The bins at Vinyl Vogue are dominated by the music of the 1970s. And classic album-oriented rock at that. There are smatterings of jazz, country, and funk. Lou doesn’t see much punk, and he sees almost no rap music. So, Lou took notice when The Fat Boys Crushin’ turned up in the New Arrivals.
If you think about it, the presence of The Fat Boys actually makes sense. They crossed over in a huge way in the 1980s. The Fat Boys are the type of comedic, good time rap that was not threatening and broke periodically into the mainstream. For The Fat Boys, the crossover tune was “Wipeout”, a cover of The Ventures surf classic “Wipe Out”, this time performed with The Beach Boys. This pairing was a direct rip-off of Run DMC’s pairing with Aerosmith in “Walk This Way”, which got Run DMC and rap a foot in the door at MTV. From “Walk This Way” on, rap was on its way to dominating popular music and outlets like MTV. With “Wipeout”, The Fat Boys got themselves on heavy rotation on MTV and had a massive hit. “Wipeout” was number twelve on the Billboard chart. Crushin’went platinum and was everywhere. It reached the top ten on both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts. Thus, its appearance at Vinyl Vogue. Like with Aerosmith, The Beach Boys were washed up at the time of the single and could use exposure and a hit of any type. My Beach Boy collecting friend has the “Wipeout” seven and twelve inch, but he draws the line at having a copy of the full Fat Boys album. There must be limits. Beach Boy fans are conflicted on the collaboration, and many see it as a low point for the original B-Boys. It definitely demonstrates the divide between Brian Wilson’s sensibilities and Mike Love’s. On “Wipeout”, Brian Wilson is nowhere to be found. Such shit was beneath him. Love on the other had embraced publicity of any kind. The Beach Boys would follow “Wipeout” with “Kokomo”, another massive hit that was all over MTV in 1988, and on the Cocktail soundtrack. Lou is not a “Wipeout” fan, but Lou does enjoy “Kokomo” when he is drinking a Pina Colada.
The Fat Boys went back to the buffet and tried to repeat the magic of “Wipeout” with their follow up to Crushin’, Coming Back Hard Again. In the follow up, they recorded “The Twist (Yo, Twist)” with Chubby Checker. A direct rip-off of a rip-off. The album also included “Are You Ready for Freddy?”, the theme song for A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. The record and these songs were successful but not on the level of Crushin’.
The Fats Boys were so, well, huge after Crushin’ that they got the greenlight to star in a movie as the leads. Do you remember The Disorderlies? The Fat Boys did not so much as act as just basically clown around, which they were masters at. Lou saw The Disorderlies when it came out. It was shit then; it is probably doubly embarrassing now and of questionable taste. Lou hasn’t heard that the movie has been reassessed as a lost classic. Some things cannot be salvaged. Lou is sure there are hipsters out there who view The Disorderlies as a hip-hop Duck Soup.
But enough of “Wipeout” and The Disorderlies, because Lou is here to tell you that there is a reason The Fat Boys should be remembered fondly. They were an important early rap band, no shit. One of the first groups to release a full-length album. Before The Disorderlies, they were in Krush Groove, one of the most important hip-hop movies of the 1980s, loosely based on the origin story of Def Jam Records. People will tell you that a young LL Cool J steals the movie, but Lou is here to say that the real stars are The Fat Boys, then The Disco 3. Their antics and performance of “All You Can Eat” at Sbarro (Sbarro rules!!!) in the movie demonstrates why movie executives could possibly think that The Fat Boys could carry a movie. $3.99 for all you can eat!! In Krush Groove, The Fat Boys are comedic stars, like The Three Stooges and The Marx Brothers.
In terms of their music, The Fat Boys were in the rap game before Run DMC broke things open around 1985. Originally named The Disco 3, they were discovered in a Tin Pan Apple rap and dance contest sponsored by Coca-Cola. They won with contest with “Stick’Em”. Renamed The Fat Boys due to their on the road eating exploits, the band were one of the first to really work the game on a commercial level in terms of promotions and advertisements, such as with Swatch. The Fat Boys were always willing to sell out, which became the goal of most rap performers thereafter. Eventually, the novelty of The Fat Boys wore off as rap got more sophisticated and serious. By the late 1980s with groups like Public Enemy upping the lyrical and political content of rap, The Fat Boys seemed less comedic than silly. In addition, the complexity of the soundscapes with sampling left The Fat Boys behind.
But in terms of the sound of rap, The Fat Boys were pioneers. Darren “Buff Love” Robinson, the human beat box, pretty much originated the beat box technique and remains one of the greatest to ever do it. The beat box, love it or hate it, is iconic in terms of OG rap sound, like scratching or autotune. Buff Lovediscovered a new vocal technique. Not many people have done that. Buff Love is a true talent.
Finally, Lou must weigh in on the size of The Fat Boys. Buff Love was truly huge weighing around 450 pounds and he would be dead of a heart attack at age 28 due to his obesity. But looking at early pictures of Mark “Prince Markie Dee” Moralesand Damon “Kool Rock-Ski” Wimbley, they really weren’t that fat. Looking in the mirror, Lou must come to terms with the fact that presently he could be the fourth Fat Boy. Lou does not know how to beat box, but due to thousands of cigars he does wheeze quite a bit.
Suggested Sites and Sounds:
The Breakthrough: RUN DMC - Walk This Way (Official HD Video) ft. Aerosmith
The Beach Boys Enjoy a Cocktail: The Beach Boys - Kokomo (1988)
The Fat Boys Steal Krush Groove: All You Can Eat The Fat Boys from Krush Groove 1985
The New Three Stooges: The Fat Boys Disorderlies Trailer
— Lou Waxman