Warp 9

Among the most interesting of the electro hip-hop groups, New York, USA’s Warp 9 were a project helmed by producers Lotti Golden and Richard Scher. They featured a full-scale band in Boe Brown (ex-the Strikers) and Chuck Wansley (ex-Charades), as joint vocalist/percussionists, plus Ada Dwyer (vocals) and DJ John ‘ Jellybean’ Benitez. Scher, who came from a jazz background, handled keyboards, while Golden provided lyrics and further vocals. Golden had formerly recorded an early ‘rap’ single, ‘Motorcycle’, for Atlantic Records in 1969, and written ‘Dance To The Rhythm Of Love’, later recorded by Patti LaBelle. The duo started their partnership by producing Sharon Brown’s ‘I Specialise In Love’ for Profile Records, before going on to work with groups such as Chilltown (‘Rock The Beat’) and Ladies’ Choice (‘Girls Night Out’). Warp 9 made their debut with ‘Nunk’, a tune highly typical of the period which was underpinned by a perfunctory Casio keyboard. They followed it with ‘Light Years Away’, which again indulged in electro’s familiar science-fiction fantasies. Vocalist Dyer later took a major role in the theatrical production of The Wiz. Warp 9’s two singles were regularly appended to a number of electro compilations in the late 80s and early 90s as the central personnel moved on to other production projects. ~ Rovi