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On this day in music history: May 23, 1989 - "Ride The Rhythm", the debut album by Chill Rob G. is released. Produced by DJ Mark "The 45 King" and Nephie Centeno, it is recorded at Air Wave Studios in New York City from Late 1987 - Early 1989.
Born Robert Frazier in Jersey City, NJ, Chill Rob G. is one of the original members of The Flavor Unit collective which includes Queen Latifah, Lakim Shabazz, Latee, Apache and The 45 King.
One of the most underrated MC's in the game, Rob's gift for lyrics along with his unique vocal dexterity, draw notice among his peers. With the assistance of The 45 King, Rob's rhymes are played on DJ Red Alert's radio show in New York City. Red Alert puts the rapper in touch with Stu Fine, the founder of indie rap label Wild Pitch Records.
Fine quickly signs Rob to the label in 1987. His first two singles "Dope Rhymes" and "Court Is Now In Session" become hits in the New York area, prompting the release of a full album. Titled "Ride The Rhythm", it sells only modestly when it hits record stores in the Spring of 1989.
Half a world away in late 1989, German electronic music producers Benito Benites and John "Virgo" Garrett III sample Chill Rob G's vocals from the 12" of "Let The Words Flow", along with samples of Mantronix's "King Of The Beats", and singer Jocelyn Brown's voice from "Love's Gonna Get You". Titled "The Power", it's released in Europe by German label Bellaphon Records under the group name Snap!.
Quickly becoming an underground club smash, word about of the record reaches Wild Pitch, who threaten a lawsuit. A deal is worked out where Wild Pitch Records receives the rights to the original version of "The Power" (#3 Rap), under the artist name "Powerjam Featuring Chill Rob G". It's also added to the reissued version of the "Ride" album in early 1990, when Wild Pitch lands a distribution deal with EMI Records.
Meanwhile Benites and Garrett re-work their track, taking Rob's voice off and replacing it with US expatriate rapper Turbo B. (Durron Maurice Butler), and R&B singer Penny Ford.
Though many feel the original version with Rob's voice is the superior version, it is only a modest hit at radio. The revamped version of "The Power" (#2 Pop, #4 R&B, #1 Rap, #1 Club Play) by Snap! is licensed to Arista Records in the US, and becomes a massive hit around the world, due to better distribution and promotion.
"Rhythm" spins off one more single with "Let Me Show You". Though "The Power" gives the rapper greater visibility, Chill Rob G. has a falling out with Wild Pitch over their handling of the situation regarding "The Power". He asks to be released from his contract, which puts his recording career in limbo for several years. Rob doesn't record another album for ten years, when he releases "Black Gold" in 2000. "Ride The Rhythm" peaks at number sixty on the Billboard R&B album chart.
#chillrobg #ridetherhythm #thepower #90s
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PayPal.Me/jharris1228 https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Chill_Rob_G In 1989, the a cappella version of his song "Let the Words Flow" were sampled illegally and without permission by the German pop-dance group Snap! on their hit record "The Power". The song was a remix created by German producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti (under the pseudonyms Benito Benites and John "Virgo" Garrett III). After the song gained in popularity in Europe, and Arista/BMG records came calling (via Ariola/BMG, the group's label in its home country), Münzing and Anzilotti recruited Durron Butler (aka Turbo B) to record a new version of the song, rather than continue lip-syncing the original Chill Rob G lyrics. It was this version that was ultimately used and promoted as Snap!’s official version.[2]
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