Harlem World Presents Thursday Night Trillers Featuring Ladies Night, with Master Don & The Death Committee, The Kool D.J. A.J. Show, The Harlem World Crew, M.C. Busy Bee, Star Ski, Tee/Ski Vally, at the Harlem World Complex, New York, NY, July 2, 1981

Party flyers were a staple in the early years of Hip-Hop and hard-copy invitations were the main medium for communicating information and promoting an event. The flyers symbolized many key appearances, acts, conventions, DJ performances, and contests in the Hip-Hop scene. Many flyers were created by local graffiti artists such as Buddy Esquire and Phase 2. The flyers were often presented by Hip-Hop promoters, DJs, and MCs who hosted the parties. Money was given to the artist to draw creative art and graphics for about $40-$60 for approximately 1,000 party flyers. The parks’ open public spaces have provided the perfect venues for park jams, impromptu dance-offs, DJ battles, and rap battles that established the sound, fashion, art, and message of Hip-Hop. Most of the Hip-Hop parties were a space for positivity where many of the Hip-Hop community could escape the realities of racism that included police brutality, drug abuse, and gang violence in their surrounding communities.

Known as the Harlem World Cultural and Entertainment Complex everyone called it “The World.” Located at 116th and Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue), from 1978 to 1985, it was the home of legendary Disco. Harlem World was a three-story club with a lighted dance floor, chandeliers, wall-to-wall gold shag carpeting, mirrored walls, and a one-of-a-kind, one-hundred-foot lightning bolt-shaped bar.  Chuck Foster was the co-owner of the Harlem World and was known as one of the men that were responsible for building Harlem World before becoming an owner. Harlem World hosted some of Rap music’s most historic M.C. battles and many of Rap’s earliest lyricists who birthed the idea to put Rap music on records were found at Harlem World. Anyone who was important came to perform at Harlem World such as Busy Bee, Love Bug Starski, Grand Master Flash & the Furious, Fantastic Romantic, Lady Smiley, Cold Crush, L. A. Sunshine, Treacherous Three, Doug E. Fresh, and Kool Moe Dee.

Known for his comedic rhymes, old school MC, Busy Bee/Chief Rocker Busy Bee/Busy Bee Starski (David Parker, b. 1962) gained a large following from MC rap battles in the Bronx, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and New Jersey. Busy Bee, who was known for his fashion sense, was a member of the Cassanova Gang who were admired for their dress style. When he became a famous local DJ, his fashion sense also added to his popularity. He was called “Busy Bee Starski” because he was known to switch from one rap group to the next and his peers said his rhyming style was like Love Bug Starski. Busy Bee worked with several of New York’s best Hip-Hop DJs, including Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Busy Bee’s legacy as an expert jive-rapper with humorous and crowd-motivating rhymes made an impact on the early years of Hip-Hop.

T-Ski (Tyrone Cox, b. unknown) was a Hip-Hop artist from The Bronx, New York. T-Ski had many connections to music in his early years. T-Ski began his musical career at the age of fourteen when he and his friend Disco Prince formed a group called the Erotic Disco Brothers. In 1978, T-Ski joined Kool Herc as an M.C. (Fly Force) and later that year T-Ski joined up with A.J. & Busy Bee as a D.J. He also worked with reggae producers Brad Osborne of Clocktower Records and Clement "Coxsone" Dodd (Studio One Records) at Grand Groove Records. His first release was “Catch The Beat,” and was released in the fall of 1981. T-Ski performed with many artists such as Kool Moe Dee, Run DMC, Kurtis Blow, Spoonie Gee, Cold Crush Brothers, Grandwizzard Theodore, and Grand Master Flash & The Furious Five.

Kool DJ AJ (Aaron Gerald O'Bryant, d. 2015), was a pioneering promoter and DJ for many Hip-Hop parties since the late 70’s and early 80’s. He was the the DJ for MCs Busy Bee and Kurtis Blow. One of Blow's hits, "The AJ Scratch," was written to pay respect and homage to DJ AJ's turntable skills.

Master Don and The Death Committee was a Hip-Hop group from Harlem, New York. Members included Master Don/Johnny D, Pebbly Poo, Gangster G, Keith KC and Boo Ski. The Death Committee was one of the first truly diverse groups incorporating the Latin and female rappers. They released their famous single “Funkbox Party” in 1983 on Enjoy records. Other tracks they released on Enjoy were “We’re Gonna Get You Hot” and “Music Gram” which were produced by Pumpkin and Bobby Robinson.