The Cold Crush Brothers

Formation and early years (1978–1981)

The Cold Crush Brothers formed as a group in 1978. The original line-up consisted of DJ Tony Tone, Supreme Easy A.D., DJ Charlie Chase, Whipper Whip, Mr. Tee, and Dot-A-Rock. Eventually, Whipper Whip and Dot-A-Rock would leave the group and join DJ Grandwizard Theodore & the Fantastic Five. After the departure of Mr. Tee, Grandmaster Caz, Almighty Kay Gee, and J.D.L. were brought in to fill the vacancies. Money Ray would also join the group in the late 1980s.

The Cold Crush Brothers became involved in one of hip-hop's most historic moments when Joey Robinson, son of Sugar Hill Records founder Sylvia Robinson, happened to hear Big Bank Hank, a part-time club bouncer and former manager of Grandmaster Caz, rapping to a Cold Crush Brothers tape while working at a pizzeria in New Jersey. Robinson informed Hank that he was forming a group called the Sugar Hill Gang and asked if he would like to join. Hank accepted, although he was not an MC. Hank then took Grandmaster Caz's rhymes and used them as his own with no agreement from Caz. Caz's lyrics landed in a song by the Sugar Hill Gang called "Rapper's Delight". The song became a hit in 1979 and was the first hip-hop single to land on the Top 40 charts.^[2] Caz never received any credit or compensation for the rhymes that he contributed.

Because of the attention, many groups battled the Cold Crush Brothers to gain street credibility and hip-hop supremacy. Many producers, such as James Mudd and Sea Dog, were also sampling them. This led to a rivalry with The Fantastic Five, culminating in a lyrical battle between the groups on July 3, 1981. The grand prize was $1,000 cash. The Fantastic Romantic Five (as they later came to be known, due to popularity with female audiences) won the battle, but after recordings of their battle began to circulate, the Cold Crush Brothers rose in popularity and became established as one of the strongest underground hip-hop crews of the time.^{[3][better source needed]}

Wild Style and mainstream success (1982–1984)

The Cold Crush Brothers toured all five boroughs of New York City and Boston before commercially releasing records. Their popularity was strengthened by the sales of their live performances that were recorded on cassette by Tape Master (Elvis Moreno). The Cold Crush Brothers' live performances were taped and distributed worldwide via word-of-mouth promotion and mailed to people nationwide. They were featured in the 1982 movie Wild Style, the seminal work by Charlie Ahearn depicting hip-hop culture. In the movie, the Cold Crush Brothers were featured in several scenes, most notably their face-off against their nemeses, the Fantastic Five, on a basketball court.

The Cold Crush Brothers began to release records commercially in 1982. Their first single, "Weekend", was released in the fall of 1982. In 1983, the band did a successful tour in Europe and Japan. After this tour, the Cold Crush Brothers were able to gain a CBS record deal through the Tuff City label. They were the first rap crew to receive a CBS record deal. It was the first time in hip-hop history that an independent hip-hop record label and a major record company such as CBS worked together.^[4]

Their second single, released in the fall of 1983, was "Punk Rock Rap" on Epic Records, licensed by UK CBS Associated Records overseas and in the United States on Tuff City Records and distributed by CBS Records. "Punk Rock Rap" was the first hip-hop recording to fuse hip-hop and rock. "Punk Rock Rap" was so widely popular that, at the time, up-and-coming hip-hop artist Doug E. Fresh sampled the phrase, "Oh My God!" for his hip-hop single "The Show", released in 1985.

The Cold Crush Brothers' most successful single to date is "Fresh, Wild, Fly & Bold", released in 1984, which sold more than 16,000 units in its first week of release. A distribution dispute between Tuff City Records and Profile Records may have hindered the sales of the single.

In the spirit of spreading hip-hop culture globally, the Cold Crush Brothers were early and integral members of the worldwide hip-hop organization called Ill Crew Universal.^[5]