By Melina Paris, Music Columnist
From Europe, East Asia and back through the United States, Greg Broussard, aka the Egyptian Lover, has been on tour since 2018 began. He is bringing the West Coast electro sound of the 1980s to the world. And he’s still rolling.
On his brief return to the states and just ahead of Long Beach’s 13th annual Freestyle Festival in May, the turntable master spoke to Random Lengths News about the emergence of the early ‘80s local hip-hop scene and the upcoming festival.
Broussard got his start after he was promoted to main disc jockey with Uncle Jams Army, the Los Angeles based hip hop crew. Their singles What’s Your Sign, Dial-a-Freak, and Yes, Yes, Yes influenced electro, old school hip hop, and early West Coast hip-hop.
Uncle Jams Army partied locally at The Penthouse in L.A. and The Playpen in Carson, which is no longer open, Alpine Village, Veteran’s Auditorium in Culver City and hotel parties at The Holiday Inn in downtown Long Beach, to Pomona Fairgrounds. Students even got up close and personal with the group at many high school parties.
As the ‘80s began, their popularity progressed so fast that a bigger venue was needed to house their parties. Alpine Village became the site of the groups Breakout Dances, which garnered attendance that got them dubbed the Number One Dance Promoters in Los Angeles. By 1983 the group expanded its roster recruiting underground DJs and MC’s who were creating a cult following. The most well known was the Egyptian Lover.
Uncle Jams Army played in such iconic halls as the Bonaventure Hotel, the Biltmore Hotel, and the Los Angeles Convention Center. Ultimately they performed at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in front of 10,000 people.
Hip-hop being fairly new, Uncle Jams Army was the first on the West Coast to play fresh singles by Run DMC and Houdini before anyone knew who they were.
At that time, rap was pretty new to everyone, Broussard said. “Everyone wanted to hear that music loud and the only way to hear it loud was to go to parties.”
And Southern California fans liked the parties. Still do.
There is a lineup of nearly 20 bands at the Freestyle Fest, but Broussard has only performed with the West Coast groups flavored with hip-hop and rhythm-and-blues. One of those outfits is Freestyle Evolution (formerly Freestyle), of Don’t Stop the Rock fame. They were the first ones to use the term “freestyle.”
Broussard is used to performing for a couple hours at a time. He performed for at least that long this past December at Jim Callon’s JDC Records in San Pedro, and his groove-inducing style of electro funk kept a full house of fans, notably including millennials, dancing to his beats.
Though Broussard’s set at Freestyle will be shorter, he is aiming to bring his best. So what can one expect from the Egyptian Lover’s performance?
“I am going to rock the house and kill the show,” said Broussard. “When I bring my 808 live, it’s going to leave a memory for everyone at that show.”
That 808 is his Roland 808 drum machine from the ‘80s which he still uses for his music.
“When you hear this analog drum machine through the speakers, live, it’s like nothing else you’ve ever heard in your life,” Broussard said proudly.
Broussard returns to JDC Records in August to celebrate the release of his new record, 1985. His album, 1984 is out now. He calls it 1984 because he recorded it the same way he recorded his first album in 84, in the same studio and on the same equipment.
1985 comes with a few old school surprises, featuring songs with two more artists who enjoy fame around the world, including Newcleus, who produced Jam On Revenge (The Wikki Wiki Song) and Juan Atkins, who started the group Cybotron.
The last leg of Broussard’s international tour included stops in Munich and London. He noted that European fans really do their homework on the artists they pay to see.
“The fans in Europe really love the music,” he said. “It’s all new to them, even though it’s from the ‘80s. The kids hear the drum machine for the first time and they lose their minds. They will do more research on the artist, find out how many records he has, what studios they recorded in and they know the words to the songs.”
While this will be the first Freestyle Fest for Broussard, he stays in demand, touring every month except December. He has a performance in South Korea on March 22, followed by a couple dates in Johannesburg, South Africa before his return to Long Beach for the Freestyle Festival.
Details: ticketstripe.com