncopated, rhythmic beat, functional hook scratched as usual by Marley Marl, another jab to KRS-One and his BDP with good hardcore delivery, excellent cut. KRS-One then responds with "The Bridge is Over", to which Shan no longer responds on Marl's advice and then will see KRS prevail in the battle. At joint number five Shan closes a triptych more unique than rare in his career, stacking the title track, another pearl on the album: classic soundscape, Marley Marl samples directly from a Queen classic, creating a funky production syncopated with extravagant light electro key, functional hook scratched and hardcore delivery by MC Shan that contrasts well with the rhythm creating a light sound, smoothness and pleasant, among its most successful cuts. At the level of the best ones.
The other tracks fail to compete with the best moments, although they manage to maintain a moderate level of quality. Released by Cold Chillin Records with an independent distribution, the album enters the rnb chart (#40) and in 1988 the label reaches an agreement with Warner Bros. Records for distribution: after having cleaned up a couple of samples, the album is reissued and this makes MC Shan one of the first rappers to get a contract with a major. It's also the only Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros. album never released on CD, arriving on compact disk in 1995, long after the distribution deal with the major.
His debut is honest, technically not monstrous, but the rapper does his job. The record has a vintage sound typical of the eighties with a simple and funky production by Marley Marl (among the first entirely produced by him), which welcomes the skinny drum machine with open arms and lightens it, while maintaining its minimal nature: the result is a slightly dull sound that becomes monotonous with the passing of the listening, composed of scratched functional hooks. MC Shan recites lyrics that don't have a high variety of themes (goes strong with storytelling on projects), but does so in a simple way and with an accessible and technically clean flow.
It's a minimal album, somewhat obscured by its battered exit from the Bridge Wars with KRS and Boogie Down Productions, an interesting document that anticipates the golden age with its Juice Crew vintage patina and some classic gems.
Rating: 7.3/10.
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