UTFO

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

UTFO, short for Untouchable Force Organization, was an American hip hop group from Brooklyn, New York. The group formed in the early 1980s under the name UFO, but that was already taken by an English rock band, so it became UTFO. The members were Kangol Kid, Educated Rapper, Doctor Ice and Mix Master Ice. Kangol Kid and Doctor Ice had first been a dance duo, the Keystone Dancers, and danced with Whodini. The members of UTFO were the first breakdancers to appear on The Phil Donahue Show.

Music and breakthrough

In 1984 the group signed to Select Records, Fred Munao's label, and released Roxanne, Roxanne, originally the B-side of Hangin' Out. The song hit the hip hop world like a bomb. It led to a record twenty-five answer records in a single year, the Roxanne Wars, and eventually to more than a hundred. The best-known response was that by Roxanne Shanté, which came about around producer Marley Marl, and that was the first rap feud in hip hop. The debut album UTFO (1985) was produced by the R&B group Full Force, who brought in the sampling specialist Gary Pozner. That was one of the first times the E-mu Emulator was heard on a commercial record. Skeezer Pleezer (1986), with Split Personality, Lethal (1987), Doin' It! (1989) and Bag It & Bone It (1991) followed.

Influence

In 2008 Roxanne, Roxanne ranked number 84 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. Educated Rapper died in 2017, Kangol Kid in 2021.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1985UTFO
• 1986Skeezer Pleezer
• 1987Lethal
• 1989Doin’ It!
• 1991Bag It & Bone It