Mantronix

Born in Jamaica and raised in Canada and the U.S., Kurtis Mantronik (né Curtis Khaleel) is one of hip-hop's sonic innovators, often cited as a founder of "electro," which isn't exactly true, although Man-tronik's sound is shiny and voracious enough to accommodate the urge. Working with tape-edits and the limited capabilities of early sampling drum machines, Mantronik helped establish "stabbing," or using a short piece of sound repeatedly, as a dramatic highlight or rhythmic element. His drum patterns are full of sharp edges and counterpoint. Along with MC Tee, he did business as Mantronix. After meeting Sleeping Bag owner Will Socolov at Downtown Records in Manhattan, where Mantronik worked, the duo was signed in 1985 and released their debut single "Fresh Is the Word," revelatory for the force and syncopation of Mantronik's drums. MC Tee was never much of an MC, but he didn't get in the way. (While at Sleeping Bag, Mantronik also signed EPMD, earning him a gold star in any hip-hop lover's book.) Mantronik's work with other artists is just as important as his work with Mantronix (some would say more so): Just-Ice ("Cold Gettin' Dumb," later sampled by Redman), T-La Rock ("Breakin' Bells" and "Back to Burn"), and R&B singer Joyce Sims ("All in All"). The debut Mantronix album is brief and to the point, full of party rhymes and punchy bits and pieces flying by at a rapid tempo that hip-hop abandoned in the '90s until the Dirty South brought it back. (Cash Money producer Mannie Fresh has acknowledged Mantronik's influence repeatedly in interviews.) On "Needle to the Groove," Mantronik replaces much of MC Tee's voice processed through a vocoder. Robotlicious!

Why the second album, Music Madness, has never been issued on CD is one of life's great mysteries. Though some of the tracks are available on the great U.K. Best of, Music Madness needs to be heard in its entirely. Ratcheting up the number of samples and the sonic width, Mantronik creates a relentless, pulsing sound that still smokes most so-called electronica artists. "Listen to the Bass of Get Stupid Fresh" is a landmark for both hip-hop stabs and harmonica (courtesy of a sample of rock band Area Code 615), while "Who Is It?" is just plain nervous. In Full Effect saw the duo move to Capitol and maintain their sound for an effort that stands up nicely with the first two.

Everything changed on their second Capitol LP, and fourth overall, This Should Move Ya. MC Tee left the fold for the Air Force, so Mantronik recruited LL Cool J's cousin, Bryce Luvah, to rap, and his own cousin, DJ Dee, to do something, possibly DJ -- it's hard to tell. MC Tee's absence was hardly a problem, as Bryce Luvah is a nimble rapper. More relevant was that Mantronik abandoned most of his style and went instead for a very status quo take on current hip-hop a la Big Daddy Kane and dance music somewhere between Chicago house and Britain's Soul II Soul. Neither distinct nor a failure, it's pretty fun (and is notable for the extremely odd cover choice: Ian Dury's "Sex & Drugs & Rock 'n' Roll"). The group scored a big hit in the U.K. with "Got to Have Your Love," a great pop club tune featuring singer Wondress. The final Mantronix album, The Incredible Sound Machine, dispenses with the hip-hop elements almost entirely and pushes the club tracks with new singer Jade Trini. The dominant sound is a sort of budget Soul II Soul, though the cover art suggests a budget Deee-Lite. It's perfectly passable, with a couple of great songs.

Mantronik resurfaced in the late '90s as a remixer and producer and issued one solo album as Kurtis Mantronik, I Sing the Body Electro. A small, underrated gem and already out of print, Body Electro revives his old style and even redoes a few Mantronix songs ("King of the Beats v. 3.0" and "Bass Machine Returned"). Interspersing fast-edit beat tracks with raps by female MC Traylude and a bit of drum and bass, Mantronik sounds absolutely undiminished and the album kicks respectably hard. For his Soul Jazz DJ mix CD, That's My Beat, Mantronix curates a fabulous selection of early-'80s N.Y. club music. (SASHA FRERE-JONES)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide