Mantronix

Mantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro music group from New York City. The band was formed by DJ Kurtis Mantronik (Kurtis el Khaleel) and rapper MC Tee (Touré Embden). The group is primarily remembered for its pioneering blend of old‑school hip-hop, electronic and club music, influencing the development of hip-hop, contemporary R&B, new jack swing and electronic dance music as well as popularizing the Amen break. They underwent several genre and line-up changes during its seven-year existence between 1984 and 1991, and released five albums beginning with their 1985 debut The Album.

Early years

Kurtis Mantronik (Kurtis el Khaleel), a Jamaican-American émigré, began experimenting with electro music in the early 1980s, inspired by early electro tracks like "Riot in Lagos" (1980) by Yellow Magic Orchestra's Ryuichi Sakamoto. In 1984, while working as the in-store DJ for Downtown Records in Manhattan, Kurtis Mantronik met MC Tee, a Haitian-born, Flatbush, Brooklyn-based rapper (and regular record store customer).^[1]^[2] The duo soon made a demo, "Fresh Is The Word," and eventually signed with William Socolov's Sleeping Bag Records.^[3]

King of the Beats

The 1988 Mantronix track "King of the Beats" was one of the first songs to sample the Amen break. The track made extensive use of the break "in a fresh way" according to The Economist, stating "segments from the loop were chopped up, layered and processed so that the drums became central to the track rather than simply a rhythmic bedding." The track played a key role in popularizing the Amen break.^[4]

"King of the Beats" itself became one of the most sampled songs in music history. It has been sampled hundreds of times, rivaling that of "Amen, Brother" itself.^[5]

References

↑ "When Recorded Hip-hop was in its Infancy, One Man was Responsible for Really Pushing the Sonic Envelope. It's Been Far from Plain Sailing Since, But the Mantronix Legacy will Run Forever". cheebadesign.com (original article printed in Hip Hop Connection Magazine). July 2002. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved 2006-10-17.
↑ Chin, Brian (1986). "Mantronix Makes Inroads in British Pop – But Black Duo Still Waiting for a U.S. Hit". cheebadesign.com (original article printed in Billboard Magazine). Archived from the original on November 2, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
↑ Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 209/210. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.
↑ "Seven seconds of fire". The Economist. December 17, 2011. Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
↑ "King of the Beats: 5 Songs sample Mantronix hit". MN2S. May 25, 2016.

This short article about the United States can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.

[When_Recorded_Hip-hop_was_in_its_Infancy,_One_Man_was_Responsible_for_Really_Pushing_the_Sonic_Envelope._It's_Been_Far_from_Plain_Sailing_Since,_But_the_Mantronix_Legacy_will_Run_Forever-1] "When Recorded Hip-hop was in its Infancy, One Man was Responsible for Really Pushing the Sonic Envelope. It's Been Far from Plain Sailing Since, But the Mantronix Legacy will Run Forever". cheebadesign.com (original article printed in Hip Hop Connection Magazine). July 2002. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved 2006-10-17.

[Mantronix_Makes_Inroads_In_British_Pop_-_But_Black_Duo_Still_Waiting_For_A_U.S._Hit-2] Chin, Brian (1986). "Mantronix Makes Inroads in British Pop – But Black Duo Still Waiting for a U.S. Hit". cheebadesign.com (original article printed in Billboard Magazine). Archived from the original on November 2, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-16.

[LarkinDM-3] Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 209/210. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.

[4] "Seven seconds of fire". The Economist. December 17, 2011. Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 17 March 2025.

[mn2s-5] "King of the Beats: 5 Songs sample Mantronix hit". MN2S. May 25, 2016.

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