The Soul Sonic Force

With Cosmic Force, the Soul Sonics were part of Afrika Bambaataa’s ever-expanding Zulu Nation enclave. Alongside scratch DJ Jazzy Jay, Pow Wow and G.L.O.B.E., they featured rapper Mr Biggs, who had been working with Bambaataa as far back as 1974. Pow Wow, in turn, had a hand in producing ‘Planet Rock’, while G.L.O.B.E. was responsible for patenting the ‘MC popping’ technique, a description he preferred to rapping, which saw him dropping in and out of rhymes at short notice, producing an effect not unlike a faulty microphone. He was also responsible for may of the group’s lyrics. He had met Bambaataa while he was attending Bronx River High School, and was already friends with Pow Wow, who had perfected his rapping skills in nearby parks. Soul Sonic Force began as a nine-piece affair, which MC’s gradually dropping out, including Lisa Lee who would remain with Bambaataa as part of Cosmic Force. In tandem with their mentor they would appear on four hugely influential singles, ‘Zulu Nation Throwdown Part 2’, ‘Planet Rock’, ‘Looking For The Perfect Beat’ and ‘Renegades Of Funk’. Their impetus was interrupted in 1983 when both Mr Biggs and Pow Wow were convicted for armed robbery. When Bambaataa resurrected the name again in 1991 for Return To Planet Rock, it was merely a disguise for the Jungle Brothers.