Biography
Funky 4 + 1 emerged among the earliest hip-hop ensembles to feature a female MC and stood as the first such act to issue commercial recordings. They also ranked among the initial Bronx collectives to enter the marketplace on the heels of the Sugarhill Gang’s breakthrough in 1979. The lineup comprised DJ Breakout, K.K. Rockwell, Keith Keith, Lil' Rodney Cee, Jazzy Jeff, and Sha Rock, billed as the “plus one.” During the early to mid-'70s, DJ Breakout shared the scene with foundational figures including DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash. Raheim, an original member, departed to become part of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five and was succeeded by Lil' Rodney Cee. Sha Rock participated on equal footing with the men rather than being cast as a sex object. Following the limited commercial showing of Sequence, the all-female crew on Sugarhill Records, Funky 4 + 1 marked the final instance of moderate female visibility in rap until Roxanne Shanté and Salt-n-Pepa surfaced in the mid-'80s. Beyond the presence of a woman in their ranks, the group ranks among the most influential yet underrecognized acts of the old-school era, later sampled by numerous artists such as the Beastie Boys on Paul’s Boutique. Alongside Grandmaster Flash, they launched their recording career with 12-inch singles on Enjoy Records, issuing the track widely regarded as the longest rap recording, “Rappin and Rocking the House,” which exceeds fifteen minutes and surpasses the duration of “Rapper’s Delight.” Dissatisfied with Enjoy’s distribution, they moved with Grandmaster Flash to Sugarhill Records, where they produced the enduring classic “That’s the Joint” yet never completed a full-length album. After only modest chart traction, the members parted ways in the early '80s: Lil' Rodney Cee and K.K. Rockwell formed Double Trouble, while Sha Rock united with Lisa Lee and Debbie Dee in US Girls, a trio featured in the 1984 film Beat Street. Although Funky 4 + 1 never issued a complete album, their singles continue to appear on old-school hip-hop compilations.