Grandmaster Slice

Influenced by LL Cool J, Grandmaster Slice scored two notable successes with the polished club track “Shall We Dance (Electric Slide)” and the mainstream R&B single “Thinking of You,” itself a still milder reworking of “I Need Love.” Raised in a modest southern Virginia community, he entered the rap scene while still a pre-teen and served as DJ for the local outfit Ebony Express. Teaming later with one-time competitor Scratchmaster Chuck T, the pair cut the dance-oriented “Shall We Dance (Electric Slide)” for the independent label Select-O-Hits in 1989. The track climbed the rap charts and prompted Creative Force to issue the full-length album Shall We Dance. Relocating once more, this time to Jive, Slice landed on the singles charts with the heavily crossover-styled “Thinking of You.” No quick sequel appeared, however; nine years elapsed before Grandmaster Slice returned to the charts via “Strokin’ 2000,” released on Wingspan.