As the First Ladies of Ruthless Records, JJ Fad broke down several barriers for women in Hip-Hop. In 1989, the trailblazing trio—comprised of MC JB, Sassy C and Baby D—became the first female rap group to earn a Grammy Award nomination for their debut album, Supersonic, which was released the year prior. But it appears some of the facts surrounding JJ Fad’s career are still being misconstrued. Last week, former MTV VJ and Hip-Hop legend Fab 5 Freddy sat down with Angela Yee for an episode of her Way Up podcast, where he incorrectly stated Ice Cube wrote all of Supersonic.
“Ice Cube wrote that entire album,” he said. “I did the same thing. And it was Jerry Heller, the head of Ruthless Records, who told me that. And I was like wait. I did a double take and had to ask him like twice. But that’s the skill of a writer. Like, ‘OK, I can write for women.’ He put it all together for them, which was pretty incredible to think about at that time.”
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Once JJ Fad caught wind of Fab 5 Freddy’s comments, they quickly addressed them on social media, calling them “false.” Speaking to AllHipHop, MC JB explained why it was so bothersome.
“We love our brother Ice Cube and thank him so much for his contributions to our album,” she said. “He was in the studio when we recorded our album, and he wrote a couple of our diss songs, but in no way did he write our entire album. JJ Fad wrote the majority of our album, including [the single] ‘Supersonic.’ We are very proud of that.
“We want to set the record straight as women that we are more than capable of writing, producing and performing in this Hip-Hop genre, and all genres. We honor and respect the femcees of today who are doing it all. We have no beef with Fab 5 Freddy. We just wish he would have done the research before speaking out on such a large platform that questions our authenticity.”
Supersonic arrived in June 1988 with production by N.W.A members Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, alongside Arabian Prince, who served as co-producer. Singles included the title track, “Way Out” and “Is It Love.” The title track reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play Songs and No. 22 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It stayed on the dance charts for eight weeks. The single was ultimately certified gold by RIAA, a first for Ruthless Records.
JJ Fad still tours the world, sharing their innate talent with their fans.
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