L.a. Dream Team

In the early 1980s Cleveland-born Rudy Pardee joined forces with Los Angeles resident Chris Wilson to launch L.A. Dream Team. The period was marked by bold musical experimentation, and the emerging electro style—a fusion of dance rhythms and rap—was still unanchored, allowing hip-hop elements to coexist comfortably within dance contexts. Resourceful and independent, the pair established Dream Team Records, a venture that not only released the group’s own material but also introduced other West Coast rap acts, among them J.J. Fad’s debut single. Standout electro tracks from the outfit include “The Dream Team Is in the House” and “Rockberry Jam.” MCA signed the act in 1986, resulting in two albums that failed to achieve strong sales as electro’s brief commercial peak waned, ultimately ending the group’s initial run. Under the DTP name the project reappeared in 1993 with several singles, one of which reworked an earlier success as “Rockberry Revisited.” Chris Wilson later concentrated on video and music production, whereas Rudy Pardee perished in a scuba-diving accident in 1998.