Biography

With an obvious stylistic debt to fellow New York, USA white rappers the Beastie Boys, the Lordz Of Brooklyn emerged in 1995 with an impressive debut album, All In The Family. There were several features to distinguish the group - their Italian heritage and lyrics which betrayed a passion for the 50s rather than 90s gang culture. Their name was chosen deliberately to reflect their territorial devotion to Brooklyn, with nearly all their songs offering everyday narratives attributed to growing up in the area. A quintet of lead rapper Kaves (b. Mike McLeer), brother and producer AdMoney aka ADM (b. Adam McLeer), Scotty Edge, Dino Bottz and Paulie 2Times, their debut single, ‘Saturday Nite Fever’, typified the album’s approach. Borrowing from both the Robert De Niro and Quentin Tarantino school of urban cinema, ‘Saturday Nite Fever’ used a sample of the Bee Gees’ ‘Staying Alive’ (as well as a more traditional rap staple, Schoolly D’s similarly named ‘Saturday Night’). The gritty simplicity of their collages of second-generation immigrant working class life were bolstered by a rough but effective musical delivery akin to DJ Muggs’ work with Cypress Hill or Everlast with House Of Pain. Kaves, a renowned graffiti artist, had previously acted as warm up man for the latter group, and the Lordz Of Brooklyn went on to collaborate with Everlast on a number of projects. The vinyl EP The Lordz Of Brooklyn Meet Bumpy Knuckles was released in 2000 via the group’s own Landspeed Records label. By the early 00s, the McLeer brothers were the only remaining original members, and began to steer the group in a more rock-orientated direction. The 2003 album Graffiti Roc compiled a number of recent releases and was notable for featuring live instrumentation. The McLeers changed the group’s name to the Lordz for the release of 2006’s The Brooklyn Way.