RAPPERS & FUNKERS--L.A. GROWS ITS OWN

Minneapolis has Prince, the Jesse Johnson Revue and Tamara & the Scene.

New York has Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, Kurtis Blow and the Fat Boys.

And now Los Angeles has a home-grown funk cult of its own, led by such young rappers and hip-hop wizards as the L.A. Dream Team, the World Class Wreckin’ Cru, the Egyptian Lover and Greg Mack’s Mixmasters.

The flourishing scene hasn’t gone unnoticed, either. Epic Records has signed a pair of local groups, the World Class Wreckin’ Cru and Toddy Tee, while MCA has signed the Mixmasters and is in negotiations with the L.A. Dream Team, whose recent single, “In the House,” has sold more than 100,000 copies here alone.

According to Jheryl Busby, head of black music at MCA Records, much of the credit goes to locally-based Macola Records--which has released many of the groups’ singles--and KDAY-AM, whose music director, Greg Mack, has touted many of the groups on the local airwaves.

“Every record company is always trying to find access to the streets,” Busby said. “And God bless KDAY, which has targeted that marketplace and shown that L.A. can be a very happening place. Without the radio exposure, the rap scene would have never happened so fast and now that KDAY has gotten behind these groups, I think we’re really going to see this whole local scene come alive.”

KDAY plays a host of local music all week long, but the real excitement occurs on the station’s weekend speciality shows, Friday Night Live, which airs Friday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., and the Mac Attack Mix Masters, which airs Saturday from 8 to 11 p.m. According to KDAY’s Mack, the Saturday dance program has attracted such a fiercely loyal following that in the most recent Arbitron ratings survey it earned KDAY the largest teen audience in town, even beating out top-rated KIIS-FM.

The Friday Night Live show, hosted by Mack on location at such local hot-spots as Skateland and World on Wheels, is loaded with even more action. Visiting pop celebrities often make special appearances (Run-DMC, the New Edition and the Force MD’s have all been recent guests) while Mack regularly invites local rappers on stage to perform.

“It gets pretty crazy, but we haven’t had any major incidents yet,” Mack said. “We did have to close down one show early, because a bunch of fights started breaking out. The gang situation has caused problems. That’s why so many teen clubs have been forced to close down, because the gangs will try to make the clubs their turf. The LAPD has also made it difficult for kids to get together and have fun. That’s why when we have a dance, we keep things moving, with lots of action, because if it slows down, the kids start to get bored and that’s when you get trouble.”

Still, Mack is optimistic about the local rap scene, noting that rival radio stations like KJLH-FM and KACE-FM have begun to program a more sizable percentage of local talent. “It’s going to be very competitive here, especially with KPWR-FM coming on the air, too,” he said. “But the competition should be good for everyone and it’ll only help the scene expand.

“I predict you’ll even see a rap award at the Grammys before long. And if they don’t do it, we’ll do our own show. I’ve already got a name--the Rap ‘n’ Roll Awards. I don’t think the major record labels really know what we’ve got here yet, but after a few more nice surprises, like ‘In the House,’ you’re going to see them figure out what we’ve got.”