The Who Krew?

[RAP] Late last month, some plain-looking fliers popped up around Northeast Portland: "DIGITAL UNDERGROUND, TONE LOC, U-KREW." The first two names likely elicit a giddy, sentimental response, but it's the third that stirs emotions for many a local hip-hop artist and old-school head. "They were the Run-DMC of Portland," says Vursatyl of Lifesavas. "They had smart ideas, they were funny, they had dope routines. In the late '80s, man, they were on the cutting edge of everything that was coming out. The U-Krew were just local superstars, and they paved the way for all of us."

Unfortunately, those fliers jumped the gun. Tonight's show won't feature the entire five-member crew, which hasn't performed as a group in well over a decade. But founding MC James McClendo (aka J. Mack), who turned 40 earlier this year, is performing (alongside special guests), and he says a full reunion is in the works for the U-Krew's 20-year anniversary early next year.

But why is this obscure rap-R&B crossover group from the late-'80s such a big deal to local hip-hop two decades later? The U-Krew represents a long list of firsts: They were the first Portland hip-hop group to ever show up on MTV or BET (where VJ Donnie Simpson allegedly quipped, "Well, I guess they've got five black people in Portland."), and the group likely retains its title as the most widely heard hip-hop group ever to come out of Stumptown after its single "If U Were Mine" reached No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1990.

The U-Krew was stylistically unique as well. Though "If U Were Mine" (which J. Mack says he'll perform tonight) is a funky ballad akin to those by contemporaries like LL Cool J and Heavy D, the group's arrangement—two MCs, a full-time singer, a DJ and live producer—was something new. Group members donned matching flashy suits (including their signature look: furry, open-chested zebra-stripe creations that the group wore in the video for "If U Were Mine") and performed synchronized dance routines, but countered their rap-ballads with more street-savvy club cuts like "Ugly" and "Rock That Shit." It's this wilder side that influenced seminal Portland groups like Lifesavas and Five Fingers of Funk, but the U-Krew's influence was felt beyond just their music: They made being from Portland acceptable.

Portland loves U-Krew because it was the group that loved Portland—a city with little national street cred and a small but tight-knit black community—back. "We used to get flack about that on tour, like, 'You guys really got black people in Portland?" J. Mack laughs. "I mainly did it to keep my town motivated and let them know that I had not forgotten where I came from. One group out of the whole bunch made it to the level we made it to," he continues. "But I wanted to let my fellas know that, you know, y'all are just as tight as a lot of these cats that we're out here touring with."

Tour they did. J. Mack says the group was on the road continuously for about three years, alongside everyone from Public Enemy to Vanessa Williams. "We had the time of our lives," Mack says. "We had a fuckin' blast."

By the time U-Krew returned to Portland in 1992, though, its first major label, Enigma, had declared bankruptcy and a second deal with Capitol—who wanted more artistic control than U-Krew was willing to give up—was crumbling fast. The professional setbacks were exhausting, and would lead to the group's dissolution in 1993. But J. Mack still remembers how good it felt to be home. "I remember coming back to Portland and there were all these new rappers," he says. People Mack remembered as children had taken up the craft, and half-hearted MCs had gotten serious about their music. "Everybody was handing me fliers and saying, 'Hey man, come to our show.' That feels good to be able to light a fire under my town. And these cats are still holding it down. I'm proud of all of 'em."

J. Mack and special guests open for Digital Underground and Tone Loc Wednesday, Oct. 31, at the Roseland Theater. 8 pm $30. All ages. The official after-party is at New Born Tribe. 9 pm $10. All ages. Also see music listings. Watch the video for "If U Were Mine"

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WWeek 2015