The L.A. Dream Team was a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group based in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, active 1985–1989, 1993, and 1996. The group was founded by Chris ''"Snake Puppy"'' Wilson and Rudy Pardee in 1985. They are known for being one of the early

acts on the West Coast and one of the pioneers of the

West Coast hip hop West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during th ...

scene.

History

The group was formed in the early 1980s by Rudy Pardee and Chris "Snake Puppy" Wilson.Kergan, Wade "

L.A. Dream Team Biography Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'', Macrovision Corporation The duo formed their own Dream Team Records label, going on to release their own records and also releases by other California rap artists. Some of the group's best known early releases are "The Dream Team Is in the House", "Nursery Rhymes" and "Rockberry Jam". The group expanded later with Lisa Love,

The Real Richie Rich The L.A. Dream Team was a hip hop group based in Los Angeles, California, active 1985–1989, 1993, and 1996. The group was founded by Chris ''"Snake Puppy"'' Wilson and Rudy Pardee in 1985. They are known for being one of the early hip hop act ...

and Big Burt. In 1986, the group signed with

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

who released their albums, ''Kings Of The West Coast'' (1985) and ''Bad To The Bone'' (1986). In 1986, Lisa "Miss Rockberry" Love died in an auto accident. The group replaced Love with two female artists: Robin Williams (The Robin) and Tanisha Hill (known as Tish Jones). The newly formed lineup recorded the 1989 album, ''Back to Black'', also released by MCA Records. By 1986, as

electro music Electro (also known as electro-funk, and sometimes referred to as electro-pop)
Gl ...

began to receive more mainstream coverage, the group's popularity began to wane. Their popularity was further diminished by the rise of West Coast

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture, values, and experiences of urban gangs and street hustlers, frequently discussing unpleasant realities of the world in general th ...

in the early 1990s. From 1990 to 1991, Rudy Pardee worked on making new music with various artists. Then in 1992 thru 1994, Rudy, along with rapper/producer Friend-Z and rapper/comedian TJ "Ragaman-T" briefly resurfaced under the name DTP which stood for Dream Team Posse, but was later changed to mean Diverse Thought Process. They completed an album titled "Footsoldiers On Maneuvers" accompanied on some tracks by rap group DBS Mob and rapper/producer Paranoia Dragon. They did release a single "Rockberry Revisited", an updated version of "Rockberry Jam". It included a b-side titled "100 Proof(To the Zoom)" The album however still remains unreleased, due to Rudy wanting to change direction, and wanting to lean towards a gangsta rap image. Chris Wilson also went on to work with others, and made an unreleased ep. He also went on to a career in video and music production. Pardee worked in computing, working for Universal as a business services analyst, and later a project manager. Rudy and Chris briefly resurfaced together to release a new single, with a more G-Funk style. Pardee later formed the group, Family Dream, featuring former Dream Team members Big Burt, Tanisha Hill and The Robin. The group was signed to

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

. Rudy Pardee died in a scuba-diving accident in 1998.

Discography

Singles

*"Calling on the Dream Team" (12") (1985) Dream Team *"Rockberry Jam" (12") (1985) Dream Team *"The Dream Team Is in the House" (12") (1985) Dream Team *"And the Orchestra Plays" (12") (1986) MCA *"Hollywood Boulevard" / "You're Just Too Young" (12") (1986) MCA *"Nursery Rhymes" (12") (1986) MCA *"The Dream Team Is in the House" (12") (1986) MCA *"Citizens on Patrol" / "Hollywood Boulevard" (12") (1987) MCA *"Rudy and Snake" (12") (1987) MCA *"Pitchin a Fit" (12") (1988) MCA *"She Only Rock and Rolls" / "Stop To Start" (12") (1988) MCA *"Doin' the Nasty" (12") (1989) MCA *"You're Slippin" (12") (1989) MCA *"The Bounce" (12") (1991) Dream Team *"100 Proof (To the Zoom)" (12"), (cassette), (compact disc) (Excello Records) (1993) *"Rockberry Revisited" (1993)

Albums

*''

Kings of the West Coast ''Kings of the West Coast'' is the debut studio album by LA Dream Team. It contains their best-known singles, "The Dream Team Is in the House" and "Nursery Rhymes". ''Kings of the West Coast'' was their only album to chart on the ''Billboard'' ...

'' (LP) (1986) MCA *
Bad to the Bone
' (LP) (1986) MCA *''Back to Black'' (LP) (1989) MCA

Television

*''

What's Happening Now ''What's Happening Now!!'' is an American sitcom sequel to the original ABC 1976–1979 sitcom ''What's Happening!!'' focusing on its main characters as independent people. It aired in first-run broadcast syndication from September 7, 1985 until ...

''(1987) Taking The Rap

References

External links

''L.A. Dream Team''
at

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

''L.A. Dream Team''
a
West Coast Pioneers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:La Dream Team Hip-hop groups from California American electro musicians Musical groups from Los Angeles