Doug-E-Fresh

The first human beatbox in the rap world, Doug E. Fresh amazed audiences with his note-perfect imitations of drum machines, effects, and often large samples of hip-hop classics. Fresh was born Doug E. Davis in Barbados, and his first appearance came in 1983 on a single for Spotlight called "Pass the Budda," with Spoonie Gee and DJ Spivey. His introduction to most hip-hop fans came one year later with his astonishing performance in Beat Street behind the Treacherous Three. His first solo features also came in 1984, with "Just Having Fun” and "Original Human Beatbox".

By 1985, Fresh was one of the biggest names in rap music, and his first single for Reality, "The Show/La Di Da Di," became a hip-hop classic. It was recorded with his Get Fresh Crew, including MC Ricky D, later to gain fame as Slick Rick, along with Barry Bee and Chill Will. His first LP, Oh, My God!, featured most of his showpieces, like "Play This Only at Night" and "All the Way to Heaven," along with nods to reggae and gospel.

His second album, The World's Greatest Entertainer, broke into the Billboard charts thanks to another hot single, "Keep Risin' to the Top”.