Also on Coca-Cola stage: Old-school rap from Doug E. fresh and slick rick

Doug E. Fresh, also known as the Human Beatbox, had tried a solo career in the early ’80s, attempting to take his ability to use his voice, mouth, lips, tongue and a microphone to create polyphonic hip-hop beats. But he hadn’t really gone anywhere with it. Things changed drastically when he and three DJs – MC Ricky D, Barry Bee and Chill Will – got together and create the Get Fresh Crew. Their first release, the single “The Show” and its B-side, “La Di Da Di,” in 1985 turned everything around. Both songs became major hits both in the U.S. and overseas.

“The Show,” which samples the theme song from the cartoon “Inspector Gadget,” was chosen as the rap single of 1985 by Spin magazine. “La Di Da Di” was just as huge. Both songs are now considered early hip-hop milestones and they’ve been sampled or their lyrics reused in songs by more than 70 different artists, including Eminem, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey and Sublime.

In 1993, Fresh released “I-ight (Alright),” and its catchphrase – “Heyyyyyy, Yo! I-iiiiight?” – became a famous chant in dance clubs.

The success of “The Show/La Di Da Di” caused MC Ricky D to later change his moniker to Slick Rick and launch a solo career in 1988 with “The Great Adventures of Slick Rick,” which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop chart. It featured three singles that hit Top 20 on the Billboard Rap singles chart – “Teenage Love,” “Children’s Story” and “Hey Young World.” Through that album and its singles, Slick Rick became known for his storytelling style of songwriting.

But things went south in 1990, when he shot his cousin, Mark Plummer, and a bystander. Plummer, who had been Slick Rick’s bodyguard but was fired, admitted to making death threats against the rapper and sending thugs to rob him before the shooting. Slick Rick was indicted on two counts of attempted murder, assault, use of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon. He pleaded guilty to all charges and spent five years in prison.

Even after getting out, the Jamaica-born rapper, who lives in the Bronx, faced legal immigration issues and authorities tried to deport him, but in 2008, New York Gov. David A. Paterson pardoned him.