South Central, Los Angeles’ DJ Crazy Toones has produced singles such as WC & Maad Circle’s “West Up,” Westside Connection’s “Let It Reign” and CJ Mac’s “King of L.A.” The Maad Circle member, brother of WC and longtime deejay for Ice Cube recently did a video interview with fellow L.A. turntablist DJ Revolution.
In the extensive interview that explains Coolio’s joining the Maad Circle Joe Cooley’s mentorship, and how two legendary South Central Hip Hop groups came to be by simple twists of fate. Crazy Toones revealed that Ice Cube and WC, who have worked together for over 20 years, attended elementary school together. Toones, who was two years younger than the pair, shared a common interest in music. “Next door to Ice Cube was a deejay named Sir Jinx. Aiight, he’s another west coast pioneer – Sir Jinx. Aiight, Sir Jinx got a cousin by the name of Dr. Dre. Sir Jinx and Dr. Dre’s mamas are sisters. Dre got kicked out the house and moved into [our] neighborhood, with his auntie. He was seein’ what Sir Jinx and Cube was doin’ [musically, as] The C.I.A. crew.” Dre, who had established himself with World Class Wreckin’ Cru, inquired about his cousin’s underground tapes. “Dre [asked who was writing the lyrics] – Cube, so that’s how that N.W.A. stuff connected.”
“Low Profile, my brother, WC, had a deejay by the name of DJ Aladdin, from Compton, California.” Low Profile was a trio that became a duo, after member Zero left the group for unsaid reasons. Shortly after the group’s lone album, 1989’s We’re In This Together, a third member joined the group, Coolio. After Aladdin and WC parted ways, the front-man formed the Maad Circle with Coolio, Sir Jinx and Crazy Toones.
By the mid 1990s, WC, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Coolio had all found solo success, including several multi-platinum albums
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With long-running talks of Dre and Cube working together, the latter emcee maintains working relationships with Crazy Toones, Sir Jinx and WC, who released an EP, That’s What I’m Talking About, last month.
The full interview is below:
Crazy Toones Full Episode from The Cut on Vimeo.
