Percee P - BQ In Full Effect

Officially Released EP

BQ In Full Effect is an extremely rare EP released during the late 1980s, featuring recordings by several emerging New York hip-hop artists including Aaron Dee & C-Nice, Top Priority and two of the earliest known commercially released recordings by Live Squad. Although the release is generally associated with Percee P's early circle, it serves as an important historical document capturing the formative years of several artists before they achieved wider recognition.

For Live Squad, the EP is particularly significant as it contains Troopin' It and We Ain't Havin' It, making it the earliest known official release featuring Stretch (then performing as Stretch Luv), Majesty (performing as King C) and Shalik together. Recorded several years before the group's signing to Tommy Boy Records, the songs document the origins of the distinctive chemistry and lyrical style that would later define Live Squad throughout the early 1990s.

The EP is also notable for containing the only known contemporary references to DJ Shalik. Majesty introduces "Shalik, Stretch Luv and King C" during Troopin' It, while Stretch later shouts out "my DJ Shalik" at the conclusion of We Ain't Havin' It. Although little else is currently known about him, these recordings strongly suggest that DJ Shalik was closely associated with the earliest incarnation of Live Squad.

The performances reveal a much younger Stretch and Majesty developing the energetic routines and trading verses that would later evolve into the darker, sample-driven sound heard on recordings such as Murderahh! and Heartless. While stylistically rooted in the late-1980s golden age of hip-hop, the EP provides an invaluable glimpse into the earliest stage of Live Squad's career and represents one of the most important surviving artefacts from the group's history.

Project Information

StatusOfficial Release
Recorded1988
LabelGotham Records
CatelogueGC001
Tracks9

Track Listing

# Track Artist(s) Featuring Notes
A1 Soul Power (Vocal) Aaron Dee & C-Nice
A2 Soul Power (Instrumental) Aaron Dee & C-Nice
A3 Troopin' It Live Squad Stretch and Majesty
A4 Born To Rap Aaron Dee & C-Nice
B1 We Ain't Havin It Live Squad Stretch and Majesty
B2 Let The Homocides Begin (Vocal) Top Priority
B3 Let The Homocides Begin (Instrumental) Top Priority
B4 Disassemble The Beat (Vocal) Aaron Dee & C-Nice
B5 Disassemble The Beat (Instrumental) Aaron Dee & C-Nice

12" Vinyl - GC001

Front Cover
Back Cover

Release History

Year Format Catalogue
1988 12" Vinyl EP GC001