Song of the Day: Raw Dope Posse “Listen to my Turbo”

Raw Dope Posse was an NJ based hip hop crew that cut one 12″ single in 1988, and man did it cook. Starting out with a sampled introduction from Otis Redding’s live version of “Good To Me,” the single then moves into a heavy thumping collage of drums, horns, and stuttered phone samples, on top of which the MCs preside.

Kid Supreme was the main force behind the sound, and though the MCs in the group could easily be compared to Kool Keith and/or Ced Gee of the Ultra Magnetic MCs, (whom released their breakthrough LP, Critical Beatdown, the same year), Kid was on his own thing. About 3 years prior to the release of “Listen to my Turbo,” Kid had apparently sent a demo tape to Def Jam which featured some great cuts, including a little tune called “Rock the Bells.” After receipt of the tape, Raw Dope Posse was not signed by Def Jam, but if you’re a fan of LL Cool J, then you already know what became of the aforementioned tune. Ouch. Good thing Kid and Raw Dope Posse picked themselves back up and cut “Listen to My Turbo,” which, though it never elevated them to household name status, did present Kid’s fantastic 80’s hip hop production to enough ears to reach YouTube today. Hope you like!

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