Touré Embden (born September 3, 1964), known by the stage name MC Tee, is a Jamaican American emcee and co-founder (with DJ

Kurtis Mantronik Kurtis el Khaleel (born Graham Curtis el Khaleel, September 4, 1965), known by the stage name Kurtis Mantronik, is a Jamaican-born hip hop and electronic-music artist, DJ, remixer, and producer. He was the leader, DJ, and keyboardist of the in ...

) of the 1980s

old school hip hop Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contem ...

and

electro funk Electro (or electro- funk)Rap meets ...

group

Mantronix Mantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro funk music group from New York City. The band was formed by DJ Kurtis Mantronik (Kurtis el Khaleel) and rapper MC Tee (Touré Embden). The group is primarily remembered for its pioneerin ...

Early years

MC Tee was born in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

with his family to the United States and eventually settled in the Flatbush section of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York.

Mantronix emcee

In 1984, Brooklyn native MC Tee met

at Downtown Records in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, where MC Tee was a regular customer, and Mantronik worked as the in-store DJ. The duo soon made a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

, formed the group Mantronix, and eventually signed with

Sleeping Bag Records Sleeping Bag Records is a defunct New York City-based independent record label founded by musician Arthur Russell and entrepreneur Will Socolov. It was active between 1981 and 1992, and specialized in dance music and hip hop. Background and ...

. MC Tee co-wrote Mantronix's debut single, "Fresh is the Word," a club hit in 1985, reaching #16 on the

Hot Dance Singles Sales In the issue dated March 16, 1985, ''Billboard'' magazine debuted its first chart devoted exclusively to 12-inch Singles Sales. The 50-position weekly ranking joined ''Billboard''s established Club Songs chart, reduced to the same 50 positions, ...

chart. "Fresh is the Word" was featured on Mantronix's debut album, '' Mantronix: The Album'', which was released the same year. Mantronix's second album, '' Music Madness'', was released in 1986. While MC Tee's rhyming style on the album continued in the traditional b-boy fashion of the times, Mantronik's club oriented production and mixing in ''Music Madness'' tended to attract more

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded da ...

and

electro funk Electro (or electro- funk)Rap meets ...

aficionados than

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

fans. In 1987, Mantronix signed with

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

and released '' In Full Effect'' the following year (1988). MC Tee abruptly left Mantronix shortly after the release of ''In Full Effect'' to enlist in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

. In a 1997 interview with

MTV Europe MTV Global (formerly as MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV, a 24-hour music and entertainment TV channel that began broadcasting on August 1, 1987, as part of the worldwide MTV network. Initially, MTV serve ...

, Kurtis Mantronik commented on the departure of MC Tee from Mantronix: Mantronix continued for two more albums following MC Tee's departure, 1990's '' This Should Move Ya'' and 1991's '' The Incredible Sound Machine'', with Bryce "Luvah" Wilson replacing MC Tee, before the group finally disbanded in 1991.

Current whereabouts

Touré Embden was arrested and subsequently convicted of child molestation and given a 15 Year term in 2003. He served 6 years and was released in 2009. Speculation has surfaced on Mantronix and Kurtis Mantronik fan sites regarding a reunion of the original Mantronix line-up, but as of 2019, a reunion has yet to materialize. Touré Embden is listed as having lived in both

Stone Mountain Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome Inselberg, monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park, east of Atlanta, Georgia. Outside the park is the small city of Stone Mountain, Georgia. The park is the most visited tourist site in the state o ...

and

Lilburn, Georgia Lilburn is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The population was 14,502 at the 2020 census. The estimated population was 12,810 in 2019. It is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Geography Lilburn is located in western Gw ...

References

External links

* AllMusic.com Biography - MC Tee
Discogs.com Profile - MC Tee
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tee, MC 1964 births Living people American rappers of Jamaican descent Jamaican emigrants to the United States Jamaican rappers Mantronix members Rappers from Brooklyn United States Air Force airmen 21st-century American rappers Sleeping Bag Records artists