Arthur Baker

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Real name: Arthur Baker / Born: April 22 1955, Boston, MA USA Arthur Baker was among the most visible and widely-imitated of the early hip-hop producers, masterminding breakthrough experiments with tape edits and synthetic beats before crossing over to introduce the art of remixing into the pop mainstream. He began his career as a club DJ in Boston, and landed his first production work at Emergency Records, debuting with Northend's Happy Days." After relocating to New York in 1979, Baker quickly immersed himself in the nascent hip-hop scene; there he was recruited by the Salsoul label to helm a session for Joe Bataan which yielded the rap novelty "Rap-O-Clap-O." His stay in the Big Apple largely unsuccessful, he then returned to Boston, producing a handful of singles which went nowhere, among them Glory's "Can You Guess What Groove This Is?" A move back to New York followed, at which time Baker joined the staff of Tommy Boy Records, where he teamed with co-producer Shep Pettibone to record Afrika Bambaataa's groundbreaking 1982 single "Jazzy Sensation," a remake of Gwen McCrae's "Funky Sensation." Assuming sole production control, Baker next reunited with Bambaataa for the classic "Planet Rock," a watershed in hip-hop's early evolution -- a wholly-synthesized record inspired by Kraftwerk's Trans-Europe Express, its programmed beats left an indelible imprint on the music released in its wake. Baker's success at Tommy Boy led to the formation of his own label, Streetwise Reco

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