Paul C

Paul C
Background information
Birth name	Paul McKasty
Born	(1965-09-20)September 20, 1965
Origin	New York City, New York, United States
Died	July 17, 1989(1989-07-17) (aged 23)
Genres	Hip hop, East Coast hip hop, Pop rock
Occupation(s)	Record producer
Instruments	Keyboards, turntables, synthesizer, drum machine, bass guitar, E-mu SP-12, E-mu SP-1200
Years active	1979–1989
Associated acts	Ultramagnetic MC's, Organized Konfusion, Eric B. & Rakim, Mikey D & the L.A. Posse, The Mandolindley Road Show

Paul C. McKasty (September 20, 1965 – July 17, 1989), better known as Paul C, was an East coast hip hop producer, engineer and mixer in the 1980s.^[1]

Work

McKasty began his musical career as a bassist of the pop rock band the Mandolindley Road Show.^[2] The group recorded a self-titled album, released in 1985.^[3] He gave himself the middle name "Charles" after Ray Charles which he shortened to the initial "C."^[1] After the group disbanded, Paul joined the hip hop group Mikey D & the L.A. Posse.^[4] He began working as a producer and engineer for numerous hip-hop acts. Paul C's best-known work is on Ultramagnetic MC's 1988 classic debut album Critical Beatdown^[5] and the non-album singles the group released between 1988 and 1989.

He has only one credit as a producer on the album Critical Beatdown, for the track "Give the Drummer Some," but according to group members, Paul C was responsible for the overall sound of the album.^[1][6] Paul preferred to work without contracts, so he often did not receive credit for his production work.^[5]

Paul also worked together with the Greek Psychedelic Folk/WorldBeat act Annabouboula, for which he did engineering and mixing in the late '80s in the 1212 Studio, Queens, mixing and editing a variety of tracks for Annabouboula which were released in Europe on Virgin and BMG and eventually in the U.S. on Shanachie.

Paul C also worked for many other artists including Grandmaster Caz, Super Lover Cee and Casanova Rud, Stezo, and Rahzel. He also served as a mentor of Large Professor in the use of the E-mu SP-1200.^[7] He overheard a recording session of a new local group named Simply Too Positive and offered to produce its entire demo. Simply Too Positive eventually became Organized Konfusion and its demo created a major buzz around the group.^[5]

Aside from working with the cream of the crop in hip-hop, Paul also did two remixes for the group Devo with the songs Disco Dancer and Baby Doll ^[8]

Paul C's status began to grow and he was hired to work for higher-profile artists. He produced tracks for Eric B. & Rakim's Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em. He was planning on producing more songs for the group and also for Queen Latifah, Biz Markie, and Large Professor's group Main Source.

Legacy

Despite his short career, Paul C left a lasting legacy on hip-hop music.^[5]

His protégé Large Professor took over production duties on much of the music Paul C was working on before his death. He went on to become a well-known producer and emcee. Large Pro's publishing company is named Paul Sea Productions in honor of his late mentor.^[5][9] Other hip hop producers such as Domingo,^[10] Pete Rock, Cut Chemist and Madlib cite Paul C as an influence. Kool Keith, Pharoahe Monch, and Rahzel credit Paul C with helping them to grow as artists.^[5][6]

A picture of Paul C appears in the liner notes of Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em and the album is dedicated to his memory (although his name is not listed in the production credits).

The liner notes of Main Source's debut album Breaking Atoms includes the inscription Paul C Lives. On Organized Konfusion's debut single "Fudge Pudge," the duo gives a shout-out that says, "Paul C to the organisms!"^[5]

Critical Beatdown was re-released in 2004 with the non-album singles that Paul produced as bonus tracks. In 2006, an unreleased album by Mikey D & the L.A. Posse was released under the title Better Late Than Never: In Memory Of Paul C.^[11]

A full length feature film is in the making, about his life and music.^[12]

Death

In 1989, Paul C was shot to death in Rosedale, Queens, at the age of 23. His murder was featured on America's Most Wanted^[5] leading to the arrest of Derrick "Little Shine" Blair, who was later released due to lack of evidence.^[13]

Tracks engineered, mixed & produced

References

External links

• Paul C discography at Discogs
• Paul C. discography at rateyourmusic.com