Ninja Crew - Biography
By Eric Brightwell
Ninja Crew were the first rap crew in New Orleans to release a record. Although short-lived and still obscure outside of their hometown, their influence on the local rap scene was considerable. In addition, rappers Gregory D and Sporty T went on to have substantial careers that flirted with national recognition after Ninja Crew’s dissolution.
In the first half of the 1980s, southern hip-hop was completely dominated by south Florida’s popular bass scene which was supported by a healthy network of established labels. Although New Orleans largely lacked a label infrastructure, it was soon home to local rap groups including New York Incorporated, Masters of the Turntables and Rockers Revenge. Terence Vine was a Gentilly resident who played cymbals in his high school’s drum line. His involvement with rap was catalyzed in 1983 when a classmate named Larry began rapping whilst Vine played the beat to Run DMC’s “Sucker MCs.” Vine spent the following day composing a rap song which he submitted for Larry’s approval. One of Larry’s friends, Greg Duvernay, was a teen from the same neighborhood (who went to a different high school) and also had been bitten by the rap bug. Suitably impressed with Vine’s composition, Duvernay (as MC Gregory D) and Vine (as MC Sporty T) joined forces with another local teen, DJ Kenny D (and later Terrence McKenzie, who, a few years younger, was christened DJ Baby T) and formed Ninja Crew.
Shortly after their formation, the four teens began performing at gong shows and other talent competitions around the city. In 1986, Ninja Crew released a single “We Destroy” b/w “Baby T. Rock” on the famed Ft. Lauderdale bass label, 4-Sight. The hard 808 beats were programmed by Nat Seidman, who’d previously worked with Floridian rappers MC Shy D, MC ADE and Florida-associated actor/singer Philip Michael Thomas. Whilst the sound on the record reflected the influence of both bass and electro, Sporty T and Gregory D’s vocal interplay over the sparse backdrop also reflected the influence of south-beloved imports from the east coast like Run DMC’s “Peter Piper” and LL Cool J’s “Rock the Bells.”
That year and the next, two records would be released that would forever alter the course of New Orleans’s hip hop scene; New York act The Showboys’ “Drag Rap” and UK rapper Derek B’s “Rock the Beat” provided the foundation of a new sound, bounce, that completely overtook all other forms of rap in the city. The members of Ninja Crew split. Gregory D teamed with New York Incorporated’s Mannie Fresh and went on to release several bass and hardcore releases before Fresh became the house DJ for Cash Money. Baby T continued in production, notably working with UGK. As a solo rechristened DJ Lil Daddy, he released Marked 4 Death in 1997. On April 1, 2000, he was shot and killed in the Swart neighborhood in Baton Rouge, just 27 years old. Sporty T went on to release several solo records, including some great bounce. He also played an important part at Cash Money’s arch-rival, Big Boy Records. Ultimately he recorded a great deal of music at various labels in addition to starting his own, Sporty Records. After retiring from the music industry, he started a dry-wall business. On July 17th, 2008, Vine was murdered by unknown assailants who sprayed his FEMA trailer with AK-47 fire as he slept inside. He was 41 years old and left behind two sons and a stepdaughter.
