This rare group of flyers represents a few different artists working in the early hip-hop scene in Austin, Texas, a somewhat underrepresented aspect of one of the nation’s great music...
This rare group of flyers represents a few different artists working in the early hip-hop scene in Austin, Texas, a somewhat underrepresented aspect of one of the nation’s great music cities.
The collection primarily relates to Loud Posse, a group consisting of JT Def, Rockmaster K.J., and M.C. Cool Pop, who made a name for themselves on the burgeoning Austin rap scene when they were all around 18 years old (one flier advertises "the last show before the school year"). Loud Posse frequently collaborated with Bad Mutha Goose, a rap / funk / metal fusion group known for its multi-racial line up which included three singers, a guitarist, a bassist, a keyboard player, a percussionist and a drum machine. In “Slanging That Rhyme,” a 2004 article published in the Austin Chronicle, Loud Posse member Rockmaster K.J. (who by then was a popular radio DJ known as Brotha K) recalls “the days when the opening slot at a Bad Mutha Goose show was about the only opportunity for a rap group to get on stage downtown."
Included is a maquette for the Loud Posse’s “Drop on Down, Brother,” produced by EJ Recordings, with text in sharpie and photos of the artists collaged on. The “stoopid dope thanks” section shouts out a number of other of the city’s pioneering artists such as Project Crew, Lady I.C., MC KB, and many others. Other pieces of original artwork in the collection include a hand-drawn flyer for “Soul Nite” at Club Cairo, which advertises “Austin’s dopest D.Js,” J.T. Def and Rockmaster K, a Loud Posse and Bad Mutha Goose show at the Texas Tavern, and a rather enigmatic advertisement for “Cool D.C. and the D.C. Crew" about whom we can find no information.
Printed material includes a flyer for the debut of Loud Posse, which took place at the Cave Club as part of the “Doug the Slug Teeth Benefit Show.” Another flyer, for J.T. Def’s 14 song tape “Ill,” mentions that two tracks from the record are “as heard on KAZI 88.7 fm,” Austin’s oldest community station. One particularly provocative poster for a Loud Posse / Bad Mutha Goose show at Club Cairo declares “only you can stomp out skinheads today.” Another poster for a Loud Posse / Bad Mutha Goose show was designed by the infamous poster designer Frank Kozik. Other flyers include one for “Def Fest ‘88 (no biters allowed), two for a May Day party, one for a Bad Mutha Goose release show, one for a "Night of Soul" on by EJ Recordings, and a number of shows the Loud Posse played with the Def MCs, (later the Def MFs), another early rap/rock group.