(From Mirda Rock 7″ single; 1982)
Mirda Rock AKA the missing link between the vocoder-funk of Glory’s Let’s Get Nice and the wacky Electro-pop of Oingo Boingo’s Weird Science theme. Much like Glory’s Let’s Get Nice, Mirda Rock is one of those early 80s choonz which hits hardest in its truncated 7″ mix as opposed to the regular 12″ mix that outstays its welcome by a couple of minutes. Notably used by 2 Live Crew in 1986 and Arabian Prince in 1989, Mirda Rock has barely been touched since. Imagine the fun Ezale & DJ Fresh could have if they had their wicked way with it.
True story: the only time Rap needed to exist on 7″ single was the 1980s. Not only was it a handy format to snip certain early 80s songs down to a more listenable length, it was also a more affordable format for kids like me who discovered Rap in the mid 80s via chart hits like Run D.M.C’s King Of Rock and Doug & Rick’s The Show. The 7″ single retailed at somewhere between 99p and £1.99, so it was the perfect format for 80s pre-teens who had to juggle our pocket money to accommodate Action Force figures and comics, sessions of Wonder Boy and Double Dragon in the local arcade, and singles like Whistle’s Just Buggin’ (Nothing Serious), Lovebug Starski’s Amityville (House On The Hill), Run-D.M.C’s Walk This Way and It’s Tricky, and the Beastie Boys’ Fight For Your Right (To Party).
But the cassette-single became the format de jour of the same pricepoint, the 7″ single was quietly phased out for Rap music, and nobody gave a shit until the 2010s when boutique rare vinylz labels started reissuing 1990s Rap songs as overpriced 7″s for OCD middle-aged blokes who stopped listening to new music some time between 1997 and 2003. And so a whole pointless new cottage industry opened up, propelled by blokes who’d be stamp collecters now if Rap music never existed.
