3RD BASS

2  YO! MTV RAPS CARDS

1991 USA 1^st Edition

35 YEARS OLD

(Card Size: 3.5x2.5 in / 9x6.5 cm)

 

3rd Bass was an American hip-hop group formed with MC Serch (Michael Berrin), Prime Minister Pete Nice (Peter J. Nash) & DJ Richie Rich (Richard Lawson). Prominent in the late ‘80s - early ‘90s, they are notable for being 1 of the 1st successful interracial hip-hop groups. Debut album The Cactus ('89) was acclaimed & featured the single The Gas Face which hit #5 on USA Billboard's Top Rap Singles. The music video featured humorous cameo appearances by MF Doom, DJ Subroc, Gilbert Gottfried, Flavor Flav, Salt-n-Pepa, Kid 'N Play & EPMD. Their '91 follow-up album Derelicts of Dialect targeted fellow white rapper Vanilla Ice, who was the focal point of several tracks, most notably Pop Goes the Weasel. The track depicted Ice as a culture thief who watered down rap to pander to a mainstream audience, while depicting 3rd Bass as more respectful of the genre's traditions. The video featured punk rock icon Henry Rollins dressed up as Ice, who received a "beatdown" by 3rd Bass at the end. Fueled by the heavy backlash against Vanilla Ice at the time of its release, Pop Goes the Weasel hit #1 on USA Billboard's Top Rap Singles chart & helped propel the album to gold status. The track was described by Allmusic as "much-needed damage control in the hip-hop community," because it featured Caucasian rappers openly distancing themselves from 1 of their peers. Vanilla Ice answered back with the songs The Wrath, & Hit 'em Hard. Their final collaboration was the title track to the soundtrack of the '92 film Gladiator, before disbanding. 3rd Bass reunited over the years for short stints, the last being in 2013.

 

Studio Albums

The Cactus Album (1989)

Derelicts of Dialect (1991)