T La Rock

T la Rock, the elder brother of Treacherous Three member Special K, delivered his most enduring hip-hop statement with the 1984 single “It’s Yours,” crafted under Rick Rubin’s production. The track had originally been slated for Special K, yet the siblings, who co-wrote the piece, ultimately agreed that T la Rock should perform it. Though frequently cited as Def Jam’s inaugural release, the record actually appeared on Partytime/Streetwise, its jacket carrying only an early Def Jam logo. Subsequent full-length projects found T la Rock on Fresh for 1987’s Lyrical King and on Sleeping Bag for 1989’s On a Warpath, with Kurtis Mantronik shaping beats for the first album and Todd Terry contributing to the second.