Douglas E. Davis
(born September 17, 1966), better known by the stage name Doug E. Fresh
, is an American rapper, record producer, and beat boxer, also known as the Human Beat Box. One of the earliest recorded beat boxers, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines and various special effects using only his mouth, teeth, and gums.
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DOUG E. FRESH TICKETS
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Music career
He made his recording debut in 1983, as part of the Boo-Dah Bliss Crew (with
Spoonie Gee and
DJ Spivey) on the Top Flight Records
single "Pass the Boo-Dah." He gained greater recognition the following year—appearing in
Beat Street
, backing the
Treacherous Three. Later that same year, Fresh released his first records as a solo artist: "Just Having Fun" and "Original Human Beat Box."
His 1985 single "The Show" (which borrows the melody of the
Inspector Gadget theme),
[1] and its B-side, "
La Di Da Di," are considered early
hip hop classics. The single featured the Get Fresh Crew: DJs Barry B. and Chill Will, and MC Ricky D (who would later achieve fame as
Slick Rick).
In 1986, Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew released their debut full-length album,
Oh, My God!
and were critically hailed for incorporating elements of
reggae and
gospel music. Besides "The Show," other notable tracks included "Play this Only at Night" and "All the Way to Heaven," the former of which incorporated the theme from the famous horror movie
Phantasm
. In 1988, another album,
The World's Greatest Entertainer
was released, which appeared on
Billboard
magazine's charts, due in part to the popular single "Keep Risin' to the Top." Slick Rick's input was not appreciated by the
record label, Reality/
Fantasy Records, and he was asked to leave the group. (Rick's 1989 solo debut,
The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
brought the MC greater success than he had attained as part of the Get Fresh Crew, reaching #1 on the
Billboard
R&B/Hip Hop charts.)
In 1989, Fresh recorded the song "Spirit" for the
Ghostbusters II
soundtrack. A year later, he beatboxed for the song "Tag Team Partners" on
Living Colour's second album
Time's Up
.
right,
California in September 2007.
Fresh did not record again until 1992's
Doin' What I Gotta Do
, issued by
MC Hammer's Bust It Records. Fresh also beatboxed the drum track of the song "Freaks", by dancehall reggae artist
Li'l Vicious and also appeared in the video.
In 1995, Slick Rick and Fresh reunited for a track on an album titled
Play
, which found Fresh back on his feet.
Play
received positive reviews; Bret Love wrote that the record is "a welcome flashback to the days when guns, drugs, sex and violence were not the genre's primary lyrical focus."
[2]
In the late 1990s, Fresh collaborated with
Prince on a number of recordings, notably
Newpower Soul
and the
1999, the New Master
EP. Recently, Fresh appeared on
VH1's
I Love the 80s
and on
March 29,
2007, he appeared on
Nickelodeon's ME:TV for Beat Box Week.
Fresh recorded the current theme used for the
New York Knicks, in its highlight videos and during the pre-game warm-ups, titled "Take Me Home," based very much off of the
John Denver hit "
Take Me Home, Country Roads," in 2001.
Fresh also made a few
Drum and Bass tracks in collaboration with
E-Z Rollers in 2003, the most well-known being "Rhyme & Punishment."
On October 9, 2004, Fresh performed on stage with the
Beastie Boys in
Madison Square Garden. The performance was captured on video for the 2006 in-concert movie
Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That!
.
On May 23, 2007, Fresh performed variations upon "The Show" with finalist
Blake Lewis on
the season-six finale of
American Idol
, the first ever hip-hop performance on the show,
[3] which was watched by over 200 million people around the world.
He has also hosted events for Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Bill Clinton and many other high-profile celebrities.
In 2008, his single "The Show" was ranked number 51 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. On April 5, 2009 Fresh performed at the Black Alumni All-Star Party. The event was held in
Memorial Gymnasium (Virginia) at the
University of Virginia.\
Personal life
He currently resides in Central Harlem with his five sons, two of whom are in a hip-hop group called Square Off and are featured on Fresh's recently released single "Left-Right."
Fresh is a member of the
Church of Scientology. He has performed for large audiences of its adherents at the Scientology Celebrity Center's Anniversary Gala in 2004,
[4] 2005, and 2006. He also performed two tracks on the all-star Scientology music album
The Joy of Creating
(other artists appearing include
Isaac Hayes,
Chick Corea,
Edgar Winter, and
Carl Anderson).
[5]
Discography
Albums
- Oh, My God!
(1986, Reality/Fantasy) (with the Get Fresh Crew) Platinum
- The World's Greatest Entertainer
(1988, Reality/Fantasy) (with the Get Fresh Crew) Gold
- Doin' What I Gotta Do
(1992, Bust It/Capitol/EMI) (with the New Get Fresh Crew)
- Play
(1995, Gee Street/Island/PolyGram) Gold
Singles
- "Just Having Fun (Do the Beatbox)" (1984, Enjoy)
- "The Original Human Beatbox" (1984, Vintertainment) (credited as Dougy Fresh)
- "The Show" (1985, Reality) (with the Get Fresh Crew)(Produced By Vance Wright) Platinum
- "La Di Da Di" (1985, Reality) (with the Get Fresh Crew) Platinum
- "Spirit" (1989, MCA) (with the Get Fresh Crew)
- "Summertime" (1989, Reality/Fantasy) (with the Get Fresh Crew)
- "I-ight (Alright)" (1993, Gee Street)
- "Superstition" (1997, Hollywood) (with the Get Fresh Crew)
- "We Not Giving Up" (2005, The Xtatik Experience) (Featuring Doug E Fresh and Machel Montano)
- "You"ll Never Know (2005, E-Z Rollers) (Featuring Doug E. Fresh & Sharon Brown)
- "Rhyme & Punishment (2005, E-Z Rollers) (Featuring Doug E. Fresh) [Distorted Minds Remix]
- "Rhyme & Punishment (2005, E-Z Rollers) (Featuring Doug E. Fresh)
- "Virgo" (2005) (with Ludacris and Nas)
- "Left-Right" (2007, Entertaining Music) (featuring Square Off)
References
- Blow Your Mind Wide Open, Charles Mudede, ''The Stranger'', August 28, 2003.
- Allmusic review
- Youtube
- Celebrity News Scientology Celebrity Center International
- ''The Joy of Creating'' track listing