from the LP Back to Wreck Shop, Warlock Records, 1989Often overlooked, probably because of it’s close proximity to NYC, the hip-hop scene in Philly has never been short on talent, and golden-era squad the Tuff Crew collected some of that area’s brightest stars, both on the mic & behind the decks; in addition, unlike most other rap groups then and now, the Tuff Crew was genuinely multi-racial, counting black, latino, white & mixed-race members among their ranks. Perhaps most notably (surprisingly?) of all was white boy DJ 2Tuff, hailed by many of today’s most respected turntablists (DJ Shadow, Q-Bert, Z-Trip, Craze and others) as being instrumental in taking scratching from a background decorative touch to a full-fledged instrumental attack. Never finding mainstream success, they called it quits by the end of ’91, but both this album and their solid debut are absolute old school classics. Don’t sleep.
