There was such a wealth of hip-hop talent during the late 80s that it was easy for potential stars to vanish. Black, Rock And Ron, from Hollis, Queens, were one such act. With Ron Scratch using breaks midway between Ultramagnetic MCs and Terminator X, and with Lord Black and Master Rock’s declamatory rap style influenced by local heroes Run-DMC, they delivered a rough and danceable din that had heads nodding briefly.
While the samples now sound more old hat as opposed to old school – Ashley’s Roach Clip, To Be Real – BRR made a massive noise out of them; and there’s a lot of nostalgia for this era because, while this represented rhythmic sophistication in 1989, it’s now a back-to-the-roots groove. True Feelings is a sincere romantic ditty stuck on Marv’s What’s Going On; Stop The World uses Dennis Coffey’s Ride Sally Ride and Funky Drummer in a message of unity; Tired Of All This adds a jazzy vibe and is the sound of the New York of its era.
Not marked out as a classic hip-hop album back then, Stop The World sounds better than ever and lands with a powerful thud. Lord Black was murdered in the early 90s. Shame; his group had something to say.
