UTFO

East Flatbush Dancers

UTFO came together in Brooklyn in the early 1980s. The core members were Kangol Kid (Shaun Shiller Fequiere), Doctor Ice (Fred Reeves), the Educated Rapper, also known as EMD (Jeffrey Campbell), and Mix Master Ice (Maurice Bailey). The New York Amsterdam News reports that Kangol Kid was born in Brooklyn and raised in East Flatbush, and NYC Tourism's Brooklyn guide calls UTFO an East Flatbush group.

Kangol Kid and Doctor Ice started as breakdancers under the name the Keystone Dancers and toured as dancers with fellow Brooklyn group Whodini. They were among the first breakdancers to appear on The Phil Donahue Show. The group was first called UFO, then changed to UTFO (Untouchable Force Organization) after learning that an English rock band already used the UFO name.

Roxanne, Roxanne

Signed to Select Records, UTFO released "Hangin' Out" in 1984, with "Roxanne, Roxanne" on the B-side. Produced by Full Force, "Roxanne, Roxanne" became the hit, reaching No. 10 on Billboard's R&B singles chart according to the Amsterdam News, and later made Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest hip hop songs.

The song set off what became known as the Roxanne Wars. By one count there were 25 answer records within a single year and more than 100 overall. The best known came from Roxanne Shanté, a protégée of Marley Marl, in a dispute described as hip hop's first rap beef. The Real Roxanne recorded response tracks as well.

Albums

The group's self-titled debut album, produced by Full Force, came out in 1985, the same year as the single "Leader of the Pack." It was followed by Skeezer Pleezer (1986), Lethal (1987), Doin' It! (1989) and Bag It & Bone It (1991), the last released through Jive. The group was active from 1983 to 1992.

Members Since

Educated Rapper (Jeffrey Campbell) died on June 3, 2017. Kangol Kid died of colon cancer on December 18, 2021, at age 55. Kangol Kid's opening verse on the 1984 track is credited with sparking the first wave of responses. "Roxanne, Roxanne" remains the record most closely tied to the group, and to the start of answer-record battles in rap.