Dr. Rock
| Dr. Rock | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Cleophus Turner |
| Also known as | Furlough |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, producer, DJ |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Labels | Macola |
| Associated acts | Fila Fresh Crew, N.W.A, Dr. Dre |
Cleophus "Dr. Rock" Turner began his career as one of the original disc jockeys, self dubbed, "the only pop-locking DJ in L.A.", in Lonzo's Wreckin' Cru during the early '80s. This group included Andre "Dr. Dre" Young, who would later achieve fame as both a rapper and a producer in the group N.W.A. and later in his solo career. When the crew made the transition from being a mobile DJ group to recording and performing music, Turner left the group and relocated to Dallas, Texas.
Once in Dallas, Turner gained fame by being the first DJ in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to feature turntablism (mixing, scratching, rotations, etc.) as part of his regular mix shows which aired every Friday and Saturday nights on radio station 107.5 FM KNOK beginning in 1984, later being lured away to competitor K104. Turner also had DJ stints in clubs and skating rinks in Dallas including the Twlight Skating Rink in Pleasant Grove, the Shamrock Skating Rink in Lancaster and Club Countach in Garland.
Turner was constantly joined at the hip to fellow Radio Mixshow DJ Ushy Eron. DJ Ushy, as he was simply called, was the most popular mixshow DJ locally until the emergence of Turner. Other than both being party DJs who vocally augmented their performances, Ushy's show featured more party and go-go music (Funk n' Roll as he called it) and believed in "straight R&B" mixes without scratching while Rock played hip-hop music and included more turntable tricks.
Turner worked with many artists and deejays such as Dr. Dre, The D.O.C., The Fila Fresh Crew, Sean "Barney" Thomas, Dezire and DJ Willie Fressh.
Turner scooped the local hip-hop scene and gathered rapper Fresh K and rapper Doc T to form the Fila Fresh Crew. Turner, who DJed alongside Dr. Dre in the days of the Wreckin' Cru, called up the west coast producer to check out his new group. Dre was impressed with the trio and invited them to Los Angeles to work on the "Dunk The Funk" single. The Fila Fresh Crew released several singles and a full-length album in the late 1980s before splitting up. Former member Doc T remained with Dre and the new N.W.A group and launched a career of his own under the name The D.O.C., Turner gathered some local Dallas producers and launched a solo album of his own in 1991 under the pseudonym Fela Fresh Crew. The Fela Fresh Crew recorded a song called "Out Of K's" which ended up on Dr. Dre's compilation album Dr. Dre 2003.
Discography
- "Tuffest Man Alive" (Fila Fresh Crew) 1987
- "N.W.A And The Posse" (N.W.A) 1987
"It's A Party" (Maniac Jessie V. & Nothin Nice) 1988
- "The Posse Chapter 2" (Various) 1988
- "Taking Charge" (Fela Fresh Crew)