If there was a Flatbush, Brooklyn Hall of Fame, Red Fox would get in on the first ballot, easy. Back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Red and friends like Shaggy, Screechy Dan, Rayvon and Mr. Easy banded together to form the Ruff Entry Crew, storming dancehall with their solo releases and charismatic collaborations. There were dancehall records made in Brooklyn for years, but it was tracks like Red and Screechy’s “Pose Off” that let people know you didn’t have to physically be in Jamaica to make music that was as authentic and good as anything coming out of yard.
Red’s latest single “Brooklyn Swing” is a tribute to this era and the years just before it, when dance was nice and the Biltmore Ballroom at 2230 Church Ave. was the mecca for all things dancehall in Brooklyn and New York City. For the video, Red headed to the corner of E. 49th St. and Church Ave., in the heart of East Flatbush, and rounded up a crew of deejay and selector all-stars from New York’s Biltmore Era: Shaggy, Rayvon, Screechy Dan, Dubbmaster Chris, James Bond, KC Jockey, Turbo Cat, Puma (of LP International), Mikey Jarrett, Lee Majors (of Earth Ruler), Sting International (who produced the track on his Darker Shades riddim). We see DJ Max Glazer in there, too. Apologies in advance to anyone whose name we left out…
Watch Red Fox’s “Brooklyn Swing” video below, and, if everything above sounds like news to you, listen to our “Brooklyn in the ’90s” playlist on Apple Music. Or better yet, read this interview with Red Fox, then run tune.