The Treacherous Three — The Treacherous Three

In 1978, the hip-hop group The Treacherous Three was formed in Harlem, Manhattan, New York, consisting of Theodore "DJ Easy Lee" Moyé and emcees Mohandes "Kool Moe Dee" Dewese, Lamar "L.A. Sunshine" Hill, Kevin "Special K" Keaton and Gabriel "Spoonie Gee" Jackson, the latter left the group at the end of the decade, remaining an affiliate. Occasionally, DJ Bano B, DJ Crazy Eddie and DJ Reggie Reg also collaborate.

With the departure of Spoonie Gee from the group, his place was taken by Special K, a mutual acquaintance of Kool Moe Dee and DJ Easy Lee. Meanwhile, Spoonie Gee debuted with a single in 1979, "Spoonin Rap", released by Peter Brown's Sound of New York, USA. The following year, the artist signed with his uncle Bobby Robinson's Enjoy Records label and released "Love Rap", a single whose b-side features the first appearance of the group Treacherous Three on wax, "The New Rap Language". The Treacherous Three became popular for their unusual and rapid rapping style and landed a contract with Enjoy. In 1980 they released two singles ("Body Rock" and "At the Party") and the following year they released two more singles ("Put the Boogie in Your Body" and "Feel the Heartbeat"), the latter becoming a favorite with the public, but despite the great success of the group, the boys did not get the money that should have come.

Having received no response from the manager of Enjoy, the boys left the label and signed with Sylvia Robinson's Sugar Hill Records, that is not related with Bobby. Spoonie G had left his uncle's label the year before and had also joined Sugar Hill. The Treacherous Three released two more singles in 1982 (the socio-political "Yes We Can-Can", which came on the heels of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message" and the hit "Whip It"), then released three more the following year ("Turning You On", "Action" and "Get Up"). Following the success of the tracks, the group released a vinyl for the French market in 1983, "Whip It", released by Sugar Hill and distributed in France by Vogue. The album consists of three singles released on Enjoy (all except "Put the Boogie in Your Body") and three more released on their current label, the two from 1982 and "Action". That same year, Kool Moe Dee and L.A. Sunshine appeared in the film "Wild Style" with a brief cameo and the group later appeared in "Beat Street" (1984), performing their song "Santa's Rap" with Doug E. Fresh.

In 1984, The Treacherous Three also released their first official studio album, which took its name from the group: this project also boasts three songs released on Sugar Hill on the A-side (the 1983 singles "Get Up" and "Turning You On", as well as "U.F.O.", the b-side of "Turning You On" which is not listed on the jacket) and three singles released on Enjoy on the B-side (1980's "The Body Rock" and "At the Party" in between 1981's "Feel the Heartbeat"). Sylvia Inc. & Jigsaw Productions bring to the table a well-made funky production, with a good bassline and a tough drum, the boys spit faster than usual, faster than the average of the moment, and help innovate the genre by making it take the next step, with verses carried forward well in back and forth. There's also a fantastic insert sung by Philippé Winne in the title track, soul singer of the group The Spinners who in 1984 will release his latest album with Sugar Hill Records.

The album is released by Sugar Hill and distributed by MCA, it gets a good response from the public, but again, as a few years earlier with Enjoy, the boys do not see most of the profits they are making with both the singles and the albums released, which leads to a deterioration of the relationship with Sylvia Robinson. In the same year, The Treacherous Three are protagonists of two more singles ("Breath" and "Xmas Rap"), but soon the boys lose the will to continue recording and see their efforts in vain. Following the explosion of the group Run-DMC, Sugar Hill Records loses appeal and a good part of its roster does not release any more material. LA Sunshine wants to leave the label, followed by Special K: Kool Moe Dee manages to convince the two to return to the studio for their new single "Gotta Rock", which tries to catch the trend of the moment set by Run-DMC, however, LA Sunshine refuses to record the single's B-side, "Turn It Up", which becomes a solo track for Kool Moe Dee after Special K leaves his work halfway. The group therefore disbands and Kool Moe Dee is the only one to pursue a solo career in the industry.