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Mohandas Dewese (born August 8, 1962), better known as Kool Moe Dee, is an American Hip Hop MC prominent in the late 1970s through the early 1990s. He was born in Manhattan, New York. He was one of the first rappers to earn a Grammy Award and was the first rapper to perform at the Grammys.
In the late 1970s, Kool Moe Dee met Special K, DJ Easy Lee, and LA Sunshine to form the influential old school hip hop group the Treacherous Three on Enjoy Records. It was with The Treacherous Three in 1981 that Kool Moe Dee performed his freestyle on-stage roast of old school party rapper Busy Bee Starski, a performance frequently cited as a pivotal moment in the development of the battle rap.[1] Kool Moe Dee attended Norman Thomas High School on 33rd and Park Avenue in New York City and was known as a quiet eccentric young man always holding a pen and a pad ready to write his rhymes. In 1981, they moved to Sugar Hill Records along with another Enjoy Records act Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The Treacherous Three became well known for their singles Feel the Heart Beat and Whip It. They were featured in the 1984 breakdance cult-movie Beat Street performing the song Xmas Rap with Doug E. Fresh but disbanded shortly afterwards.
In 1985 the Treacherous Three disbanded with each member pursuing solo careers. After leaving the group he attended college in NY and received a degree in communications. In 1986, Kool Moe Dee went solo, releasing a self-titled album, which ranked 83 on Billboard. He co-operated with the young producer Teddy Riley which contributed greatly to the New Jack Swing movement that would gain popularity in the years to follow. Kool Moe Dee released his second album, How Ya Like Me Now which was his most successful album commercially, achieving platinum status. He then went on to release his third album, Knowledge Is King in 1989, which went Gold. The single from this album, "I Go To Work" is considered by some to be the pinnacle of his work, with high speed delivery and superior lyrical content. He was chosen in 1990 to appear on Quincy Jones' album Back on the Block along with fellow rappers Melle Mel, Big Daddy Kane and Ice T. The album gained considerable critical and financial success and winning the 1991 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In 1991 the release of his album Funke, Funke Wisdom signaled his downfall and eventual decline. Moe Dee himself has stated that this was his worst album(1). He induced his release from Jive Records in 1992. After a two year lay off he released his greatest hits album which gained some of his former success and acclaim. In 1994 his album Interlude was released and failed to gain Moe Dee much of his former success on the mid 80's. In 1993 he re-united with his fellow ex members of the Treacherous Three to release the album Old School Flava on DJ EasyLee's record label Ichiban. His last commercial release was the single Love Love/What You Wanna Do which was released onSpoiled Brat Entertainment inc'.
Kool Moe Dee is perhaps most well known for his long running rivalry with fellow New York rapper LL Cool J. He, among other rappers such as MC Shan, claimed that LL had stolen their rap styles. He also felt that LL was disrespecting the reigning MCs at the time, himself, Melle Mel and Grandmaster Caz by proclaiming that he was the greatest without paying due respects to those who came before him. He challenged LL on his platinum selling album How Ya Like Me Now on the single of the same name. He also took a shot at LL by appearing on the album cover with a jeep in the background with the wheel crushing one of LL's trademark red Kangol hats. The feud continued on with both MCs proclaiming themselves the victor.
Kool Moe Dee appeared on Will Smith's #1 pop hit "Wild Wild West" from Smith's 1999 motion picture, Wild Wild West, on which he re-performs the chorus to his 1988 single also named "Wild Wild West".
In 2003 he authored a book called There's a God on the Mic (ISBN 1-56025-533-1), which breaks down his 50 favorite MCs in terms of originality, concepts, versatility, vocabulary, substance, flow, flavor, freestyle, vocal presence, live performance, poetic value, body of work, industry impact, social impact, longevity, lyrics and battle skills, where he ranked himself as number #5, ahead of MCs such as The GZA, and Tupac (ironically, he placed LL Cool J at #7, despite the past beef that the two had, even referring to him as an "unbreakable master").
In 2007 he appeared on the remix of Nas' "Where are They Now", with fellow old-school artists. On his Myspace page he has released some new tracks and a video to accompany one of the songs. He also appeared on the Ice T track "Fight Club" and re-recorded several of his more popular songs.
In 2008 he took the job of hosting a new Hip Hop talk show called SpitFire with Kool Mo Dee. The show contains discussion on issues relating to both Hip Hop culture and general issues that affect the world. Each show has a different panel of guests, including Xzibit, Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, DMC, and many others. The show is broadcast on www.iamhiphop.com.
