It's odd the west coast Uncle Jamm's army was started in 1978 but no one says the west coast started hip hop.1980s IS NOT the beginning of hiphop
SIR NORIN RAD:"Willie Will (legendary Puerto Rican B-Boy from Rockwell Association) told me about how we was introduced to that original Black B-Boy Style of dancing which you referred to as The Go Off in 1976 by a B-Boy called Chopper that was down with the Zulu Nation. What was the relationship between TBB and the Zulu Nation? Was there any kind of contact at all?"
ABY:"Again, I was younger. I was too young to even understand the difference between Black and Puerto Rican. But to my brothers...to the older guys there was a barrier....there was a line between Blacks and Latinos. I mean look at the gangs back then...the Black Spades were all black and then you had the Ghetto Brothers which were all Latinos....so there was a division at first. I remember the Zulu Kings only from late 1976/77 that's when we really got involved. That's also when Batch had his meeting with the Zulu Nation..1977. TBB and members of the Zulu Nation they used to have rumbles.....they would fight against each other. Whatever jam they went to they would rumble. If there was a jam and TBB was chilling there and all of a sudden some one threw hands Batch would summon TBB Joe's division who was known as the warlord division meaning thay handled all the rumbles or one on one fight make sure no one jumped in !! . One of the first black DJs that I ever met was Lay Lay. He was from Fun PM City Crew and they was all black but they was kool cause they were from the block.We never had problems in 129 Mapes Pool. Lay Lay would get cutting and we would start dancing !! Back then we danced more with the girls than against each other .. But when we heard "It's Just Begun" or Babe Ruth "Mexican" or "Bongo Rock"... forget about it! Floor rockers hit the flooooorrrrrrr,!!! Cypher set and battles was for respect not money .. You had to be there to truly understand and smell the air and feel the excitement when the cat you was battling burned you the last time and you been practicing all week long for the moment you let it all out on the concrete ... Damn miss em days ."
DJ Lay Lay & The Fun City Crew rocking with The L-Brothers and The Mercedes Ladies in 1979
SIR NORIN RAD:"So you're saying there was a lot of tension between TBB and members the Zulu Nation?"
ABY:"There was! There was a lot of tension out there."
SIR NORIN RAD:"And all that beef was squashed at that meeting?"
ABY:"Batch had his meeting with Bam at the Webster projects on Zulu Nation turf in 1977. After that meeting they squashed it. I don't know how come Bam never spoke of this because it's such an important part of the history. It identifies with unity between Latinos and Blacks. So I don't know why he never acknowledged it."
