Afro Rican

Outlasting many other artists from the genre and bringing the Miami bass sound into the 2000s, Afro Rican formed in the mid-'80s, originally as a mobile DJ crew. Centered around musician and producer Derrick Rahming, they were dubbed the We Down Express and made the transition from DJs to recording artists in 1986 with the Pandisc Records single "Bass Attack." It was a flop, but when they renamed themselves the Afro Rican Connection and released the single "It's Live," also in 1986, things began to heat up. With a Kraftwerk sample and a shortened name, Afro Rican hit big on the club charts in 1987 with "Give It All You Got (Doggy Style)." "Turn U Out" followed in 1989, the same year the group released its debut album, Against All Odds, a hip-hop-influenced LP that also got a release on the 2 Live Crew imprint Luke Skyywalker Records. The 1991 album Sex and Fun split the difference between Miami bass and rap, while Rahming also launched a bass music project on the side dubbed Power Supply. In 1995 he brought the group back with a new lineup with the hit single "All of Puerto Rico" plus the album Give It All You Got 95. In 2001 Bass Mekanik collaborated with the group for the single "Do It," then in 2006 "Give It All You Got (Doggy Style)" was sampled on Fergie's worldwide hit "Fergalicious." ~ David Jeffries