Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Power launched the trailblazing single “Planet Rock” in 1982. It will definitely made its means from New York Metropolis to Rialto, California, the place a then-teenaged Juana Burns was captivated by the digital synthesizer sounds lifted from Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Categorical” and its speaker-rattling breaks. Burns, who was already within the leisure subject as an expert cheerleader for the USA Soccer League, determined she wished to rap. Simply 19 on the time, she held auditions within the den of her mom’s residence with the aim of forming the West Coast Salt-N-Pepa.
“It was all phrase of mouth,” she tells SPIN. “That was it. There was no flyers. There was nothing. I’d simply inform those that went to my college. I instructed individuals in my neighborhood. I believe there was most likely 20 ladies that got here.”
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Out of these 20, Burns was most impressed with Dania Birks and her crew, and wound up asking them to hitch the group. Finally, J.J. Fad was born, an acronym for the unique 5 ladies within the group: Juanita “Loopy J” Lee, Juana “MC JB” Burns, Fatima “O.G. Rocker” Shaheed, Anna “Girl Anna” Money” and Dania “Child D” Birks. Inside conflicts led to J.J. Fad changing into a trio—and that’s when their profession actually began to take off.
After N.W.A pioneer Eazy-E heard a tough model of “Supersonic,” he wished to signal them to his newly-minted label, Ruthless Information. With the ink barely dry, the three ladies hopped within the studio with Dr. Dre, redid the tune and the remaining is historical past.
“Supersonic” peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Sizzling Dance/Membership Play Songs and No. 22 on the Sizzling R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart in 1988. The one was licensed gold by the RIAA and earned a Grammy Award nom for Greatest Rap Efficiency in 1989, making J.J. Fad the primary all-female rap group to take action.
MC JB walks us by way of how J.J. Fad was shaped, the making of “Supersonic” and its accompanying video and the way they paved the best way for N.W.A to make historical past.
Bye Bye Barbara
I held auditions for an all-girl group in my mother’s den. I’m listening to all these ladies, and I’m like, “No.” Hip-hop was type of new, so individuals weren’t actually that good at it, together with myself. So I used to be like, “No, that’s not the sound. That’s not what I’m on the lookout for.” I had a greatest pal that I went to highschool with. She’s somewhat older, however her identify was Lisa and she or he is Child D’s cousin. So Lisa was like, “Hey, my little cousin can beatbox.” I’m like, “Get out of right here. There’s no feminine beatboxers. You gotta be kidding.”
I used to be like, “Nicely, name her to return.” She got here with a crew. It was her and 4 different ladies. She’s like, “Nicely, we’re a bunch.” However I wasn’t actually on the lookout for that many individuals. With me, that might have made 5, however I used to be like, “OK, let me see what you bought.” So she begins beatboxing and so they begin rapping over it. I used to be like, “Oh, I’ll take each single frickin’ considered one of you guys.”
One of many ladies that got here with them, her identify was Barbara, and she or he was solely 12. I stated, “Nicely I’ve a pal, an Italian lady named Anna. Let’s simply make her the DJ so we will have a feminine DJ too.” So Barbara was out.
Now Serving
The inspiration was Child D and the opposite ladies that had been together with her as a result of they’re all from Louisiana. There was a burger place on the market referred to as Supersonic Burgers—not the Sonic we’ve at present. They used to go there, so that they began rapping about it. At first it was about meals after which they had been like, “No, let’s make it about this, let’s make it about that.” The beat Child D was beatboxing was the beat to “Supersonic.” So all of us stated, “OK, we received to scrap it, use the beat, however everyone wants to put in writing their very own half.” So all of us wrote our verses.
Then we instructed Arabian Prince we wanted to go within the studio. I’m going, “Have you learnt of a studio?” He goes, “You reside right here!” So I discovered a studio with considered one of my pals who lives in Riverside, and we recorded it with the 5 ladies in that studio in Riverside.
Supersonic Velocity
It took us actually 10 minutes to put in writing the tune. It developed and adjusted throughout the course of time, however the first draft we wrote in 10 minutes.
We had no aspirations of like, “Oh my god, we’re gonna be well-known.” None of that. We simply wished to do it, put it on the market, and see the place it went. We didn’t assume we had been going to be wealthy. We didn’t assume we had been going to do something particular. We simply thought—and never figuring out the enterprise—“Let’s make a tune and it’ll be on the radio.” We thought that’s the way it went.
Arabian Prince took us to Dream Crew Information, which was the L.A. Dream Crew. They laid it on wax on their label, Dream Crew Information. That draft had 5 ladies on it. Throughout the Dream Crew period, we had been doing little native reveals at skating rinks and little golf equipment that we weren’t even sufficiently old to be in, that sort of stuff.
And Then There Had been Two
The women that got here with Child D had been somewhat naive to the music enterprise. They thought, “Oh my god, we’ve a document. We’re wealthy. We’re doing reveals. We’re wealthy.” So they’d a dispute, and so they thought—as a result of I used to be all the time the chief—I used to be skimming cash as a result of they weren’t making some huge cash. And I’m like, “Look, there’s 5 of us. It’s important to cut up it in 5 methods. We’re getting like $600 for a present, so we every received somewhat greater than 100 bucks. However there was no explaining it to them and so they give up. Then it was simply me and Child D.
Dream Crew
So I’m 19 and Child D is 15, and her mother insisted she follow me. We’re nonetheless with Dream Crew Information. We put it out and there was somewhat little bit of a buzz on the L.A. airwaves. Eazy-E heard about it and he was like, “I must get these ladies as a result of I’m beginning this label Ruthless Information and I can’t legitimize this label with the road rap popping out. I don’t know what’s gonna occur. I don’t know if it’s gonna be rejected. I don’t know in the event that they’re gonna put my ass in jail. I don’t know what’s gonna occur.”
He type of finagled and it’s humorous as a result of I used to be like, “What the hell? Are we prostitutes?” As a result of he purchased us from the L.A. Dream Crew from Dream Crew Information. I don’t know what the deal entailed. I don’t know the way a lot cash exchanged fingers. We had been omitted of all that.
Three Is The Magic Quantity
We hadn’t heard of Eazy-E, we hadn’t heard of N.W.A, we hadn’t heard of something. We simply knew we had been going to a brand new label and the proprietor was actually wealthy, and so they had been gonna do large issues for us. Lower than a month later, we go into the studio and redo your entire tune with three ladies.
We met Sassy C by way of Dream Crew. She was Dream Crew’s pal that’s how we received to know her as a result of it was simply me and Child D. They knew her. She was a solo artist, and so they knew she was attempting to do rap as properly. So that they launched her to us. We clicked and all three of us went over to Ruthless. We laid down the monitor and principally redid it. Dr. Dre was producing it, so he put the particular sauce on it. It wasn’t an entire completely different tune, however it was a distinct sound. I hate even telling that story as a result of I don’t like that model. It sucks so unhealthy, however it’s what occurs, so you bought to embrace it. I hate even giving these ladies shine as a result of they left and it was so impolite.
To The Moon
[Los Angeles radio station] KDAY received a maintain of the tune and it went to the stratosphere. It simply goes from that time. It was a crossover hit. It was large. Ruthless didn’t have the cash to actually do the challenge, so the cash that they made off of us is what funded their challenge.
Tremendous-Stunned
We didn’t assume it was going to be successful, no. And the one cause why I say that’s as a result of, sure, we knew the tune was good. Sure, it was catchy. Sure, it was enjoyable. Sure, we knew that there was one thing there, however that is the ’80s. We’re attempting to interrupt into this rap sport, proper? And all we’re listening to from the East Coast is that this beef and that beef and this beef and that beef. So we had been like, “OK look, we gotta come out dissing. We are able to’t come out with ‘Supersonic.’ We gotta come out laborious. “Supersonic” was truly a B-side. The A-side was referred to as “One other Ho.” We dissed each East Coast rapper recognized to man in a single minute and 30 seconds. We talked large crap. We’re like, “Roxanne Shanté ain’t received no hair within the again.” Oh my, we went off.
One other Go
Once we went to buy that, we had a road man—his identify was Doug Younger—and he was a part of the Ruthless road group. So he was going to golf equipment, he was buying “One other Ho” and he’s like, “This shit is simply not working.” It wasn’t hip-hop. It was simply extra like, “I’m speaking shit about you,” however there’s no foundation behind it and the beat was simply not all that. So he goes, “You guys want to return with me. Possibly in the event that they see you since you guys are cute.” So we go along with him, and it was nonetheless like, “Eh, nothing.” Individuals had been laughing on the lyrics, however nothing else.
One of many DJs—I don’t know his identify and I want I’d have recognized on the time so I might give him his props—however he’s like, “What’s the bottom of it?” Doug was like, “Oh that’s ‘Supersonic.’ That’s gonna be their B-side.” He’s like, “Let’s flip it over.” He flipped it over, performed it, and the dance ground went loopy. From that time on, “Supersonic” was the A-Aspect and it freaking labored.
A Curler Skating Jam
The video was shot on the rooftop of downtown Los Angeles, on one of many tall buildings. I’ve all the time been into leisure and all that type of stuff. I grew up being a aggressive curler skater. That’s why you see me spinning on wheels within the “Supersonic” video as a result of I might skate and do tips. I did that my complete life rising up. I used to be a nationwide champion curler skater. That was my life. I lived within the skating rink for 18 years. That was my sport. Similar to everyone does basketball, curler skating was my sport. I went to competitions, every little thing.
Behind
It’s probably not a comic story, it’s type of a bizarre story, however Sassy C, she had gotten right into a disagreement with a fellow artist and he punched her, so she had a black eye your entire time within the video. We coated it up with make-up. We had been all younger, so I believe it was one thing that received out of hand. However you’d by no means even know by watching the video.
Behind The Turntables Is DJ Prepare
By the point that video occurred, Arabian Prince was gone. DJ Prepare is the one within the video. Prepare handed away in a fireplace right here attempting to avoid wasting his household. He and Child D had been tremendous shut; they had been besties. He had a girlfriend that was on the highway with him. She was youthful, so he needed to miss one present as a result of he needed to take her to the promenade, so DJ Yella stuffed in for Prepare on one present.
Ballin’ On A Finances
We had Jerry Heller as a supervisor once we shot the video, so he took care of every little thing and we didn’t know what the funds was. We had no concept. We simply knew we had a video to shoot and we shot it.
Supersonic 2.0
I really feel proud that it’s nonetheless semi-relevant at present and that the brand new era of youngsters completely find it irresistible—particularly because it was on the Sonic the Hedgehog trailer. We received an entire new era of youngsters that love the tune.
I received a word at present at my workplace—I’m the varsity nurse—and it was from a pupil’s father or mother and she or he was like, “Shut the entrance door. My daughter simply instructed me who you had been.” I’m like, “Your daughter?” She’s within the fourth grade. Because it’s Ladies’s Historical past Month, our librarian put collectively one thing about ladies from our faculty who’ve executed nice issues and I used to be on it.
Her daughter went residence and instructed her as a result of the mother stated, “Hey Alexa, placed on ‘Supersonic.’” I suppose she performs it when she’s cleansing. The daughter got here in and stated, “Hey, is that ‘Supersonic?’ My nurse is the one who sings that.’ So it’s a generational tune. It’s going from era to era to era.
20/20 Imaginative and prescient
The entire thing was a whirlwind. We didn’t take the time to embrace that and revel in it as a result of we had been so younger. We simply figured, “Oh, yep, that is gonna final ceaselessly. Subsequent tune’s gonna be an even bigger hit than this.” We by no means took the time to actually get pleasure from what was occurring to us. We toured in all places, and we didn’t take the time to go take a look at the websites. All we wished to do was hang around with—and this was enjoyable too—the artists who had been on tour with us, which was wonderful. It was the Run’s Home tour [featuring Public Enemy, Run-DMC, EPMD and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince]. We cherished hanging out with the opposite individuals on the present, however we by no means took the time to go sightseeing and take every little thing in. However if you’re a teen, you couldn’t care much less.
Recommendation To Her Youthful Self
Take the time to odor the roses, take every little thing in, embrace each expertise that’s occurring to you at the moment and don’t take it without any consideration. It was good for all of us, and the explanation why I say that’s as a result of it gave us a piece ethic. I’ve all the time been one to work laborious, however they weren’t. At Ruthless, we needed to work beneath Dr. Dre, and he was like “Do it once more. Do it once more. Do it once more. Nope, that’s not proper. Do it once more. You higher be right here at 6 a.m. and also you higher not be late.” That basically taught us a piece ethic that we’ve all carried with us all through our lives—by way of our jobs, by way of our interviews, by way of no matter we do—we’ve that work ethic that has stayed with us. I believe that’s wonderful.
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