NWA, Compton's Most Wanted, Snoop Dogg, DJ Quik can all be blamed on one bloke - Schoolly D (or Jesse to his mum). Well actually it can be put down to many others (Last Poets' offshoot Hustlers Convention album, Ice T...) but for the purposes of this article we're focussing in on the Park Side Killer.
The track P.S.K. would've been my first introduction into the world of Schoolly D. Lyrically I thought of it as tongue-in-cheek as I didn't believe anyone would make a song about actually behaving in a violent manner then writing a song about it (yes, I was that young and naive).
I was much more into the music - the foreboding intro that was once used by the man Flash, the killer, pounding drums and DJ Code Money's 'fresh!' scratching - this was what I wanted. More and more I got into Schoolly and subsequently buying his lurid, self-drawn albums gave me a chance to hear such classics as Gucci Time, Parkside 5-2 and the classic Saturday Night.
One time I got to see what he looked like in an early video for the song I Don't Like Rock And Roll and he looked bigger and meaner than I had even imagined. A statuesque, towering giant with a tight turquoise vest boasting his rippling physique and looming down at you with shades and high-top fade - this was a dude you would walk the opposite side of the street of if you ever encountered him.
None of Schoolly's early songs seemed that complex and most of the lyrics were probably written in the studio. Code Money rarely brought any other record with him except his well-used copy of Fab 5 Freddy's Change The Beat when it was time to record a new track. However he complements Schoolly's lyrics perfectly with his scratches.
password: djkoolherc
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