Crooklyn Dodgers

The Crooklyn Dodgers are a hip-hop supergroup based in Brooklyn, New York City, consisting of rotating members.

They appeared in three separate incarnations since 1994. The first two incarnations recorded for the soundtracks for Spike Lee films, Crooklyn and Clockers, respectively. The theme connecting The Crooklyn Dodgers songs, aside from the Spike Lee films for which they were made, is their topical concerns, which comment on the state of affairs in and around urban New York, as well as other issues affecting everyday life.

Versions

Crooklyn

The first group was composed of Buckshot, Masta Ace and Special Ed. Their one and only record was "Crooklyn," produced by Q-Tip, and was featured in the 1994 film Crooklyn. It contains scratch samples from "Who Got Da Props?" by Black Moon and "The Place Where We Dwell" by Gang Starr. It also features samples of a radio broadcast of a Brooklyn Dodgers game. The music video featured appearances by Brooklyn-born athletes Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson.

Crooklyn

Crooklyn is a 1994 semi-autobiographical film co-written and directed by Spike Lee. The film takes place in Brooklyn, New York and the neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant during the summer of 1973. Its primary focus is a young girl, Troy (played by Zelda Harris), and her family. Throughout the film, Troy learns life lessons through her four rowdy brothers, her loving but strict mother (Alfre Woodard), and her naive, struggling father (Delroy Lindo).

A distinctive characteristic of Crooklyn is its soundtrack, composed completely of music from the 1970s, except the hit single "Crooklyn" by the Crooklyn Dodgers, a rap crew composed of Buckshot, Masta Ace, and Special Ed. A two-volume release of the soundtrack became available on CD along with the release of the film.

Similarly to School Daze, Do the Right Thing, and She's Gotta Have It, Spike Lee appears in Crooklyn. He plays a young stoner named Snuffy, who likes to bully the local children.

Crooklyn is one of only two films directed by Spike Lee to earn a PG-13 rating in the USA, the other being 1992's Malcolm X.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team in Los Angeles, California, who are members of the National League West division of Major League Baseball (MLB). Established in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York, the team moved to Los Angeles before the 1958 season. They played for four seasons at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before moving to their current home of Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers have won six World Series titles and 21 National League pennants. Eight Cy Young Award winners have pitched for the Dodgers, winning a total of twelve Cy Young Awards. The team has also produced 12 Rookie of the Year Award winners, including four consecutive from 1979 to 1982 and five consecutive from 1992 to 1996.

History

In the 20th century, the team, then known as the Robins, won league pennants in 1916 and 1920, losing the World Series both times, first to Boston and then Cleveland. In the 1930s, the team changed its name to the Dodgers, named after the Brooklyn pedestrians who dodged the streetcars in the city. In 1941, the Dodgers captured their third National League pennant, only to lose again to the New York Yankees. This marked the onset of the Dodgers–Yankees rivalry, as the Dodgers would face them in their next six World Series appearances. Led by Jackie Robinson, the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era; and three-time National League Most Valuable Player Roy Campanella, also signed out of the Negro Leagues, the Dodgers captured their first World Series title in 1955 by defeating the Yankees for the first time, a story notably described in the 1972 book The Boys of Summer.

Special Ed

Special Ed is the performing name of Edward Archer (born May 16, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York), an American hip hop musician of Jamaican descent. Hailing from Brooklyn in New York City, he was raised in Flatbush before moving to Canarsie, and is identified with East Coast hip hop. Ed is best known for the songs "I Got It Made", "Think About It" and "I'm The Magnificent", produced by "Hitman" Howie Tee and released in 1989 on the Youngest in Charge album, recorded when Ed was 16 years old. The album sold more than half a million copies. In 1990, he released his album Legal, the title a reference to his turning eighteen, with the singles "Come On Let's Move It" and "The Mission".

He was later a member of Crooklyn Dodgers, a supergroup put together in order to perform songs for the Spike Lee films Clockers and Crooklyn, and he performed "Crooklyn" with Shillz on the 2003 compilation album MuskaBeatz. Ed released a third solo album, Revelations, with the single "Neva Go Back" in 1995, with the track "Freaky Flow" receiving a remix by DJ Premier. In 2004, Ed released the album Still Got It Made on his own label "Semi."

Masta Ace

Duval Clear (born December 4, 1966), known better by his stage name Masta Ace, is an American rapper and record producer from Brownsville, Brooklyn. He appeared on the classic 1988 Juice Crew posse cut "The Symphony". He is noted for his high level of rapping skill and for influencing other MCs, including Eminem.

Biography

1988-1994

Clear graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1988, after meeting Marley Marl in 1987 during his summer break. Ace made his recording debut as on the Hip Hop posse-cut "The Symphony", along with fellow Juice Crew members Craig G, Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane, released on Marley Marl's In Control album. The album also featured two additional Ace tracks, "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" and "Simon Says". In 1989, he released his first solo single, "Together" b/w "Letter to the Better". His debut album, Take a Look Around, was released through Marl's Cold Chillin' label in 1990, featuring production from Marl and DJ Mister Cee. The album featured two minor hit singles in "Music Man" and "Me & The Biz", the latter being a track with Ace's impersonation of Biz Markie, rather than a duet as previously thought the song would be.