“Let’s just say that if Malcolm breathes, it’s too much for me to stomach.” – Johnny Rotten
Malcolm McLaren, former manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls, died in New York on April the 8th after a bout with cancer. He was 64.
I was never the biggest Sex Pistol's fan, but always had an honorable heart towards what they did to develop the definitive English Punk sound and then ingeniously broadcast it to the masses. Much of this was Mclaren's brain child; bringing four awkward and unknown musicians together and "provided them with an attitude suited to Britain in decline: nihilistic rage, expressed at high volume (NY Times)."
After the rise and crash (self fulfilling as it is) of the Sex Pistols, Mclaren drew his attentions to both the fashion world and a budding new sound on the New York streets called hip-hop. McLaren was infatuated with the energy and potential of hip hop, and like the angst of the English sound, felt the need to inject himself into in some manner. He chose to team-up with NY radio DJ's The World Famous Supreme Team to release a number of records in the early 80's (what did he actually do on these records? I have no idea). The songs produced by Macolm and WFSP have become somewhat of classic hip-hop deep cuts. They're not as know as say De La Soul's "Me, Myself and I," Beastie's "Fight for Your Right to Party," or 2pac's "California Love," but these cuts are back in the corners of hip-hop history ubiquitously sampled, and resonating within the underpinnings of this now massive musical movement.
Malcolm McLaren and the World Famous Supreme Team_World Famous
If you forgot to grab BWillacker's mix featuring this track, herr it iz:
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