3rd Bass Biography

3rd Bass Biography

MC Serch (Michael Berrin), Pete Nice (Pete Nash), and DJ Richie Rich (Richard Lawson) were the three founding members of the group. Richie Rich was a local D.J., while Nice was a student at Columbia University and hosted a hip hop show on WKCR. MC Serch rapped at clubs and block parties and released a single called "Hey Boy" on Idlers, an independent record label.

Sam Sever, a producer, convinced Nice and Serch to work together in 1987. Sever, Prince Paul, and The Bomb Squad produced The Cactus Album (The Cactus Cee/Dee), a critically acclaimed debut LP.

As reported in many interviews, MC Serch at one point tried (unsuccessfully) to join the Beastie Boys. Upon signing to Def Jam, 3rd Bass inherited their label's feud with the Beasties. The Cactus Album was released shortly after the Beastie Boys walked out of their contract with the label (high on mega-success of Licensed to Ill). 3rd Bass' debut featured numerous derogatory remarks about the group and their defection to Capitol Records. The Beastie Boys retaliated on their early 1990s release Check Your Head. Their song "Professor Booty" takes a clear swipe at MC Serch's tendency to dance in 3rd Bass videos, with MCA's line "dancing around like you think you're Janet Jackson" clearly directed at him.

In 1991, 3rd Bass released Derelicts of Dialect, which included several tracks critical of fellow white rapper Vanilla Ice. One such track, "Pop Goes the Weasel", became the group's biggest chart single. It depicted Vanilla Ice as a culture thief who watered down the sound of rap while depicting 3rd Bass as more respectful of hip hop's traditions. The video for "Pop Goes the Weasel" featured punk rock icon Henry Rollins parodying Vanilla Ice—receiving a "beat-down" at the hands of 3rd Bass at the end of the video. Pete Nice contributed his part of the beating with his trademark walking cane.

In 1992, 3rd Bass contributed the track "Gladiator" to the soundtrack of the 1992 movie of the same name. It was their last release together.