Odd Oldschool Rap/Dance

December 29, 2005 10:36 AM

I'm looking for the title/artist of two rap/dance songs from around the mid-Eighties, one of which says "change the beat", and the other says "freeze...defrost". Sketchy details inside.

I heard both of these while hanging out with a friend in college in the mid-1980s. I'm afraid I don't have many details; I'm relying on memory of songs I heard once, twenty years ago.

Both are rap/dance/club songs, something in that general area.

The first has someone saying "ch-change, change the beat", although it's done with the french pronunciation, so it sounds like "sh-shanj, shanj the beat". Can't remember if it was a man or a woman.

The second is a dance-type song (as I recall) that had the singer say at one point in the song "freeze", followed by a pregnant pause, and then "defrost". Pretty damn funny. Don't know anything more about that one.

Anyway, if either of these strikes a chord with somebody (no pun intended) and you can steer me towards a title/artist and/or a source for a cd, that would rock like thunder.

Thanks!

posted by NewGear to media & arts (8 comments total)

Off topic, but can anyone else NOT access www.allmusic.com ?
I am redirected to: http://secure-us.imrworldwide.com/

Anyways, Allmusic.com has a nice [lyric] search feature ... if the site hasn't been taken over by international terrorists.
posted by Makebusy7 at 10:52 AM on December 29, 2005

Could the second one be "White Lines" by Grandmaster Flash? The lyrics are actually "Freeze....Rock," but I could see where they could be misheard.
posted by jrossi4r at 11:18 AM on December 29, 2005

It's a stretch, but perhaps the first song is 101 - Rock to the Beat? I would never have categorized it as rap. It is definitely dance, but I know the tricks the mind can play on vaguely remembered songs, so I thought I would make the suggestion despite my doubt. The vocal is female and maybe her ennui-filled delivery could be mistaken for a French accent.

There is a sound sample here.

Good luck.
posted by nobodyyouknow at 11:31 AM on December 29, 2005

jrossi4r, thanks for the suggestion...it's not "White Lines" though. I know that one well. The song I'm thinking about is definitely "freeze....DEFROST!"

nobodyyouknow: That song sounds pretty good, and darn familiar, but I don't hear the "sh-shanj" part in the audio sample. This was definitely a French pronunciation. The girl I was with had just come back from France; I'm thinking it might've been something she brought back from her visit.
posted by NewGear at 12:23 PM on December 29, 2005

apparently there is a Fab Five Freddy song called "Change Le Beat".. maybe a likely candidate?

let me see if I can find out anything further.
posted by fishfucker at 1:41 PM on December 29, 2005

well, apparently the "FREEEEESSHHH" that one associates with the beastie boys was taken from that track and it's impossible to find any other info on it. I'll try some other sources when i get home.
posted by fishfucker at 1:46 PM on December 29, 2005

Ah, that DOES sound like a likely candidate, fishfucker! At least it's French...the voice I remember didn't sound like Fab 5 Freddy, but then again my only exposure to Fab 5 was in the early days of MTV's rap shows.
posted by NewGear at 7:24 PM on December 29, 2005

The first one is definitely the French Rap Version "Change the Beat" by Fab Five Freddy with female rapper BeeSide (who repeats the title in the song). It's available on a compilation called "The Celluloid Years"
posted by muta at 11:12 PM on June 2, 2006