Chapter III
“Real Rocking Groove (Rap & Breaks)“ (Grand Groove Records) (1981/1982?)

Chapter Three
“Smurf Trek“ (Grand Groove Records)

Chapter III were three teenage rappers from the Bronx — Golden Voice, Kid Bee Rock, and CJ — associated with DJ T-Ski’s Erotic Disco Brothers. As Golden Voice told Werner von Wallenrod in 2008, “Real Rocking Groove” emerged after T-Ski helped launch Grand Groove with local record-store owner Brad Osborne. Chapter III rhyme over a sprightly interpolation of Cheryl Lynn’s “Got to Be Real.” “I’m the Kid Bee Rock, I’m like a trigger to a gun/That’s why they call me Chapter 1,” says Kid Bee Rock, kicking off six minutes of mic-trading flows, “cold crush” and “shock the house” chants, and plenty of harmonizing.

Meanwhile, Chapter III’s second and final 1982 single has sci-fi funk vibes and vocoder voices that resemble Parliament’s “Aqua Boogie.” It’s all in tribute to the Smurf trend that swept through clubs that year. “In the great tradition of the monkey, the funky chicken, the dog, the jerk, the mashed potato, the bus stop, the hustle, the bump, and the freak, your children (perhaps even you) are crowding the dance floors to do the smurf dance,” wrote Nelson George in his November 20 column for Billboard. After the release of “Smurf Trek,” Chapter III split, heading off to different colleges. Golden Voice later formed Partners in Kryme. In 1990, Partners in Kryme released another song inspired by cartoon characters: “Turtle Power!” for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtrack.

Read More: The 50 Best Rap Singles of 1982