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Funky 4+1 in the photo studio
Funky 4+1 in the photo studio

Funky 4+1 in the photo studio

Visual image Funky 4+1
Visual image Sha Rock
Datec.1981
Mediumchromogenic color prints
DimensionsOverall (HWD): 3 9/16 × 2 13/16 in. (9.049 × 7.144 cm)
Credit LineMoPOP permanent collection
Object number2001.400.6
Text Entries

Funky 4+1 More included K.K. Rockwell (Kevin Smith, birthdate unknown), Sha-Rock (Sharon Green, b. 1962), Keith Keith (Keith Caesar, birthdate unknown), Rahiem (Guy Todd Wiliams, birthdate unknown) until 1979 when he left to join Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Lil’ Rodney C (Rodney Stone, birthdate unknown), MC Jazzy Jeff (Jeff Miree, b. 1962) D.J. Baron (Baron Chappell, birthdate unknown) and D.J. Breakout (Keith Williams, birthdate unknown).  

The Funky 4+1 More is considered a legendary hip-hop group emerging out of the South Bronx, forming at the end of the disco era in 1978. Funky 4+1 More was one of first battle groups, the first rap group to have a female MC, the first rap group to be signed by a major record label, and the first rap group to perform live on national television (performing "That’s the Joint" on Saturday Night Live, February 1981). Their debut single was the 15-min track “Rappin and Rocking the House” released in 1979, which was the same year they signed with Enjoy Records for three months, then signed with Sugar Hill Records where they released “That’s the Joint” in 1980. In 1979 Rahiem left the group to join Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, then in 1981 Lil Rodney C and KK Rockwell left to form a duo called Double Trouble. In 1983, Sha-Rock formed US Girls with Debbie D and Lisa Lee. 

Colored photo of Funky 4+1 holding up member MC Sha-Rock.

CopyrightThis work is issued under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License. For more information, go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
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