Album dossier / 1984

Escape

Whodini · Electro-Funk/Hip-Hop

Whodini's second album was recorded at Battery Studios in London after Jive Records paired the Brooklyn trio with bassist-turned-producer Larry Smith (also behind early Run-DMC) when their debut's German collaborator Conny Plank wasn't available for a follow-up; Smith fused Grandmaster Dee's turntable scratches with dense, R&B-inflected synthesizer arrangements rather than the raw breakbeats then dominating rap. Escape became one of the first hip-hop albums to crack the US Top 40 and the first hip-hop LP certified platinum by the RIAA, carried by 'Friends' and 'Freaks Come Out at Night.' The group's earlier calling-card single 'Magic's Wand' (an ode to New York radio DJ Mr. Magic) had notably been co-produced by synth-pop pioneer Thomas Dolby after Jive's parent label Zomba paired the two acts, cementing Whodini's reputation for pairing rap vocals with unusually melodic, synth-forward production years ahead of new jack swing.