from the 12” single, Thrust Records, 1986Okay, this song was everywhere in South Florida when it dropped, a big hit on the radio down there, so I apologize if those memories overly bias my opinion on the ultimate worth of this track, but dude…there’s no worth in denying that I still love this shit. Miami freestyle cuts like this one were notorious for packing an unfathomable amount of effects into the mix, as if the producers never met a hi-hat or synth-clap they didn’t passionately love, but that’s part of the appeal for me, because those sounds capture a specific (yet nuanced) portion of the mid – late ‘80s that I fondly remember. The one oddity surrounding this crew, essentially the work of radio DJ & producer Bob Rosenberg (with the help of some hired voices), is their choice of moniker---while most freestyle crews went by their own names or simplistic abbreviations thereof (i.e. Stevie B, Debbie Deb, Lisa Lisa, etc…), these guys decided to call themselves “Will to Power” after Nietzsche’s theory regarding human nature and our eternal pursuit of success…?!? I guess it’s fitting enough, having dropped in the middle of the most consumer-driven decade ever, but it never fails to make me wrinkle my nose.
