Old School Mondays:: R.I.P. Malcolm McLaren

Throughout its existence, hip hop has seen a ton of seemingly random and unlikely people play various roles in its evolution. Perhaps none were more unlikely than Malcolm McLaren, who died late last week of cancer. After all, a pasty, carrot-topped British dude who made his name as the outlandish manager of The Sex Pistols isn't the first person that comes to mind when you're thinking hip hop, but it's true.

Like many a NY Scenester before and after him in the late 70's and early 80's, McLaren because infatuated with the energy and potential of hip hop, and felt the need to inject himself into in some manner. The main manner he chose was to errr, team-up with NY radio DJ's The World Famous Supreme Team to release a number of records in the early 80's (what did he actually do on these records? I have no idea). McLaren was kind of a shameless self-promoter, but his foray into hip hop had to have some benefits for both McLaren and hip hop, as someone with his music-scene creds actually attempting to make a hip hop record would certainly brought some attention to what was still a fledgling, NY-centric culture.

And the songs they produced managed to make an impact too, as not only have they been sampled quite frequently, but I recall knowing that Malcolm McLaren was connected to hip hop in some way, even when I really had no idea who he was. Anyway, if you have no idea who he was, I'd give his wiki a perusal, as the guy led a rather interesting life, to say the least. We'll wrap things up by saying a final R.I.P. to Mr. McLaren and post a couple of his songs, along with a few great songs that sampled them. Enjoy.

MP3:: Malcolm McLaren - Dya Like Scratchin'

MP3:: Malcolm Mclaren - Buffalo Gals

MP3:: Das EFX - They Want EFX

MP3:: The Beatnuts - World's Famous (Feat. V.I.C.)

MP3:: A Tribe Called Quest - Award Tour

VIDEO:: Malcolm Mclaren - Buffalo Gals

Labels: ATCQ, Das EFX, Hip Hop, Malcolm McLaren, Old School Mondays, R.I.P.