Get Loose Crew

The group was originally formed in Toronto by Chris Jackson, and included Kory Neely, and Len Grant-Stuart as a DJ group called "Def Force III”.{{cite interview |last=Jackson |first=Chris |interviewer=Maloney |title= Chris Jackson Interview: Life Story, Flemingdon Park, Early Toronto Hip-Hop, Concert Hall & MORE! |work=Breaking Wreckords Radio |time= 46:04 |publisher= Breaking Wreckords Radio |location=Toronto |date=February 5, 2023 |url=https://youtube.com/8B_4UtQSR5o?si=FCaNIalxuSu6LPtM&t=2477|access-date=October 1, 2023}} Neely is described as having written catalogs of songs, performed at the lunch table and dances at their junior high school, and became the group's vocalist as MC Shadow after a performance at an underground impromptu rap battle. In a Breaking Wreckords Radio interview, Jackson said the group's name "morphed from Def Force 3 to Get Loose Crew with 2 DJs and 1 MC. Kinda like Doug E. Fresh and The Get Fresh Crew." In 1986, the group changed their name to Get Loose Crew and recorded their first demo tape, Licence to Slice, on August 15, 1986 which received airplay on Ryerson University's radio station CKLN 88.1 published by the Museum of Canadian Music.{{cite web |url=https://citizenfreak.com/artists/95676-get-loose-crew |title=Get Loose Crew |author= |date=16 April 2021 |publisher=Robert Williston |access-date=October 1, 2023|quote= They recorded their first studio demo tape in Aurora, Ontario (August 15, 1986), a song called “Licence to Slice” (written July 26, 1986) and submitted to Ron Nelson’s Saturday afternoon program which received airplay on CKLN.}}

The group created their own independent hip-hop label, East Park Productions, after signing a distribution deal with Electric Distribution.{{cite interview |last=Jackson |first=Chris |interviewer= Daniel Mante |title= #COOLRadio Presents Chris Got-Rocks |time=2:40 |work= www.cfreradio.com |publisher= Cool Radio |location=Toronto |date=14 July 2013 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_YSAjRWeA8&t=160s |access-date=October 1, 2023}} They became the first Canadian rap group to record and release an authentic hip-hop mini-album distributed and sold internationally.{{cite interview |last=Fresh Wes |first=Maestro |subject-link=Maestro Fresh Wes |interviewer=Nardwuar |title= NARDWUAR VS. AIRBOURNE & MAESTRO FRESH WES |work=CITR 101.9 FM |publisher=University of British Columbia |location=Vancouver |date=June 27, 2008 |time=47:40 - 48:50 |quote=Nardwuar - Is this the first Hip Hop record to come out of Canada? Is this before you? Maestro Fresh Wes - Yo, definitely this came out before me.}}{{cite interview |last=Badwa |first=Carl |interviewer=Maloney |title= Don Carlito interview w/ Breaking Wreckords Radio |work=Breaking Wreckords Radio |time= 5:27 - 5:56 |publisher= Breaking Wreckords Radio |location=Toronto |date=8 August 2016 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLGRDMzepTw&t=327s |access-date=October 1, 2023}}{{cite AV media |first= Dr. Francesca |last= D’amico-Cuthbert |date= May 17, 2021 |title= Francesca D'Amico Cuthbert Toronto Hip-Hop & the Music Marketplace |type= podcast |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qA0Flwl8P0&t=452s |access-date= October 1, 2023 |minutes=minutes in= 7:34 |location=Toronto |quote= The rise of independent recording labels such as East Park Productions… generate visibility in and beyond Canada.}}

The Get Loose Crew ranked 5th position in May 1988 on the CHEER Backfield in Motion music chart with the song "Wannabe".{{cite web | url =https://citizenfreak.com/system/photos/images/000/019/203/thumb/X1_-_CHEER_Music_Pool_Chart_May_1988.jpg?1620322104 | title = BACKFIELD IN MOTION – The Contenders | last =Williston | first = Robert | date =May 14, 1988 | publisher = Museum of Canadian Music| access-date = October 1, 2023 }}

DJ Shadow played the Get Loose Crew song "Wannabe" at his "Pushing Buttons" concert Live! In Tune and on Time. The performative opening utilized the lyrics as wordplay among performers DJ Shadow, DJs Chemist and Numark, and was recorded and included in his June 2004 DVD.{{Cite web|url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2004-07-02/218423/|title = DJ Shadow: In Tune and on Time: Live! Album Review}}

Music journalist and interviewer Nardwuar has sought validation of the group's musical accomplishment from other established hip-hop artists during interviews. In a 2008 broadcast with Maestro Fresh Wes, Nardwuar asked if the GLC record was the first one to come out of Canada, and if it was released before he made his own debut. Wes confirmed that the claim was true and acknowledged the accomplishment. Kardinal Offishall also avowed the Get Loose Crew's status in Canadian hip-hop during an interview in 2005 where Nardwuar highlighted their achievements with him.

In 2017, NOW magazine featured a captioned photograph of Nardwuar holding a copy of the album, proclaiming it as "the first Canadian rap record, produced by The Get Loose Crew in 1988."{{cite magazine |last= Lindsay |first=C.|date= December 13, 2017|title= Nardwuar breaks down his best and worst interview moments |url= https://nowtoronto.com/music/features/nardwuars-best-worst-interview-moments |magazine= NOW Magazine |location= Toronto |publisher= Brandon Gonez |access-date=October 1, 2023}}

The Toronto Free Gallery T-Dot Pioneers exhibition in March 2010 explored the history and culture of Toronto hip-hop with a display featuring the Get Loose Crew album{{cite web |url= https://citizenfreak.com/system/photos/images/000/019/207/original/9_-_TDot_Pioneers_Exhibit_-_DJ_Jel_2010_-_1.jpg?1620322104 |title= TDot_Pioneers Exhibit DJ Jel 2010 - 1 |author= |year= 2010 |publisher=Robert Williston |access-date=1 October 2023}} and the Juno award won by Badwa {{cite web |url=https://citizenfreak.com/artists/95676-get-loose-crew |title=Get Loose Crew |author= |date=16 April 2021 |publisher=Robert Williston |access-date=October 1, 2023}} under the solo moniker B-Kool with Simply Majestic.

In 2011, the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) held a Hip-Hop Summit{{cite interview |last=Jackson |first=Chris |interviewer=Maloney |title= Chris Jackson Interview: Life Story, Flemingdon Park, Early Toronto Hip-Hop, Concert Hall & MORE! |time=1:15 |work=Breaking Wreckords Radio |publisher= Breaking Wreckords Radio |location=Toronto |date= 17 January 2016 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo2lHNSQFG4&t=115s |access-date=October 1, 2023}}{{cite interview |last=Jackson |first=Chris |interviewer=Maloney |title= Chris Got Rocks Talks Love, Props and TDot Documentary |time=0:06 |work=Breaking Wreckords Radio |publisher= Breaking Wreckords Radio |location=Toronto |date= 17 January 2016 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo2lHNSQFG4&t=6s |access-date=October 1, 2023}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/revenuegroup/mobile/touch/cbc-celebrates-over-25-years-of-canadian-hip-hop-with-the-hip-hop-summit.html# |title=CBC Hip Hop Summit |access-date=October 1, 2023}} as a follow-up to the T-Dot Pioneers Exhibit, and displayed the group's album during the event,{{cite web |url= https://citizenfreak.com/system/photos/images/000/018/799/original/Glenn_Gould_Studio_Showcase_Get_Loose_Crew_Record_CBC_Hip_Hop_Summit_2011.JPG?1618866647 |title= Glenn Gould Studio Showcase Get Loose Crew Record CBC Hip Hop Summit 2011 |author= |year= 2011 |publisher=Robert Williston |access-date=1 October 2023}} with a brief tribute to the group by summit host and artist Buck 65 during the closing show.

BlogTo’s article "10 most collectible Toronto albums of all time" gave the Get Loose Crew's album an honorable mention, reporting that it was the first Canadian independent rap release to achieve international sales, and featured MC Shadow, the first Canadian white rapper to be recorded, making him second only to the Beastie Boys internationally.{{cite magazine |last=Gillespie |first= Colin |date=September 21, 2014 |title=The top 10 most collectible Toronto albums of all time |url=https://www.blogto.com/music/2014/09/the_top_10_most_collectable_toronto_albums_of_all_time |magazine= blogTo |location=Toronto |publisher=Zoomer Media |access-date=October 1, 2023}}

The Jackman Humanities Institute at the University of Toronto conducted the first-ever academic study in Canada on the history of Toronto hip-hop in 2020. The research project focused on tracing the development of Toronto hip-hop and the challenges faced by practitioners and culture industry professionals from 1985 to 2020. A course called "Hip-Hop Culture" explores both historical and modern contexts. Dr. Francesca D'Amico-Cuthbert,{{cite web |url= https://harthouse.ca/profile/francesca-damico-cuthbert |title= Francesca D'Amico-Cuthbert Profile |last=D'Amico-Cuthbert |first=Dr. Francesca |date= September 1, 2023 |publisher=University of Toronto |access-date=October 1, 2023}}{{cite web |url= https://www.humanstories.ca/blog/coming-up-on-may-17-francesca-damico-cuthbert-toronto-hip-hop-amp-the-music-marketplace |title= Francesca D'Amico-Cuthbert Toronto Hip-Hop & the Music Marketplace |last= Daswani |first= Girish |date=May 17, 2021 |access-date=October 1, 2023}} a post-doctoral fellow at the Jackman Humanities Institute, documented the historical relevance of hip-hop in Canada and proclaimed the Get Loose Crew as "prominent members of Toronto's Hip Hop history and the history of Canada's culture industries."{{cite web |url=https://www.harthouseregistration.ca/Program/GetProgramDetails?courseId=0223e4ba-9f68-418a-b9ff-8e7ac98d6fe5&semesterId=6d2f494c-d1e4-49e1-8939-419be66165a0 |title=Hip Hop Culture |last=D'Amico-Cuthbert |first=Dr. Francesca |date=September 1, 2023 |publisher=University of Toronto |access-date=October 1, 2023}}{{cite web |url=https://harthouse.ca/events/thefirst50/ |title=The First 50: Toronto's Hip Hop Architects |author= |date=September 22, 2023 |publisher=University of Toronto |access-date=October 1, 2023 |quote=the Get Loose Crew became the first Canadian rap group to independently finance, produce and secure distribution of an authentic Hip Hop mini-LP to sell outside Canada.}}

In 2021, the Get Loose Crew was inducted into the Museum of Canadian Music, their contribution to hip-hop as Canadian music artists documented by author and movie director Adam P. Cray{{IMDb name|2026183|Adam P. Cray}} and published by the MOMC. In September 2023, the University of Toronto's Hart House exhibited "The First 50 - Toronto's Hip Hop Architects." recognizing 50 influential figures who built Toronto's hip hop scene, including the Get Loose Crew on the exhibition poster.

In 2024 the group were included in "A Great Day in Toronto Hip Hop",{{Cite web |title='A Great Day in Toronto Hip Hop' A Throwback |url=https://ago.ca/events/great-day-toronto-hip-hop-social |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=Art Gallery of Ontario |language=en}} a black-and-white photograph of 103 key players from the Canadian hip hop scene in Toronto, taken by Patrick Nichols for the Art Gallery of Ontario on August 14, 2024.{{Cite web |date=December 9, 2024 |title=Patrick Nichols on his photographs of Toronto's hip-hop scene |url=https://www.cbc.ca/arts/q/patrick-nichols-on-his-photographs-of-toronto-s-hip-hop-scene-1.7404786 |website=CBC}} In reverence of the iconic 1958 Art Kane photo "A Great Day in Harlem" and the 1998 Gordon Parks photo "A Great Day in Hip Hop", "A Great Day in Toronto Hip Hop" features a collective likeness of MCs, DJs, break-dancers, graffiti artists, producers, promoters, designers and media personalities - together representing three-generations of hip hop culture in Canada - standing on the steps of the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex.{{Cite web |last=Dart |first=Chris |date=December 10, 2024 |title=A massive new exhibition examines hip-hop's impact on the modern world |url=https://www.cbc.ca/arts/a-massive-new-exhibition-examines-hip-hop-s-impact-on-the-modern-world-1.7406310 |website=CBC}}

{{reflist}}

• {{official website|http://getloosecrew.com}}
• {{YouTube|custom=officialRDC|Real Don Carlito}}
• {{IMDb name |2026183 |Adam P. Cray}}

Category:Canadian hip-hop groups

Category:1986 establishments in Canada