Tuff Crew is a hip hop group from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

,. Members include Ice Dog, L. A. Kid, Tone Love, Monty G, and DJ Too Tuff.

Career

They released four albums. Their joint debut LP with

The Krown Rulers The Krown Rulers are an American Hip Hop group once well known in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part o ...

from Camden,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

included production by the

Ultramagnetic MCs The Ultramagnetic MCs is an American hip hop group based in the Bronx, New York City. Founded by Kool Keith, the group also includes Ced Gee, TR Love, and Moe Love. Tim Dog became an unofficial member in 1989. In 1990, DJ Jaycee was added as ...

Kool Keith Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), known professionally as Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer known for his surreal, abstract, and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both ...

and Ced Gee, with a style that was bass-heavy with the

Roland TR-808 The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patterns. ...

drum machine and

E-mu SP-12 The E-mu SP-12 is a sampling drum machine. Designed in 1984, SP-12 was announced by E-mu Systems in 1985. Expanding on the features of E-mu’s affordable and commercially successful Drumulator, a programmable digital drum machine, SP-12 introduc ...

sampler, raw "street" lyrics and aggressive scratch DJing. They performed with Public Enemy, Run–D.M.C.,

Biz Markie Marcel Theo Hall (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer who gained prominence during hip hop's golden age. He was particularly recognized for ...

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American Rapping, rapper, producer and actor who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influe ...

Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock were an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo from Harlem, New York City. Rob Base is the stage name of Robert Ginyard (b. May 18, 1967) and DJ E-Z Rock was the stage name of Rodney "Skip" Bryce (1967–2014). They are best ...

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

, and many others. They toured the US as the support act for 2Live Crew, and were fan favorites on the groundbreaking Street Beat radio program on Power 99, hosted by

Lady B Bahiyyah Clark, born Wendy Clark (c. 1962), better known by her stage name Lady B, is an American radio DJ and rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is one of the earliest female rappers in hip hop, and the first female hip hop artist to re ...

. They were racially mixed and ethnically diverse, and were regular performers at the After Midnight club in North Philly, once the largest Hip-Hop club in America. Their contemporaries included

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were an American hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of the rapper and actor Will Smith (the Fresh Prince) and the turntablist Jeff Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff). Active from 1986 to 1994 an ...

, DJ Cash Money and Marvelous,

Cool C Christopher Douglas Roney (born December 15, 1969), known by the stage name Cool C, is an American former rapper active in the late 1980s. He is also known for his involvement in the murder of Philadelphia Police officer Lauretha Vaird during ...

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, MC Breeze, and

Three Times Dope Three Times Dope was an American hip hop/rap group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania consisting of EST ( Robert Waller), Chuck Nice (Walter Griggs) and Woody Wood (Duerwood Beale). 3xD, as they were called for short, were a part of the Hilltop Hus ...

. During the recording of their fourth album "Still Dangerous", the group was joined by Smooth K and DJ Cutzology. Members Tone Love & DJ Too Tuff were absent during this 1991 recording working on outside project Danger Zone Mobb Sqwad. LA Kidd is married to Bunny D from

L'Trimm L'Trimm was a Miami bass hip-hop duo composed of Bunny D and Lady Tigra. Originally from Coconut Grove, Florida (origin neighborhood of the City of Miami), they recorded three albums for Atlantic Records: '' Grab It!'' in 1988 (which is certi ...

Charts

* "My Parta Town" peaked at #23 on the

Billboard Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio statio ...

charts (1989). * "Back to Wreck Shop" reached #74 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts (1989).

Discography

*''Get Smart'' 12" (1985, So Def) *''Philly Style'' 12" (1986, So Def) *''Phanjam'' EP (1987, So Def) *''Danger Zone'' LP (1988, Warlock) *''Back To Wreck Shop'' LP (1989, Warlock) *''Still Dangerous'' LP (1991, Warlock) *''DJ Too Tuff's Lost Archives'' CD (2008, Traffic Entertainment) *''Remember?'' EP (2011, Solid Ground) *''The Best of DJ Too Tuff'' CD (2013, DangerZone Music Group) *''The Early Sessions 1985-1986'' EP (2016, Chopped Herring Records) *''DJ Too Tuff's Lost Archives EP (2020, Chopped Herring Records)

Appears on

*One Voice Pride - LP/CD RuffHouse Records - Hittin' Hard Balls *2004 Warlock Records Throwback Attack *Scratch Masters (2x12") Deuce Ace Housin' Strictly Bizness *Scratch Masters 2 (2xLP) Soul Food Strictly Bizness *Warlock's Freaky Beats And Crazy Grooves (LP) She Rides The Pony *Bellaphon Germany The Rhythm Story So Far.... (CD3") My Part Of Town (Remix) *Rhythm Records Best Of Hip Hop (4xCD) *Low Price Music Cream Live Two (3xCD) Soul Food Deconstruction It Will *My Part Of Town BBE It Will Take A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (2xLP) *My Part Of Town BBE Mixmag Live Rae & Christian Blazing The Crop (3xLP) *My Part Of Town DMC Publishing Rae & Christian - Blazing The Crop (CD) *My Part Of Town DMC Publishing Blazing The Crop (CD) *My Part Of Town Mixer Fusion Beats (CD) *Soul Food Cutting Edge Classic Material - Philadelphia (CD) Let It Rip, My Parta *Town Waste Management Music Toxic (3xLP) *My Part Of Town (Remix) *DJ Too Tuff- The Lost Archives (CD/EP) *Aroe & The Soundmakers- The Wreck Shop - Philly Golden Era Vol.1 Mixtape (feat. DJ Too Tuff & LA Kidd) (CD)

References

{{Authority control Hip-hop groups from Philadelphia Musical groups established in 1985 1985 establishments in Pennsylvania Rappers from Philadelphia