Raze was an American
electronic dance music group by the multi-instrumentalist and producer
Vaughan Mason
Vaughan Mason & Crew was an American funk and post-disco based group led by Vaughan Mason (October 24, 1950 – April 2, 2020). They are best known for their Single (music), single "Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll", which reached number 5 on the Unite ...
. Raze also included the vocalists Keith Thompson, Wanda Sykes, Bobby Coleman and DJ Stephon Johnson.
Biography
Early releases included "Jack the Groove" and "Let the Music Move U", both in 1986. "Jack the Groove" was one of the first
house music
House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture in the late 1970s, as DJs began altering ...
hits in the UK, entering the top 20 of the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in January 1987.
Along with
Steve "Silk" Hurley
Steve W. "Silk" Hurley (born November 9, 1962), also known as J. M. Silk (for "Jack Master Silk"), is an American club DJ, house music producer, and songwriter.
From 1985 to 1988, he had four top-10 singles on the US Dance chart, including th ...
's "
Jack Your Body
"Jack Your Body" is a house music song by Steve "Silk" Hurley, originally released as a single in 1986. It was featured on the album ''Hold on to Your Dream'', released in 1987, under the alias J.M. Silk.
History
One of the landmark records in ...
", a UK No. 1 the same month, it presaged the popularity of the genre in the UK in the late 1980s.
Raze hit No. 1 on the US
Hot Dance Club Play
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as ...
chart in 1988 with "
Break 4 Love
"Break 4 Love" is a song written, produced and recorded by Vaughan Mason, the principal member of American house music group Raze, the song's original credited performer. The song, the group's only significant US hit, featured vocals by Keith ...
"
which also crossed over to urban radio stations, where it became a moderate hit. "Break 4 Love" hit No. 1 on the US dance chart again in 2001, when it was
covered
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of ...
by
Peter Rauhofer
Peter Rauhofer (29 April 1965 – 7 May 2013) was an Austrian-American disc jockey (DJ), remixer and producer who formerly worked under the moniker Club 69 as well as Size Queen. A native of Vienna, Austria, he was famous for a variety of his re ...
and the
Pet Shop Boys
The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo ...
, under the name
the Collaboration.
In October 2004, "Break 4 Love" appeared in the popular video game ''
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', playing on the house music radio station
SF-UR
'' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' is an open-world, action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. First released on 16 October 2004 for the PlayStation 2, ''San Andreas'' has an in-game radio that can ...
.
Discography
Albums
Singles
† – Raze presents
Doug Lazy
Doug Lazy (real name Gene Douglas Finley) is an American hip hop and dance music producer and DJ from Washington, D.C. Lazy scored a number of hip house hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, including ...
‡ – Raze featuring Lady J and Secretary of Entertainment
¶ – Raze/The Legend
(montage of six Raze tracks, Champion Records UK)
^ – Raze presents ESTB
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raze (House music group)
American house music groups
Musical groups established in 1986