The 45 King

Producer DJ Mark "The 45 King" burst onto the rap scene during the late '80s with his bona fide breakbeat classic "The 900 Number." However, following successful productions for Queen Latifah and his own crew, the Flavor Unit, the 45 King's resistance to changing trends and hip-hop's own fleeting loyalty combined to ensure his eventual obscurity. Continually respected by the hip-hop underground, he remained a prolific producer throughout his career, lending his remixing and engineering skills to nearly 40 releases from 1987 to 2000. Born Mark James, the 45 King (as he prefers, simply, to be known) got his first taste of rap music in the late '70s as the "record boy" for Bronx-based rap pioneers the Funky 4 (pre-+ 1). Learning the ropes of the hip-hop trade, James received an invaluable insider's look at the coveted breakbeat records that were the very battle tools of DJ competitions. Departing from the Funky 4 circle, the 45 King spent the mid-'80s as a DJ on the New Jersey scene. In 1983, at the age of 22, his first production for MC Marky Fresh caught the attention of KISS-FM's Kool DJ Red Alert. It wasn't until 1987 that James' career really got underway, however, with his work for Wild Pitch artist Latee on "This Cut's Got Flavor." That same year, the 45 King slowed down the sax solo from a record he'd received from Tuff City's Aaron Fuchs and dropped the results over an irresistibly funky break. The resulting track, "The 900 Number," exploded, its horn line (sampled from Marva Whitney's James Brown-produced "Unwind Yourself") forever ingrained in the collective hip-hop psyche. The 45 King was awarded a production deal and a long-term contract. He proceeded to showcase the members of the Flavor Unit on a series of Tuff City releases. Debuts from Lakim Shabazz (Pure...