Mass Production

A funk band based in Norfolk, Virginia, Mass Production scored a dozen charting R&B singles from 1977 through 1982 for the Cotillion label. Their early ten-member lineup consisted of LeCoy Bryant, Kevin Douglas, James Drumgole, Agnes "Tiny" Kelly, Larry Marshall, Gregory McCoy, Rodney Phelps, Emmanuel Redding, Ricardo Williams, and Tyrone Williams. "Firecracker," their biggest hit, peaked at number four on Billboard's R&B chart in the late summer of 1979. They disbanded in 1983, following their eighth album. Rap group 2 Live Crew's own biggest hit, "Me So Horny," was released six years later with a sample of "Firecracker" as its instrumental basis. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine