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General Discussion / J-Boo From Wu-Tang Clan's Deadly Venoms Interview
« on: April 16, 2007, 01:55:25 PM »
In the early '90s, the idea of female rappers was still a novelty. There was Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Salt 'n Pepa and Roxanne Shante', but nothing compared to male heavy hitters like Run DMC, LL Cool J, Heavy D and later, Wu-Tang Clan, Tupac and Biggie Smalls. Let's stop at Wu-Tang for now, When the Wu came through around the early 90's they pretty much dominated the scene individually and as a group, and gave birth to a number of affiliates commonly known worldwide as Wu-Tang Killa Beez, notable names were Sunz Of Man, Black Knights, Royal Fam, LA The Darkman, Killarmy and much more, The Wu didn't change the male dominated presence in hip-hop but pretty much added on to it.
The Deadly Venoms banded together in 1998 to break that mood, not just within the Wu circle but in hip-hop as a whole, Representing the "fairer, but not weaker" branch of the Wu Tang Clan tree, the Venoms combined their collective expertise and individual styles for their project, borrowing their theme from the kung-fu flick"5 Deadly Venoms, The group proved that an all-female posse can lay down a devastating rhyme with the best of
them. Their rap themes, emboldened with lyrical and poetic skill were laced over flavourful loops and explosive hooks.
Although not as well-known as other contemporary female rappers, the women who make up the Deadly Venoms are no strangers to the rap world. Each member has had a history in the business with varying degrees of achievement. Finesse, N-Tyce, Champ MC, and newcomer J-Boo were brought together under the tutelage of rap producers Norman "Storm" Bell and Russell "Russ Prez" Pressley in response to the lackluster respect paid to women rappers. Finesse, whose tough pretty-lady persona was one-half of the pioneer female rap duo Finesse & Synquis, had been rapping since 1987 when she and Synquis unleashed a pair of singles, and dropped the album "Soul Sisters". N-Tyce had recorded since 1990,
but the Greensboro, N.C., native didn't make an impact until the 1994 release of "Hush Hush Tip" which features her Wu brethren The RZA on the beat and Method Man on the hooks. Champ MC had been rapping professionally since the age of 19 and was considered a female version of Rakim in style and delivery. She performed on a couple of singles for Elektra Records but never attained much individual recognition. A label mate to Yoyo she dropped an album "Ghetto Flava" around 1994. J-Boo hails from Queens bridge, NY, a neighbourhood best-known for producing fellow East Coast rapper Nas and Mobb Deep. This stint with the Deadly Venoms represented J-Boo's professional debut as an MC. A fifth secret member by the name of Isis aka Lin Que mostly known for her affiliation with the infamous X-Clan was meant to complete the cipher but it never manifested due to unknown reasons.
The The hype with the group, their comparison to the all female version of The Wu-Tang Clan sparked a lot of noise around the formation of the group, and under Wu-Tang managements the Venoms were ready to take on the world, as they prepared for their first debut album "The Antidote" which featured the entire Clan members on the project, but due to legal issues and a corporate merger, the release of the Deadly Venoms' debut was delayed, and they were subsequently dropped from the A&M record label. That did not stop the Venoms and they quickly picked up from where they left off and prepared for a come back with "Pretty Thugs" via DreamWorks in 2000. Unfortunately like the first album, the fans were denied the opportunity to see the raw talent and skills the group had to offer. They finally dropped an album "Still Standing" two years later independently after Finesse left the group for unknown reasons. Nothing much has been heard from the group since then.
Never have they been a group with so much skills and talent that have been deprived the opportunity to show their worth, 2 albums shelved from the fans due to politicks involved in the music industry. While the music world and hip-hop has evolved and changed over time, the Wu-Tang fans and mostly Deadly Venoms fans still felt cheated, and Wu-International are forever getting emails, enquires, requests about their favourite group, where are they, are they still together, What happened to them, what are they doing now, When will they release another album? you don't have to believe me, log on to most hip-hop sites or forums especially he Wu forums, and you will surely see something about the Deadly Venoms from fans who are interested in knowing about the group. Well, look no further, Wu-International caught up with one of the members of Deadly Venoms, J-Boo aka Viper to answer these questions and also find out what she has been up to, her experiences, future plans and projects, Please take notes from this veteran emcee as she gives an exclusive interview to Wu-International, you might actually learn something,
Click or copy and paste the link below to a new window;
http://www.wu-international.com/misc_albums/Interviews/DV%20JBoo%20Interview.htm
