UTFO (an abbreviation for Untouchable Force Organization) was an American

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. Hi ...

group from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The group consisted of Kangol Kid (born Shaun Shiller Fequiere; August 10, 1966 – December 18, 2021), Educated Rapper (EMD) (born Jeffrey Campbell; July 4, 1963 – June 3, 2017), Doctor Ice (born Fred Reeves on March 2, 1966), and Mix Master Ice (born Maurice Bailey on April 22, 1965). The group's best-known single is " Roxanne, Roxanne", a widely acclaimed hip hop classic, which created a sensation on the hip hop scene soon after it was released and inspired a record-high of 25 answer records in a single year ( Roxanne Wars), with estimates ultimately spawning over 100. The most notable remake was done by Marley Marl's protégée

Roxanne Shanté Lolita Shante Gooden (born November 9, 1969), better known by her stage name Roxanne Shante, is an American rapper. She first gained attention in 1984 through the Roxanne Wars, and was part of the Juice Crew. The 2017 film ''Roxanne Roxanne'' ...

, which led to hip hop's first rap beef. "Roxanne, Roxanne" was originally the B-side of the lesser-known single "Hangin' Out". Due to personal issues, Educated Rapper was absent for its second effort, '' Skeezer Pleezer'' (1986), which produced one notable track with the song "Split Personality". EMD was, however, on one album track, "Pick Up the Pace", also featured in the movie '' Krush Groove''. In 2008, "Roxanne, Roxanne" was ranked #84 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

History

The group formed in the early 1980s and were originally known as UFO. However, the name was taken by an English rock band so they were forced to change it to UTFO. Kangol Kid and Doctor Ice were originally known as The Keystone Dancers and were a dance duet, before going on to be back-up dancers for Whodini. Eventually, they went on to form UTFO in their hometown of

, New York. In 1984, the group signed with Fred Munao's Select Records, and, in the same year, it released its hit single, "Roxanne Roxanne". The group's debut album was produced by R&B group Full Force. Full Force brought in New York's sound and sampling wizard, Gary Pozner, to help create the sounds and the beats. This was one of the first instances of the new sampling machine, the E-mu Emulator, used on a commercially released record. The members of UTFO were the first breakdancers to appear on '' The Phil Donahue Show''. On June 3, 2017, Educated Rapper died following a battle with cancer. On December 18, 2021, Kangol Kid died of colon cancer, at age 55.

Discography

Studio albums

As lead artist

Compilation albums

* ''The Best of U.T.F.O.'' (Select, 1996) * '' Skeezer Pleezer''/'' Lethal'' (BCM, 2000)

References

External links

Mix Master Ice's official Web Site

Doctor Ice official Web Site

Discography
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{Authority control 1984 establishments in New York City 1992 disestablishments in New York (state) African-American musical groups American hip-hop groups Hip-hop groups from New York City Musical groups established in 1984 Musical groups disestablished in 1992 Musical groups from Brooklyn Musical quartets from New York (state) Jive Records artists Select Records artists