Fu-Schnickens was an American hip-hop trio. Similar to Das EFX

Das EFX

Das EFX is an American hip hop duo. It consists of emcees Skoob and Dray...

 for their cartoonish lyrics and near-constant allusions to pop culture staples, they were the first Hip Hop artists to rap in backwards fashion. The Fu-Schnickens' popularity was brief but significant in hip hop history. Their best known track is 1993

1993 in music

This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....

's "What's Up Doc? (Can We Rock)," featuring basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 star Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...

.

Career

The Fu-Schnickens comprised Chip Fu (Roderick Roachford), Moc Fu (Joe Jones), and Poc Fu (Lennox Maturine). "Fu" stood for "For Unity" and "Schnicken" was a made-up word which meant "coalition". The three friends from East Flatbush, Brooklyn

East Flatbush, Brooklyn

East Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 17 Though the borders of East Flatbush are highly subjective, its northern border is roughly at Empire Boulevard and East New York Avenue east of East 91st Street, its southern...

 first gained attention after performing at a rap event at Howard University

Howard University

Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...

, after which they were signed by Jive Records

Jive Records

Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

. The group's debut single, "Ring the Alarm," hit the top ten on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Hot Rap Tracks

Hot Rap Tracks

Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single...

 chart in 1992, which sparking anticipation for the group's debut album F.U. Don't Take It Personal

F.U. Don't Take It Personal

-Album:-Singles:"—" denotes releases that did not chart.-Personnel:Information taken from Allmusic.*assistant engineering – Charlie Allen, Pete Christensen, Eric Gast, Gerard Julien, Tim Latham*engineering – Barbera Aimes, Anthony Saunders...

and also inadvertently immortalized and ignited a new-found popularity for the original "Ring The Alarm", the signature tune of Reggae/Dancehall singjay Tenor Saw

Tenor saw

Tenor Saw was a prominent dancehall singer in the 1980s, and one of the most influential singers of the early digital reggae era...

 from 1985, which they sampled to create their track of the same name. Furthermore, with the hit singles, "La Schmoove" (featuring Phife Dawg

Phife Dawg

Malik Isaac Taylor , better known by his stage name Phife Dawg, is an American rapper of Trinidadian descent, and a member of the acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest with high school classmates Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad...

 of A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...

) and "True Fu-Schnick", the album reached the Top 20 in the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...

 chart and was certified gold by the RIAA.

In 1993, the Fu-Schnickens began work on their second album. They recorded a fast-paced song called "What's Up Doc?" which featured a sample of Bugs Bunny

Bugs Bunny

Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...

 saying his famous catchphrase. But they could not get sample clearance from Warner Bros so they shelved

Shelved

In politics, the term can be used for policy drafts, that have never been officially brought into legislation.In the film industry, a film is considered shelved if it is not released for public viewing after filming has started, or even completed....

 the song. Meanwhile, the then-rookie

Rookie

Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...

 NBA star Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...

 was a media sensation. In many interviews, he talked about his love of hip-hop music and stated that the Fu-Schnickens were his favorite rap group. This prompted the group to contact O'Neal for a collaboration. O'Neal recorded a verse that was added on to the already-recorded "What's Up Doc?" with the group and O'Neal saying "What's up, doc?" to replace the Bugs Bunny sample. Although, the group had not yet completed work on their album, the song was quickly released as a single to capitalize on O'Neal's popularity. The single was a Top 40 hit in the summer of 1993, briefly propelling the group into the mainstream

Mainstream

Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....

. The group's second album, Nervous Breakdown, did not arrive until 1994, by which time the rap landscape had dramatically changed, and there was no longer an audience for their unique style.

The Fu took part in a huge performance on the finale of The Arsenio Hall Show

The Arsenio Hall Show

The Arsenio Hall Show is an American variety/talk show that aired late weeknights in syndication from January 3, 1989 to May 27, 1994. The show was created and hosted by comedian/actor Arsenio Hall.- Background :...

, alongside the likes of KRS-One

KRS-One

Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...

, the Wu-Tang Clan

Wu-Tang Clan

The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...

, Naughty By Nature

Naughty by Nature

Naughty by Nature are a Grammy Award-winning American hip hop trio from East Orange, New Jersey that at the time of its formation in 1989 consisted of Treach, Vin Rock, and the DJ Kay Gee...

, MC Lyte

MC Lyte

MC Lyte is an American rapper who first gained fame in the late-1980s becoming the first solo female rapper to release a full album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock.-Early life:...

, Guru

Guru (rapper)

Keith Edward Elam , better known by his stage name Guru, was an American emcee and member of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts...

, Mad Lion

Mad Lion

Oswald Priest, better known as Mad Lion, is a dancehall, ragga musician and rapper. He frequently collaborates with fellow hip hop artist KRS-One — most recently on a DVD promoting the Temple of Hiphop...

, Yo-Yo

Yo-Yo (rapper)

Yo-Yo is a Grammy-nominated American hardcore rapper and actress. Much of her music has advocated female empowerment, denouncing the frequent sexism found in hip-hop music. She is the protege of gangsta rapper Ice Cube...

, Das EFX

Das EFX

Das EFX is an American hip hop duo. It consists of emcees Skoob and Dray...

, CL Smooth

CL Smooth

CL Smooth is an American rapper, poet, and is best known as the vocal half of the hip-hop duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth....

 & A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...

.

The Fu-Schnickens are also notable for their many references to martial arts films and Asian culture

Asian culture

Asian Culture may refer to:*Culture of Asia*Asian Culture , the official journal of the Singapore Society of Asian Studies...

 before the Wu-Tang Clan

Wu-Tang Clan

The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...

, who eventually helped make such references popular in hip-hop music.

Chip-Fu is currently working on a solo album.

Albums

• F.U. Don't Take It Personal
  F.U. Don't Take It Personal
  -Album:-Singles:"—" denotes releases that did not chart.-Personnel:Information taken from Allmusic.*assistant engineering – Charlie Allen, Pete Christensen, Eric Gast, Gerard Julien, Tim Latham*engineering – Barbera Aimes, Anthony Saunders...
  
  (1992)
• Nervous Breakdown
  Nervous Breakdown (Fu-Schnickens album)
  Nervous Breakdown is the second album by Fu-Schnickens, an American hip hop trio from New York City. This album showcases their already prominent "cartoon" style of rapping. The album also shows some lyrical improvement, especially from group member Chip Fu...
  
  (1994)
• Greatest Hits (1995)

(Note: "Greatest Hits" included 4 previously unreleased songs: "Cray-Z", "Original Rude Boy", "Voice of the Ghetto" and "Bring it Back")

Singles

• "Ring the Alarm" (1991)
• "La Schmoove" (1992)
• "True Fu-Schnick" (1992)
• "What's Up Doc? (Can We Rock)" (1993)
• "Breakdown" (1994)
• "Sum Dum Munkey" (1995)