Rap Hands

In the heydays of 80’s rap, Indianapolis was barely a stop on the Fresh Fest Tour. WTLC, 105.7, wasn’t playing rap after the fall of 1985. But despite the lack of local airplay, rap was still growing in popularity. In summer of 1988, the landscape started to change. One of the local radio stations started playing rap.¹ Two major tours stopped at Market Square Arena, Run-D.M.C.’s Tougher Than Leather tour and Dope Jam ‘88. Yo! MTV Raps premiered August 6, 1988. It was inevitalbe that some local crews would get into the mix.

The first local rap crew I remember hearing was Tibbs St. Posse. Their first single, “Naptown Is The Place To Chill” was the A side. But the song that hit was the B side, “Cracks “N” Haughville”. It isn’t so much an anti-drug anthem as a reality rap. At the beginning of the song when asked to share their crack, the three man crew states they don’t do that. Although, they don’t seem opposed to directing the inquisitor to Haughville, a neighborhood on the Westside of Indianapolis. All three verses are tales of life in Haughville, while the last verse is a rundown of the other sides of Nap.

The Tibbs St. Posse showed promise with their first single. But, to my knowledge, their next release wasn’t until 1991 when their debut album, Live From Haughville, was released. Their final release was either the album or “Haughville U.S.A”, a single from the album.

The other early Naptown rap pioneers, was the group B*M*W (Black Mìcaphòn Weapons). They released three singles from 1988 to 1990 and had some success with “Git A Lil’ Stupid” in 1989-90. The song was initially released locally on their own label, BMW Records. It was also picked up and released by B Boy Records, the same lable that released Boogie Down Productions Criminal Minded. The track also made it onto both the B Boy Records The Archives and B Boy Records The Masterworks that came out in 2007 and 2008, respectively. The song was also remixed and re-released on Effect Records, a division of Luke Records² in 1990.

I only remember hearing both these songs, “Cracks “N” Haughville” and “Get A Lil’ Stupid” a handful of times back in 88/89. I recall seeing a B.M.W. single in Karma Records once, although I didn’t buy it. I did buy the Tibbs St. Posse cassette in 91. Other than some entries on Discogs, Rap Music Guide, and YouTube uploads, there isn’t any information about these groups on the internets. Further, I am not sure how many folks here in Indianapolis would even remember them. But they were the first rappers out of Nap, and at the least, should be local legends.

1. It may have been WPZZ, 95.9. Historical information on radio stations is sparse. The radio station was sold in July of 1988, so they may have expiremented with the format either before or after the sale. I do remember them playing "Let's Go", Kool Moe Dee's LL dis. They also played Raheem's "Dance FLoor". The song wasn't a full on LL dis, but he had a slick line in there dissing LL. "Jack the Ripper's a punk / I never liked you sucker and your records stunk" Oddly, I don't recall them ever playing LL Cool J's "Jack The Ripper".^back
2. Yeah, that Luke. Luke Skywalker, a.k.a., Luke, a.k.a., Luther Campbell from 2 Live Crew.^back