Downstairs Productions

downstairs productions 1982-1989

Joe Cool
Triple Crush
Master Rocker Kid Finesse & DJ Fonzo
Courtney Counts
L. Spencer G.
T-Love & Will Ice
Floyd Civers
Lady Dominators
Ron Dover
Majesty
Smoov Matty Matt
Happy Hap
Gabby G
MC Muhammad
MC Adolescent
Manny D & Lock Ski
Star
Selita
Boom Boyz
Crucial Creativity
The Black List
I-Rock
Shabazz
Bassmobile
John Shaft
South Atlanta Crew
Basic Concern
Threat 2 Society

This is the unit I used to record all of the demo recordings at Downstairs Productions. With a Teac 3 mixer, digital delay, reverb unit and a small compressor, I recorded the first generation of Atlanta rap artists, many who cut their first demos at Downstairs Productions.

Sometimes, I would take my 4-track demos to work at WSB-TV to listen to my mixes on the JBL 4212 speakers. One day, co-worker Ron Johnson, who also went to the same High School I went to -- Woodlands High School in Hartsdale, NY-- was passing by the audio room and asked what I was listening to. It was the original demo of Joe Cool, then a 10th grader at Druid Hills HS from Decatur, GA. He liked the demo & eventually we joined forces and started World Premiere Records in 1986.

At one time I had every drum machine made by Roland. The 808, the 909, the 626, 505, 707 as well as the Yamaha RX5, the Oberheim DX and my 'go to' keyboard the Casio CZ-1000.

Whenever I got any extra cash, I would head to the music store or check out the pawn shops to see what types of deals I could find; maybe, buy another piece of equipment, a drum machine or a used keyboard.

A visitor to the studio making a beat on the Oberheim DX drum machine. Downstairs Productions circa 1985

My first computer was the Commodore 64. In 1985, I used it as a MIDI sequencer for the keyboards / drum machines and stored the sequences on 5" floppy discs.

World Premiere Records 1986-1990

1988 was the year I bought an SP-1200!! I sold my TR-909 to Charles Jr of Charles Jr Records and sold my TR-808 to the legendary ATL mixtape DJ & owner of "The J Shop", King Edward J and put the rest on the credit card!!!

The drum machine I used for Joe Cool "That's what I do at night"

Recorded Oct 1986 @ Sound Lab Recording Studio

For a few years, Club Phoenix was the hottest club in the ATL, until according to legend, a fight broke out on the second floor, and a bystander was thrown from the second floor balcony.... (that's what I heard, I wasn't there that night...) photo by Brian Lassiter 1989

Recorded on 8 track at 2560 Recording studio in 1987. Also, during the same time D-Rock & Swift C were using my TR-909 for the ATL classic jam "Who Rocks". DJ Fonzo programmed the beat. D-Rock & Swift C would record from 5-9pm, then myself, Finesse & Fonzo would record from 9pm -midnite. Then I had to turn around and be at work at WSB at 4:45am to do audio for the morning newscast.

I used the TR-909 on the Kid Finesse & DJ Fonzo release

" I got my chance now" was the first beat I ever programmed on the SP-1200 back in 1987 using Sammy Knox's machine at his home studio, mixed down to 2 tracks, then cut the vocals, scratches, bassline & effects @ 2560 Studios near Greenbriar Mall on the 8 track Otari with session engineer, my man Eddie Irons. Mastered at Sound Impressions & pressed at Dixie Record Pressing in Nashville, TN--Released 1987 - WP4002

Distributed by World Premiere Records--1988

Contact sheet from the Rap Concert @ The Cobb County Civic Center--featuring Triple Crush, Grandwizard J-1, Raheem The Dream--Summer 1987

An ATL Classic--representing "Money Makin' Martel" Homes--Distributed by World Premiere Records --1987

Distributed by World Premiere Records --1987

Promo flyer for NRG--photo by Brian Lassiter, on Candler Rd. Decatur, GA 1988

The second pressing of "Let's Dance" b/w "The Groove". Released by Survivor Records - Miami, FL - 1989

I sampled the horn riff for "Let's Dance"

Flyer for the Rap Concert at the Omni--Triple Crush opened the show, I missed the show because I was working weekends at WSB-TV--1988

The first pressing of "The Groove" -- another Downstairs Production. Recorded & Mixed at 2560.

I sampled the guitar riff for "The Groove"

"Rappin for our Future" sponsored by the SCLC 1986.

Triple Crush & DJ Kev -- 1987

We recorded "Let's Dance & The Groove" on the MCI 24 track. Until that time, 2560 was an 8 track studio with the Otari half inch reels.

ADW --Tripplex & Scratch Master B were a part of NRG, then spun off and formed their own group - representing ATL hip-hop circa 1990

One of the first records I got paid to promote to retail stores & DJ's in metro Atlanta. I had boxes of vinyl in the trunk.

Kid Finesse started out rapping with MC Shy D, when Shy D got his record deal, Finesse was forgotten until Downstairs Productions recorded his original demos & World Premiere Records released his 5-song record in 1987.

Third World Enterprises had (12) stores at the peak of their business. These were the real 'hood' locations that used to sell lots of rap product back in the 1980's

Between 1988-1989, I worked with Aaron Fuchs of Tuff City Records. Tuff City put out so much product, you could barely keep up. This one became a hip-hop classic. After I got the box, listened to it 1-time, the first place I took this record to was to The J Shop at the original Fayetteville Road location.

The first rap album by an Atlanta artist; before this release-- on Luke Skywalker Records of Miami-- ATL had only 12" singles. This groundbreaking release gave the entire music scene confidence that things were growing rapidly. DJ Man from Decatur did most of the production work.

3 Da Hard Way -- first pressing -- Noontime Records--Distributed by World Premiere Records 1989

The original 8 x 10 promo photo of "3 Tha Hard Way" before they changed the name of the group to -- Hard Knocks - 1989

The Wild Pitch Records release. Every song on this compact disc is classic 1990's hip-hop. Thomas 'Zulu' Simmons & Grandwizard J-1 did an incredible production job on this project.

PYRAMID RECORDS GROUP 1993-1995

Lords of Lyrics (L.O.L) from Inglewood, CA. Marketed & Distributed by Pyramid Records Group-1994. Classic West Coast G-Funk.

Out of Akron, OH--Joint Mobb was on Little e Records. Midwest rap released 1996. Distributed by Pyramid Records Group

From Philly, Ital Tha Ruffian came to me from my man Tab Edwards, owner of Kixx Records.

He also published the Street Buzz Magazine. Hip-Hop reggae vibe, marketed and distributed by Pyramid Records Group-released 1995.

Promotional flyer from 1994--We used to burn up Kinkos for all of our flyers--

mixworld -- representing DJ's & remixers 1995 - 1999

Mixworld was started to promote DJ's who were breaking all of the new music
DJ Lil Les - Nashville, TN
DJ Nite - Nashville, TN
DJ Tommy Fixx - ATL
DJ Jelly & MC Assault - ATL
DJ Tat Money - Philly
DJ Tony Touch - NYC
DJ Sol Messiah - ATL
DJ Screw - Houston
DJ Chubby Chubb - NYC
DJ Wood - Indianapolis
Rad & Quik - Cleveland
DJ 2nd Nature - Savannah
Selecta Bam Bam - NYC
DJ Ron G - NYC
DJ Kosmic Kev - Philly
Jam Pony - FL
DJ Quik - TN
DJ D-Demo-NYC
Beltway 8 - TX
DJ KutThroat - ATL
DJ Rasta Root - ATL

DJ Tony Touch - 50 MC's mixtape was a groundbreaking concept which Mixworld distributed in the Southeast.

This is the unit we used to make "pause tapes" with way back in the days.

DJ Jelly -- one of the key figures in the development of Dirty South DJ culture & mixtapes.

DJ Screw -- the creator of 'chopped & screwed' music / mixtapes;

Lady DJ at the original location of The J Shop on Fayetteville Rd in Decatur, GA back in the days, circa 1989 (check out the double cassette machines..) photo by Brian Lassiter-1989

One of the most creative promotional items created to promote a rap record circa 1996 by DJ Powerlord. The sticker instructs people to call the numbers on the sticker, if they see Sammy Sam. The phone numbers were the (2) Atlanta radio stations, at that time; Mixworld printed 10,000 -- 8 x 10 stickers. They were all over the city; telephone poles, dumpsters, mailboxes, bus stops, gas stations.....it took a while before people figured it out....but the buzz the stickers created -- priceless....

Third World Records on Cascade Rd circa 1989--Check out the 45's on the wall--Third World Records used to sell tons of independent ATL music years before "The ATL" went global--photo by Brian Lassiter 1989

before downstairs productions 1970-1980

"The Fellas" 1973 in the front yard before a show. Isaac 'Twig' Hughes-bass, Darryl 'Monk' Hughes-bongos, Sammy 'Rock' Sawyer-road manager, Brian 'Lass' Lassiter -guitar. You had to wear a bow tie!!

"The Fellas" circa 1974 -- Front row (L to R)--Walter Dandridge- drums, Keith Beamon -Alto Sax. Back row (L to R)--Brian Lassiter-guitar, Joey Crafton - piano, Darryl Hughes- congas, Isaac Hughes-bass.

Howard University Talent Show - "Men About Town" - October1976 --Freshman year.

My first guitar -- a Norma, Japanese knock-off - was a Christmas gift in 1971. After lowering the bridge, changing the strings, filing down the frets, it sounded pretty good for a $29.00 guitar!!

I learned my jazz guitar chords from this book---Paid $2.00 @ Sam Ash Music in White Plains, New York. Circa 1973.

At Left, WHUR-FM Radio DJ Robin Holden. What a voice, she is a true 'Unsung' of Black Radio!!

This Grundig radio had AM/FM & 3 shortwave radio bandwidths. Used to listen to WWRL, WLIB, WBLS, WNJR, WRVR and even get "Rhythm King" from Norwalk, Connecticut.

howard university 1976 - 1980

As a film/broadcasting/journalism student I had (4) classes with Hailie Gerima. Hailie turned me on to Oscar Micheaux, Ousmane Sembene, Donald Bogle, Paul Robeson and introduced me to Dorothy Butler Gilliam, author of "Paul Robeson All-American" in 1978.

Samuel F. Yette was my Journalism 101 professor. He wrote "The Choice: The Issue of Black Survival in America". As a professor, Mr Yette was a stickler for clarity and challenged students to write concise sentences.

Wallace Terry, one of my Journalism professors at Howard University. At the time, he was still working on his book "Bloods: Oral History of the Black Soldier in Vietnam".

In 1979, I met Gordon Parks at Howard when he was signing books in the brand new Blackburn Student Center.