Mike and Dave's Rappers Award, Awarded to the Cold Crush Four, 1983

Mike and Dave charged admission for the show—$7 for this first event—and the hottest artists showed up and performed for free, full of enthusiasm about the possibility of winning an award. Prizes were given in several categories, including best solo rap artists, best rap group, best DJ, best stage show, and best female rapper. The Cold Crush Brothers, famous for their stage routines made an annual appearance at the event. Confident that the prize for best stage show was theirs, they showed up year after year to collect the award. The event was held at the Empire Roller Disco in Brooklyn. For years the venue has featured disco DJs and some of the top acts in Hip-Hop. 

Cold Crush Brother’s original lineup consisted of DJ Tony Tone (Angelo King), Easy AD (Adrian Harris), DJ Charlie Chase (Carlos Mandes, b. 1959), Grandmaster Caz (Curtis Brown, b. 1960), Almighty KG (Kenneth Pounder), JDL (Jerry Dee Lewis) and Money Ray (Eric Hoskins). Whipper Whip (James Whipper) and Dot-A-Rock (Darryl Mason) were original members, but eventually, Whipper Whip and Dot-A-Rock left and joined the Fantastic Five, which they considered to be a more established group at the time. Soon, the group brought in Grandmaster Caz (formerly DJ Casanova Fly) who is known to be one of the top 50 MCs of all Time, and an inductee into the Technics DJ Hall of Fame and the Bronx Walk of Fame. The Cold Crush Brothers were known for their remarkable routines which included harmonies, melodies, and stage-stomping performances. The Cold Crush Brothers set the standard for emceeing. They built the reputation as the Rolling Stones of Hip Hop. Because of the attention they began to attract, many groups would try to battle them to gain rap credibility and Hip-Hop superiority.