Name: Tony Tuff - See Dem Deh by Mr. Game-N-Watch
Duration: 6 min 15 s
Description: Tony Tuff - See Dem Deh

Tony Tuff - See Dem Deh

Showtime Chronic Phlayks

THIS IS A SAMPLER TO ACCOMPANY A BLOG ON SIR IBU/DIVINE FORCE ON THE FE BLOG (EXCERPT BELOW). READ THE FULL STORY HERE: http://fifthelementonline.com/blogs/fifth-element/5884283-underground-legends-sir-ibu-divine-force

NEWS UPDATE: I just established contact with all the original members of Divine Force!! I'm interviewing the whole crew individually over the next couple weeks and will have the full story soon! Plus they have reunited to create new music together as well!!

I regularly speak about a lot underdogs in Hip Hop who never became household names or didn’t have a chance to reach their perceived full potential. I wholly believe that there are a lot of talented MCs who were as good as some of the bigger known names of their same era and never reached the same amount of fame. However, I feel there are only a very select few who are among the elite that were able to compete with the best and with those few, their limited fame completely shocks me*. Certainly on that list is the charismatic, influential, and poetic, Sir Ibu.

Sir Ibu represented Brooklyn and was part of the crew, Divine Force. They were managed my Melquan, who was a prominent force in the 80s Brooklyn scene and is also known for managing the early careers of The RZA & The GZA, more connections on that later. The MCs of the crew consisted of Ice T (a female MC), Supreme, and Sir Ibu. How the group operated wasn’t typical, many of the released material is actually solo songs.

I actually experienced the Divine Force releases in a fairly random manner. I first became aware of them via an interview in September ’88 Right On Magazine “Rap Special” issue, where Sir Ibu describes how he connected with Melquan after they admired each others sense of fashion on the subway…classic! In that interview they discuss the “T.V. Guide” 12”, but I never found it in stores or heard it at that time. I finally heard Sir Ibu a year later when I picked up the “I’m The Peace Maker” b/w “IBU Gets Lyrical” Cassingle**. However, Sir Ibu and Divine Force are most recognized in history for their track “Holy War (Live)”, which also released in ’87, but I wasn’t aware of its existence until ’91 on Gang Starr’s “Step In The Arena” album where DJ Premier cut up the line “Individual with intellect!” Such an ill statement! I recognized Sir Ibu’s very distinctive voice, but had no idea where it came from. That started a search to find out. Not long after, I ran across a person who had the “Holy War (Live)” 12” and I was able to hear it for the first time finally***! Then at some point I ran across their last 12” “My Uptown Beat” b/w “Aint’ We Funky Now” from ’88, which doesn’t have Sir Ibu involved as a vocalist. So basically, my means of discovering their music is as random and confusing as the history and the nature of the group itself. Case in point, all the Divine Force singles are on Yamak-ka Records, the indie label operated by the aforementioned Melquan. They all have the basic catalog number of “01” so I’m not exactly sure which of the records came first…so many mysteries.


Tony Tuff - See Dem Deh

Mr. Game-N-Watch

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