Growing up during the birth of Hip Hop, it wasn’t unusual to hear it on the radio, especially top 40 stations. MTV was all the rage, and the music video not only gave the listener visual recognition of what they were hearing, but it also opened up kids in suburbia to every urban fashion and style. One band that was the epitome of this was the Fat Boys. The name said it all, 3 large rappers (one who beat boxed), who talked about eating food, going to jail, surfing?, and who caused general mayhem keep this musical genre at a playful and entertaining state. A time when a coon skin hat and Cazzeles were hard as hell and rappers weren’t wearing skinny jeans and Jeremy Scott adidas. This brings me to a special treat today: The Fat Boys Deluxe Pizza Box Release.

This unique release came out yesterday, July 10th. Unfortunately for all you vinyl heads like me, it’s CD only. However, it shouldn’t stop you from getting it. I’ll tell you why. Out of print and digitally remastered, the former Disco 3, not deterred by the short sales of their single “Reality”, changed their name, brought Kurtis Blow on as a producer (let’s not forget his musical team of Larry Smith, Run-DMC’s producer and arranger for their first two albums, Davy D[MX], and Don Blackman) to make these guys a household name.

“ Their legacy is that they were fun – they should be remembered as being a positive, upbeat and inclusive part of hip-hop that made people feel good inside ”- Kurtis Blow

Guess what? It worked. Along with the remastered songs, this release also has four Mr. Magic’s Rap Attack interviews with the band. From the early days of the group, to after their success of the first record, to an often unheard piece of audio history where Mike introduces them as a winner of the “Tin Pan Apple After Dark Dance & Rap Contest”, a gig that landed them their first record deal.

Put together by the talented Noah Uman (see FMF’s Big Ups interview series) and containing extensive liner notes, rare photos, and a limited edition Fat Boys sticker, this, if it had been a promo would be right up there with Fat Joe’s gold coins, The Biz’s tv photos slide viewer, or those Tommy Boy Carhartt messenger bags (I wish I still had mine). All the early great songs are there, remastered to boot: “Stick ‘Em,” “Fat Boys,” “The Place To Be” & “Human Beat Box”, plus other singles like “Reality,” “International Love” and “All You Can Eat”. If you were not familiar with these three boys from East New York who were large and in charge, now is a perfect time to do so. This is when Rap was raw, fun, and really had no boundaries. The Fat Boys give you that good feeling, like everything is going to be all right no matter what. So go order a few pizzas, put on this remastered classic, and just stick ’em, ha ha ha stick ’em.

Fat Boys – Stick ‘Em

Cop this baby here.

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