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Artist
Little Axe
12+ albums
bluesdubelectric bluesreggaeOn-U Sound
about
Little Axe is American musician Skip McDonald (born Bernard Alexander in Dayton, Ohio, on 1 September 1949. After being part of the house band for Sugarhill Records, McDonald assumed the moniker "Little Axe" and began moving from hip hop to a form of blues that drew from an array of musical influences, including dub, R&B, gospel, and jazz. McDonald learned to play the blues on his father's guitar from the age of 8, although by the time he was 12 years old he had opted to perform doo-wop. Having completed his high school education, he left Dayton with a band called the Ohio Hustlers, which broke up not long after relocating to New York City. His first professional work as a musician began when he formed the Entertainers who toured the east coast through to the mid-70s. He moved on to Hartford, Connecticut, and there's when he met Doug Wimbish, who played in a band called Wood, Brass & Steel. Wood, Brass & Steel recorded a selftitled album for All Platinum Records, the label of Sylvia and Joe Robinson, in 1976. Skip and Doug played a lot of music together, in clubs and colleges around New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. In 1979, three years after the Wood, Brass & Steel album, Skip and Doug teamed up with drummer Keith LeBlanc and they became the house band for Sugarhill Records, the Robinson's new label. The trio played on some of the earliest rap hits such as The Message and White Lines (Don't Do It) with Grandmaster Flash. While they worked at Sugar Hil
