Kru-Cut is an American record label formed by Lonzo Williams in 1984 during the formation of his group the World Class Wreckin Cru in hopes of the group gaining a status and being able to make money. The Kru-Cut label struck a label with Macola records to help to distribute music and products of the group. Lonzo a club owner of one of the famous nightclubs in LA called Eve After Dark decided to do his music production within the nightclub because he couldn't afford an expensive studio so he had to his production within the small, dusky studio behind the back of the nightclub.

History

One of the first productions by the group when they were first known as The Wreckin Cru was a song called "Slice" performed by DJ Yella

DJ Yella

DJ Yella is the stage name of Antoine Carraby , a DJ, drummer, music producer, film director and pornographer from Compton, California. He was a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru along with Dr. Dre. He later became a founding member of the pioneering gangsta rap group N.W.A...

 and Cli-n-Tel. The song was very popular among the nightclubers and "Slice" would go on to earn street credibility and would to sell 5,000 copies in LA, which at time was a very amazing achievement in that particular period. 5,000 copies during that early 80s era was considered Ghetto Gold which was quite an achievement for that era.

Inspired by Afrika Bambaataa

Afrika Bambaataa

Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...

 and his influential electro song "Planet Rock

Planet Rock (song)

"Planet Rock" is a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force. In the background and hooks featured Marvella Murray, Yvette Murray, Melissa Johnson and Sandra Wheeler. Although it was only a minor hit in the US, Canada, and UK, it helped change the foundations of hip-hop and dance music...

" and the whole electro period on the East Coast and also seeing what the underground rappers on the West Coast such as Egyptian Lover

Egyptian Lover

Greg Broussard , better known by his stage name Egyptian Lover is an American musician, vocalist, producer and DJ, and was an important part of the L.A. dance music and rap scene in the early 1980s....

 and LA Dream Team

LA Dream Team

The LA Dream Team were a hip hop group based in Los Angeles, California, active 1985-1989, 1993, and 1996. They are known for being one of the early hip hop acts on the West Coast and one of the pioneers of the West Coast electro hop scene.-History:...

 were doing Lonzo decided to fuse the electronic

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 sound into their sound. The songs "Surgery" and "Juice" were very popular 12 inch street records and exemplified music elements of Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...

. Those singles lured Lonzo to do an album which eventually became World Class

World Class

World Class is the first EP recorded and produced by the LA electro-hop group World Class Wreckin' Cru. It was released in 1985 under the Kru-Cut record label. Songs on the album included "Juice" and "Surgery", which were popular singles on the underground West Coast scene.The album cover was used...

.

The World Class album would gain cult status on the underground West Coast hip hop

West Coast hip hop

West Coast hip hop is a hip hop music subgenre that encompasses any artists or music that originates in the westernmost region of the United States, as opposed to East Coast hip hop, based originally in New York alone...

 scene and helped to define electro hop and the World Class Wreckin Cru became one of the most popular hip-hop groups on the West Coast

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

. Although the group and the album attained cult status unfortunately they would never reach huge mainstream popularity and the album is virtually unknown to this day.

Macola records would drop Kru-Cut because the record label felt they were taking a huge risk on the group and Macola records were not a steady, well connected record label. This led to Lonzo striking a deal with Epic records

Epic Records

Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

 to distribute Kru-Cut music. Cil-n-tel would leave the group after the group signed the deal with Epic records this led to Lonzo replacing Cil-n-tel with Shakespeare which led to their last album Rapped in Romance

Rapped in Romance

Rapped in Romance is the final album from the World Class Wreckin' Cru released under the Epic record label in 1986. Cli-N-Tel left the group during the fall of 1985 which led to Lonzo recruiting Shakespeare to join the group....

which gained cult appeal but was less popular than World Class which forced Macola records to distribute their material. Also around this time Lonzo and Dre began producing for Ice Cube

Ice Cube

O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...

 and Sir Jinx

Sir Jinx

Sir Jinx, born Anthony Wheaton, is an American hip-hop record producer and rapper from South Central Los Angeles, California.-Beginnings:...

 Dre's cousin who at time were in the Cru in Action.

Dr Dre and Yella would leave the group in fall of 1986 over something which they called unfair contracts and lack of payment of money so they sought an opportunity with Eazy E and eventually became NWA. Lonzo would continue on with a new group World Class Wreckin Kru along with forming a new record label called Techno Kut records. Also Lonzo enjoyed moderate mainstream success with "Turn Off The Lights" featuring Dr Dres ex-wife Michel'le

Michel'le

Michel'le Toussant better known as Michel'le, is an American R&B singer-songwriter known for her squeaky, child-like speaking voice, which is a startling contrast to her strong vocals.-Career:...

.

Techno Kut records was an extension of Kru-Cut with collaboration from Unknown DJ and led to Lonzo Williams to recruiting hip-hop talent such as DJ Battlecat, The Mistress

The Mistress

The Mistress is a British sitcom that aired on BBC2 from 1985 to 1987. Starring Felicity Kendal and Jane Asher, it was written by Carla Lane....

, Professor X

Professor X

Professor Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero known as the leader and founder of the X-Men....

 and a few others. Professor X typified the Techno

Techno

Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...

 sound pioneered by Juan Atkins

Juan Atkins

Juan Atkins is an American musician. He is widely credited as the originator of techno music, specifically Detroit techno along with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson...

 and his records became relatively well-liked and profitable which led to the birth of the ghettotech

Ghettotech

Ghettotech or Detroit club music is a form of electronic dance music originating from Detroit. It combines elements of Chicago's ghetto house with electro, hip hop, techno, and grafts the perceived raunch of Miami Bass as the vocal stamp of the music. It is usually faster than most other dance...

 and electroclash

Electroclash

Electroclash is a style of music that fuses New Wave and electronic dance music. It emerged in New York and Detroit in the later 1990s, pioneered by acts including I-F and those associated with Gerald Donald, and is associated with acts including Peaches, Adult, and Fischerspooner...

movement which is something Professor X is not crediting for starting making him underrated and unappericated.

Kru-Cut

• Yella and Cli-N-Tel - "Slice" (12") (1984)
• World Class Wreckin Cru - "Surgery" (12") (1984)
• World Class Wreckin Cru - "Juice" (12") (1985)
• World Class Wreckin Cru - "World Class" (LP) (1985)
• World Class Wreckin Cru - "Bust It Up" (12") (1985)
• World Class Wreckin Cru - "Turn Off the Lights" (12") (1987)
• B-Boy Rage and Bedrock Posse - "Mo Bounce to 40 Oz" (12") (1987)
• C.I.A - "My Posse" (12") (1987)
• DJ Battery Brain - "World Class Mega Mix 89 "(12") (1989)
• Vanilla C - "Him Nor You/Enough Bass" (12") (1989)
• Quicksand - "Quicksand" (12") (1989)
• Sound Control Mob - "Compton Compilation" (12") (1989)

Techno Kut

• Unknown DJ - "Breakdown" (12") (1988)
• Unknown DJ and DJ Slip - "X-Men" (12") (1988)
• DJ Battlecat - "DJ-N-Effect" - (12") (1988)
• Unknown DJ and DJ Slip - "Revenge of the X-Men" (12") (1988)
• The Mistress - "Let It Go" (12") (1988)
• E.V.I.A.N and The Atlantis Posse - "Techno City" (12") (1988)
• Unknown DJ - "Basstronic" (12") (1988)
• Lonzo and World Class Wreckin Kru - "Turn Off the Lights in the Fast Line" (LP) (1988)
• The Mistress and DJ Madame E - "I Got Your Wild Thang" (12") (1989)
• Professor X - "Professor X Saga" (12") (1989)
• The Mistress and DJ Madame E - "Mic Jack" (12") (1989)
• The Mistress and DJ Madame E - "Leather and Lace" (LP) (1989)
• Unknown DJ - "Unknown's House Album" (LP) (1990)

http://www.westcoastpioneers.com/labels/kru-cut.html