Afro-Rican

Afro-Rican
Origin	Miami, Florida, United States
Genres	Hip hop, Miami bass
Past members	Derrick Rahming (Rahming) Juan Arroyo (DJ Slice) Marcus Rice (MD Rock) Audre Clemons (Ice-Ski)

Afro-Rican is a popular Miami bass and hip-hop group, most famous for their genre-shaping 1987 hit "Give it All You Got (Doggy Style)", as well as their 1995 hit "All of Puerto Rico". The group is the brainchild of Derrick Rahming, and the remainder of the lineup has changed over the years. Most fans consider the classic lineup to be Rahming, Juan Arroyo (DJ Slice), and Marcus Rice (MD Rock).

Afro-Rican grew out of the open air mobile DJ crew, We Down Express. Like other DJ crews of South Florida during the mid-1980s, their local fame eclipsed that of regional recording artists, and labels made an attempt to cash in. As the crew We Down Express, they recorded the song "Bass Attack" for Pandisc Records in 1986, which failed to make much of a mark. Later that year, they rechristened themselves as The Afro-Rican Connection to highlight their bi-racial makeup, possibly as a way to maximize marketability. As The Afro-Rican Connection, they released the single "It's Live" b/w "Regina" also for Pandisc in 1986, which made a bit more of an impact, but still failed to gain them lasting fame.

By 1987, the Miami bass scene had begun to realize the potential of uptempo club-bass records, so Derrick Rahming began production on his perception of this sound with his brand new E-mu SP-1200 drum sampler. Although this sound was not something he preferred, he knew that labels wouldn't continue to fund records that sold in meager quantities, and with 2 Live Crew and Kooley C's uptempo bass tracks dominating the local clubs, producing a song in this vein was a means to an end. The group shortened their name to Afro-Rican, and the resulting song was their landmark "Give it All You Got (Doggy Style)", which samples Kraftwerk's "It's More Fun to Compute" from the Computer World album. Edward Meriwether snatched up the song for his Suntown Records, putting most other deals on hold during the signing and promotion of this track. The song essentially tied all the elements of the Miami bass sound together, defining the genre for years to come.

Now with a firm presence in Miami's music scene, Afro-Rican began Hip-Rock Records and commenced production on their album dominated by a more traditional hip-hop sound. The trail blazed by their hit single opened more doors than expected, scoring a 'manufacturing and distribution' deal with Luke Skyywalker Records in 1989. However, their fanbase was not ready to hear the group's take on straight-ahead hip-hop, and the entire buildup was foiled in one shot. The group failed to move units, and the deal with Skyywalker was squandered.

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Wikipedia