MC Shan

MC Shan (born Shawn Moltke September 6, 1965 in Long Island City, Queens, New York City) is an American hip hop and R&B recording artist. He is best known for his song "The Bridge" produced by Marley Marl and for collaborating with Snow on "Informer", the international number-one hit single.

Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects in the Long Island City section of Queens, New York City, Shan is a cousin of old school hip hop producer Marley Marl, and older brother to female rapper and radio personality Princess Ivori.

In 1985, Shan started in MCA Records with his first and only major single "Feed The World". He was also interviewed in the 1986 cult documentary Big Fun In The Big Town.Despite the success, he was dismissed from the record label. Not long after, Shan signed to Cold Chillin' Records due to his relationship with Marl, and joined Marl's Juice Crew All-Stars. After a few singles were released, MC Shan's debut album Down By Law came out in 1987.

He also found himself to be a key player in the noted hip-hop rivalry, known as the Bridge Wars, between the Juice Crew and Boogie Down Productions. The feud started when Shan and Marl released a song called "The Bridge" as a B-side to "Beat Biter," itself an answer record directed at LL Cool J. KRS-One responded with "South Bronx," and the Juice Crew replied with "Kill That Noise." Slate magazine described the conflict: "In 1986, it was a beef that launched the star of KRS-One." Boogie Down Productions then released "The Bridge is Over," widely celebrated among hip-hop fans as the paramount diss track. Years later, MC Shan remade "The Bridge" into "Da Bridge 2001," and strongly denied the bridge "was over", saying:

Shan's second album, Born To Be Wild, followed in 1988 and revealed Shan's b-boy persona, with production once again by Marley Marl. 1990's Play it Again, Shan displayed a more mature style but it also proved to be his last album. When Cold Chillin's sub-label Livin' Large was active, Shan was listed as one of its artists but only released two singles ("Hip Hop Roughneck" b/w "Watchin' My Style" and "Pee-Nile Reunion" (prod. Large Professor, feat. Kool G Rap, Neek The Exotic, Snow, and Diesel) b/w "Don't Call It A Comeback"). Despite the fact that he focused more on his production career (like Snow's 12 Inches of Snow, which featured "Informer", on which he appeared) he recorded "Da Bridge 2001" for Nas' 2000 compilation called QB's Finest, which also featured Mobb Deep, Cormega, and Nature.

Shan had a brief stint in films, playing a bit role in Steve Martin's L.A. Story as Rappin' Waiter. Shan is credited as the guest rapper on the Sum 41 song "Dave's Possessed Hair/It's What We're All About" in the album Half Hour Of Power.

Albums

• 1987: Down By Law
• 1988: Born to be Wild
• 1990: Play it Again, Shan

Singles

• 1985: "Feed The World"
• 1986: "The Bridge"/"Beat Biter"
• 1986: "Jane, Stop This Crazy Thing"
• 1987: "Left Me Lonely"
• 1988: "A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste'
• 1988: "I Pioneered This"
• 1989: "Juice Crew Law" / "They Used To Do It In The Park"
• 1990: "Kill That Noise" / "I Ran The Game"
• 1990: "It Don't Mean A Thing"
• 1991: "Time For Us To Defend Ourselves"
• 1991: "Ain't It Good To You"
• 1993: "Hip Hop Roughneck"
• 1993: "Pee-Nile Reunion" / "Don't Call It A Comeback"
• 1998: "The Bridge 2000"
• 2012: "Let's Bring Hip Hop Back"
• 2013: "Everybody Wanna Be A Big Star Drive A Big Car"

• MC Shan at Allmusic