Representative Albums: "The Best of Schoolly D," "The Jive Collection, Vol. 3," "Schoolly D"
Representative Songs: "P.S.K. What Does It Mean?," "Gucci Time," "B-Boy Rhyme and Riddle"
Biography
Opinion has been widely mixed about the merits of Philadelphia rapper Jesse B. Weaver, Jr. aka Schoolly D. Long before the debate about gangsta rap lyrics became an easy way to get national newsprint, there was outrage over Schoolly D's explicit and undiluted narratives on inner city strife. Saturday Night in 1987 and Smoke Some Kill in 1988 had city officials openly endorsing removal of the albums from record stores. He has continued in the same vein with 1993's Am I Black Enough for You and 1996's Gangster's Story. Schoolly D's rather lackluster rapping style and repetitive material doesn't place him in the forefront of hip-hop creators, but he does merit mention (or blame, depending on your perspective) for being an early gangsta proponent. His career got a bit of a boost after the Chemical Brothers sampled him on their 1997 Dig Your Own Hole album, creating a bit of interest in a rapper few of the late '90s youth were familiar with. Furthermore, Schoolly D's relationship with esteemed film director Abel Ferrara gave him the opportunity to collaborate on the soundtracks to several of the directors films such as The Addiction and Kings of New York. In late 2000, the rapper released his Funk 'N Pussy album, trying to re-ignite his faltering career. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide
Musically, Schoolly D and his DJ Code Money came up with electronic beats. Later on, Schoolly embraced the afrocentric style, working together with KRS-One. He contributed songs and music to many Abel Ferrara films, such as the title track from Am I Black Enough For You?, which was played during the climactic shoot-out in Ferrara's King of New York, the title track of this movie from How a Black Man Feels and "Signifying Rapper" (from Schoolly's album Smoke Some Kill), which was used in the director's Bad Lieutenant.[1] Because Led Zeppelin successfully sued due to an uncleared interpolation of their song "Kashmir" in "Signifying Rapper," the song was omitted from the soundtrack of the film and indeed from subsequent releases of the Bad Lieutenant.[1]
Schoolly also wrote "The Player" for Ferrara's film The Blackout, as well as the score to Ferrara's 'R Xmas. In 2006, Schoolly D co-wrote the indie film soundtrack of the historical science fiction thriller Order of the Quest with Chuck Treece. The project series is produced by Benjamin Barnett, and Jay D Clark of Media Bureau. His last album, Funk 'N Pussy, features guest appearances by Public Enemy's Chuck D, Chuck Chillout, Lady B and a drum and bass remix of the classic Schoolly D track "Mr. Big Dick" (remixed by UKtrip-hop crew The Sneaker Pimps).
Rapper Ice-T, who is often given credit for the creation of gangsta rap, credits Schoolly D as an influence on his own music:
“
The first record that came out along those lines was Schoolly D's "P.S.K." Then the syncopation of that rap was used by me when I made "Six In The Morning". The vocal delivery was the same: '...P.S.K. is makin' that green', '...six in the morning, police at my door'. When I heard that record I was like "Oh shit!" and call it a bite or what you will but I dug that record. My record didn't sound like "P.S.K.", but I liked the way he was flowing with it. "P.S.K." was talking about Park Side Killers but it was very vague. That was the only difference, when Schoolly did it, it was '...one by one, I'm knockin' em out'. All he did was represent a gang on his record. I took that and wrote a record about guns, beating people down, and all that with "Six In The Morning".
^Davey D. "Ice T Speaks". Davey D's Ultimate Interview Directory. Davey D with eLine Productions. http://www.daveyd.com/iceprops.html. Retrieved 2007-04-02. "Here's the exact chronological order of what really went down: The first record that came out along those lines was Schooly D's 'P.S.K.' ..."
