Can you remember the very first time you heard a hip-hop song?
“I can’t remember the first hip-hop song actually. I recall having a record by the Fatback Band ‘cos my mom went to school with Bill Curtis. On the B-side there was this joint with King Tim III. And I remember hearing a cassette tape with Busy Bee and the Cold Crush Brothers. The energy instantly spoke to me and hit me.”

What were your best and worst fashion moves back in the ‘88 era?
“To be honest, I had just started college and I was still rockin’ Lee jeans cause I was living in LA and I hadn’t been back to NY since like ’85. I didn’t know what the new shit was. Back then you had to go directly to the neighborhood in NY to know what the latest fashion was. My man Dedan had just moved out from Harlem and he was like, ‘Yo B, cats ain’t rockin’ them no more!’ Everything had gone oversized and baggie!”

What was your favourite hip-hop label back then?
“Without a doubt Cold Chillin’!”

If you could go back in time to the golden era, what live hip-hop show would you most like to see and why?
“DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince performing live in Union Square when Jazzy did the transformer scratch. I heard it on a tape and I went bananas! I thought that was the greatest shit I had ever heard. I kept rewinding the tape trying to figure out how he did that shit!”

(Check out the second issue of HHC Digital on May 14th for Superstar Quamallah’s full ‘88 flashback session.)