Easy A.D.

Easy A.D. is a Hip Hop music artist and founding member of the Cold Crush Brothers who established his presence in the culture of Hip Hop when he wrote his first rhyme in 1976 in the South Bronx, New York.
History
Easy A.D., a product of the “Boogie-Down-Bronx,”, was born in Fordham Hospital. He attended public school in the South Bronx at Public School 157, Public School 50, and Junior High School 136. A.D. also became a member of the local Boys Club on Hoe Avenue. The Boys Club shaped A.D. as a person by engaging him in a blurring array of activities including basketball, which he excelled in. For high school A.D. attended South Bronx High School instead for its small class size and diverse curriculum. Upon graduation, A.D. completed two years of study at Lehman College majoring in Business Administration, taking his leadership skills developed during his youth to a honed, professional level.
At South Bronx High School, A.D., was the point guard on the varsity South Bronx High School Basketball team becoming the first team to make it to the PSAL playoffs during its first year in league competition. A.D. was voted Captain of the basketball team and began writing rhymes. One of the staff at the Boys Club, A.D., and a friend, Donald D, decided to form a group called the As Salaam Brothers. The group was composed of two DJs, DJ Rasheed and DJ Stephanie, and three emcees Easy A.D., Donald D, and Frank Nitty. The group began playing local block parties in the Lambert Houses, the Dixie Club, the Boys and Girls Club, and local house parties.
The group disbanded in the summer of 1977. Soon thereafter, A.D. tried out for another group, the Funk Machine led by DJ Afrika Islam, along with Donald D, his MC partner. At the tryout, Donald D made the cut; A.D. didn’t. During the next year, A.D. wrote rhymes and attended shows to watch others perform. Then, he met DJ Tony Tone, who was putting together a group called the “Cold Crush Brothers.” A.D. told Tony that he was an “MC.” Without question, Tony responded, “you’re down.” And from that point on, they were down together. The inception of the Cold Crush Brothers started with force - the group began making history. The original line-up of the Cold Crush Brothers was composed of two DJs, The Original DJ Tony Tone and DJ Charlie Chase, and four emcees: Easy A.D., Mr. T-Bone, Dotarock, and Whipper Whip. The group remained together for about 3 - 6 months.
Soon thereafter, Whipper Whip and Dotarock chose to move on to a more established group: Grand Wizard Theodore, and the Fantastic Five MCs. The new Cold Crush Brothers included Supreme Easy A.D., the Original DJ Tony Tone, DJ Charlie Chase with three new emcees Jerry D. Lewis., Grandmaster Caz, and Almighty Kay-Gee. This is the group configuration that became the “history makers” - the “ground breakers.” The Legendary Cold Crush Brothers!
The Cold Crush Brothers are considered trailblazers for their appearance in the first Hip Hop movie, Wild Style, which was released in the early 80s. Wild Style featured graffiti, breakdancing and the art of MC’ing and DJ’ing on film for the first time ever, contributing to their legendary status. The Cold Crush Brothers most successful Cold Crush single to date is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNM314u-Qos "Fresh, Wild, Fly & Bold"], released in 1984, which sold 16,000 units in its first week of release back in the early 80's that was a big deal.
The Cold Crush Brothers appeared on singles with Blastmaster KRS-One, Chuck D of the world acclaimed Public Enemy, and Doug E. Fresh, “The World’s Greatest Entertainer.” The Cold Crush Brothers are known for their epic battles with Fantastic Five Emcees in the world famous Harlem World Entertainment Complex in the 80s. The Cold Crush Brothers was the first Hip Hop group to rock stages abroad, taking its high-energy stage show to Japan in the middle 80s. A.D. also toured with Afrika Bambaatta and the Soulsonic Force during 1987 and 1988. The Cold Crush Brothers’ strong rhymes and melodies, along with the influence the group has had on Hip Hop culture, is sufficient reason for it to be deemed the “Rolling Stones” of Hip Hop culture.
The Cold Crush Brothers have performed at diverse venues domestic and abroad including Madison Square Garden, Roseland, Harlem World Entertainment Complex, the Savoy Manor, Central Park Summerstage, and the Brooklyn Museum to name a few. The group has had co-performances with such notables as Doug E Fresh, , LL Cool J, Run DMC, KRS-One, Luke, DJ Kid Capri, DJ Red Alert, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, The Sugarhill Gang, Big Daddy Kane, Jay-Z, The Roots, Fat Joe, Biz Markie, Funkmaster Flex, Ice T., The Treacherous Three, Bone Thugs ‘N’ Harmony, New Edition, Kurtis Blow, The Force MC’s, De La Soul, - Wu Tang Clan, Rakim, , Whodini, and a host of others. The Cold Crush Brother’s movie and television appearances include Wild Style - the first Hip Hop movie, Live @ Five, MTV, Metro Live and Russell Simmons’ One World Music Beat. The group has also been covered in numerous magazines including the Source, Vibe, and XXL.
As an innovator and historical resource in the culture of Hip Hop, during the Cold Crush Brothers tours other artists and friends of A.D. would seek his knowledgeable insight and first hand accounts of the beginnings of Hip Hop as an art form, culture, and socioeconomic way of life. In 1999, A.D. partnered with KRS-One, a close friend, to assist with the creation of “The Temple of Hip Hop.” The Temple of Hip Hop began as a Hip Hop preservation society and urban ministry focused upon the cultural expansion and spiritual development of Hip Hop. Since our beginning in 1996, our existence has served as an actual balancing force within Hip Hop’s cultural image in world history. KRS-One’s special project consisted of a shared passion, providing college lecture tours designed to stimulate discourse on the history of Hip Hop culture in academia. During this time A.D. was totally immersed in educating youth on healthy living and culture. He successfully provided similar opportunities as were afforded to him during his childhood to uplift and edutain the next generations. As a quiet master of youth-to-adult communication A.D. is committed to providing young people with a safe haven for social maturation and personal development.
Robinson Youth Center, A.D. transitioned to his next youth initiatives, serving as the Coordinating Manager of the Hip Hop Stroke Intervention Program at Harlem Hospital, Hip Hop H.E.A.L.S. (Healthy Eating and Learning in Schools), and presiding as the Director of Hip Hop Educational Programming for the non-profit Hip Hop Public Health. A.D. utilizes his vast expertise in educating young people through the multifaceted elements of Hip Hop culture. Understanding the science behind education, the value of differentiated instruction, and the theory of multiple intelligences proving everybody learns differently. A.D. advises and works with a clinical team to recruit other Hip Hop pioneers to conduct high energy, interactive, healthy edutainment presentations at schools for 3rd through 6th grade students on stroke prevention techniques. The stroke program was moved to Columbia University Medical Center, where A.D. embraced the position of Research Coordinator in the Stroke Division, Neurological Institute at Columbia University.
Most recently, A.D. has embarked upon the development of an exciting initiative whose properties include Cold Crush Brothers.com, Hip Hop Healthy Edutainment. LLC, and Easy AD Cold Crush Brothers.com. These sensational projects are the result of over 30 years of A.D.’s accumulated experience, broad-based professional relationships, finely honed business acumen, and collection of treasured Hip Hop artifacts preserved in their original form. Easy A.D. also lends his expertise as a celebrity tour guide for the [https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60763-d556040-r309991712-Hush_Hip_Hop_Tours-New_York_City_New_York.html#photos;geo60763&detail556040&ff148698184&albumViewModehero&albumid103&baseMediaId148698184&thumbnailMinWidth50&cnt30&offset-1&filter7 Hip Hop Hush Tours] throughout New York City.
Easy A.D. spreads the history of Hip-Hop culture throughout the world through his current business ventures which focuses on the four basic elements of Hip Hop: DJ’ing, Emceeing, Breakdancing, and Graffiti with the inclusion of Beatboxing, Entrepreneurship, Health, Literacy, and Hip Hop Fashion. Easy A.D. is undoubtedly a true renaissance man: a musician, an entrepreneur, a health professional, a community activist, and a guardian of our future, the youth because their success is our success. To ensure this Easy A.D. will continue to lecture and tour as he becomes a Hip Hop history professor at a prestigious university in the near future.
Hip Hop Pioneer
As an original member of the Legendary Cold Crush Brothers Supreme Easy A.D. is a trailblazing pioneer of Hip Hop as an emcee with countless awards and performances in diverse venues domestic and abroad. On stage A.D has been performing for audiences in since 1976. Off the stage A.D. encapsulates a keen musical ear and entrepreneurial genius that catapulted the success of the Cold Crush Brothers. were the first to combine Hip Hop and Rock breaking the color barrier in Hip Hop, the first to provide the opportunity for collaboration between an independent label and major company, and were featured in the first Hip Hop movie ever made, Wild Style. The most successful Cold Crush single to date is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNM314u-Qos "Fresh, Wild, Fly & Bold"], released in 1984, which sold 16,000 units in its first week of release back in the early 80's that was a big deal. It was A.D.’s idea to have Tapemaster Elvis Moreno record all of their shows live, with high quality audio engineered with perfection, to ensure that duplication on cassette tape would still sound crystal clear. The clarity of the tape recording provided a virtual experience bringing the true essence of the party and Hip Hop culture to life for the listener allowing them to feel as if they were in attendance at the performances of the Cold Crush Brothers. In later years A.D. added video recording to further document the live Hip Hop experience. This marketing strategy, the brainchild of A.D., enabled their music to be distributed worldwide including to the armed forces around the world, which led them to be the first Hip Hop group to tour in Japan and Europe. These historical appearances have been preserved through A.D.’s vast collection of treasured Hip Hop artifacts in their original form which have been on exhibit at the LA Grammy Museum, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Bronx Museum, Harlem YMCA Aaron Douglass Room, the Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington, and most recently, the . As a Hip Hop veteran, A.D. continues to preserve the history and culture of Hip Hop through several business ventures and he mentors young people to help mold the next generations of Hip Hop. In most recent years, Easy A.D. lends his expertise as a celebrity judge for Hip Hop competitions, celebrity tour guide for the Hip Hop Hush Tours throughout New York City, and as a keynote speaker and lecturer for colleges and universities throughout the United States and abroad. A.D.'s speaking engagements and appearances include but are not limited to K-12 public schools, Boston College, and the New Haven Hip Hop Conference held at Southern Connecticut State University and Neighborhood Music School in collaboration with the International Festival of Arts and Ideas.
Hip Hop Health Ambassador
Easy A.D. is a Public Health advocate who educates the students on healthy living and making healthy choices by using the power of the culture of Hip Hop. A.D.’s programs offer students a more exciting way to learn about health education. He shows the students that you can be healthy and cool at the same time. Currently, A.D. is the Coordinating Manager of Hip Hop H.E.A.L.S. (Healthy Eating and Learning in Schools), an obesity program at Harlem Hospital which focuses on calorie literacy, the Director of Hip Hop Educational Programming for the non-profit Hip Hop Public Health, and the . A.D. is also the founder of Hip Hop Healthy Edutainment, LLC.
Hip Hop Lecturer and Historian
Born, raised, and educated in the South Bronx, Easy A.D. was present during and lectures about it. As an emcee since the 1970’s, A.D. is a founding member of the history making, groundbreaking, Legendary Cold Crush Brothers; the first Hip Hop group to rock stages abroad in addition to being featured in the first Hip Hop movie Wild Style. Very few can match A.D’s knowledgeable insight and first-hand accounts of the beginnings of Hip Hop as an art form, culture, and socioeconomic way of life. In the late 1990’s A.D. partnered with KRS-One to assist with the creation of “The Temple of Hip Hop” which provided college lecture tours designed to stimulate discourse on the history of Hip Hop culture in academia. During his lectures, A.D. shares pieces from his collection of treasured Hip Hop artifacts preserved in their original form. Easy A.D. also lends his expertise as a celebrity tour guide for the Hip Hop Hush Tours throughout New York City. Currently, A.D. is the Coordinating Manager of the Hip Hop Stroke Intervention Program at Harlem Hospital, Education Director of Hip Hop H.E.A.L.S. (Healthy Eating and Learning in Schools), presiding as Director of Health Education for the non-profit Hip Hop Public Health, and Research Coordinator in the Stroke Division of the Neurological Institute at Columbia University.Easy A.D. will continue to lecture and tour as he becomes a Hip Hop history professor at a prestigious university in the near future.
Discography
* The Weekend (1981)
* Fresh, Wild, Fly, and Bold Instrumental Dub (1984)
* Fresh, Wild, Fly, and Bold with Lyrics (1984)
* Punk Rock Rap (1983)
* HeartBreakers (1984)
* Throwdown Featuring Cold Crush Brothers and KRS-ONE
* Number One With The Fun (1984)
* BasketBall Throwdown from the Wild Style Movie Soundtrack (Disc 1 Track 3) - http://www.allmusic.com/album/wild-style-original-soundtrack-mw0001597840
* Cold Crush Brothers Live at the Dixie (Ampitheatre) from the Wild Style Movie Soundtrack (Disc 1 Track 6) - http://www.allmusic.com/album/wild-style-original-soundtrack-mw0001597840
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Filmography
* BBC Documentary - Hip Hop A Street History
* Wild Style
Awards
Music Videos
* Go, Slow, Whoa Featuring Easy A.D. and Chuck D - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nVVR0L7RHM
* Hip Hop Anthem Featuring Easy A.D. - http://hhph.org/media-hub/videos/
Live Performances

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See Also

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