View source for MC Shan

{{short description|American rapper}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| image             = MC Shan.jpeg
| name              = MC Shan
| caption           = MC Shan in 2021
| background        = solo_singer
| birth_name        = Shawn Moltke
| alias             = 
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1965|9|6|mf=y}}
| birth_place       = [[Queens]], [[New York City]], U.S.
| origin            = 
| instrument        = 
| genre             = {{hlist|[[Hip hop music|Hip hop]]|[[Contemporary R&B|R&B]]}}
| occupation        = {{hlist|Rapper|singer|songwriter|record producer}}
| years_active      = 1985–present
| label             = {{hlist|[[MCA Records|MCA]]|Bridge|[[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]]|[[Cold Chillin' Records|Cold Chillin']]}}
| past_member_of    = [[Juice Crew]]
| website           = 
}}

'''Shawn Moltke''' (born September 6, 1965), better known by his stage name '''MC Shan''', is an American rapper, singer and record producer from New York City. He is best known for his guest appearance and production on Canadian singer [[Snow (musician)|Snow]]'s 1992 single "[[Informer (song)|Informer]]", which peaked atop the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]. Shan is also known for his 1986 single "[[The Bridge (MC Shan song)|The Bridge]]," which was produced by [[Marley Marl]] and entered the [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]] chart.

==Career==
In 1985, Shan signed with [[MCA Records]] to release his debut single, "Feed the World", which became his only song with the label. He was also interviewed in the 1986 cult documentary ''[[Big Fun In The Big Town]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2323202/|title=Big Fun in the Big Town|website=IMDb.com|access-date=January 22, 2020}}</ref> MCA were not sure about what to do with hip hop, thus he was dismissed from the label. Not long after, Shan signed with [[Cold Chillin' Records]] due to his relationship with Marl, and joined Marl's [[Juice Crew]].<ref name="LarkinDM"/> His debut album ''[[Down by Law (MC Shan album)|Down by Law]]'' was released by [[Warner Records|Warner Bros.]] in 1987.<ref name="LarkinDM">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1998|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0252-6|page=218}}</ref> MC Shan was one of the first hip hop artists to have a major record deal with the label.

He also found himself to be a key player in the noted hip-hop rivalry known as [[the Bridge Wars]], between the Juice Crew and [[Boogie Down Productions]]. Controversy rose from his 1986 single "The Bridge". The A-side, one of the first songs to sample "[[Impeach The President]]" (after the earlier "Get Physical" by Steady B, also produced by Marley Marl) tells the story of how his crew got started in Queensbridge Houses, the public housing projects just north of the Queensboro Bridge. It also provided a template for other artists to use it as Queens representative anthem. The B-side is a mild-tempered diss-track aimed at [[LL Cool J]] for his song [[Rock the Bells (song)|Rock The Bells]] which took the beat from "Marley Scratch", a promo by [[Marley Marl|Marlon]] and Shawn from 1985 on NIA Records. Although at the time this practice was not allowed, [[KRS-One]] however responded with a parody of "The Bridge" named "South Bronx," and the Juice Crew sampled that song with a reply, "Kill That Noise." ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' magazine described the conflict: "In 1986, it was a beef that launched the star of KRS-One."<ref>Hsu, Hua. [http://www.slate.com/id/2169611/nav/tap3/ Where's the Beef?It's on YouTube. Why that's a problem for hip-hop.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080607051044/http://www.slate.com/id/2169611/nav/tap3/ |date=2008-06-07 }}, ''Slate'', 6 July 2007.</ref> A week later, Boogie Down Productions then released "[[The Bridge is Over]]," widely celebrated among hip-hop fans as the highest rated [[diss track]]. Somehow all the negative attention went to MC Shan. Years later, MC Shan remade "The Bridge" into "Da Bridge 2001", and strongly denied the bridge "was over", saying:

:''The Bridge was never over''
:''We left our mark''
:''This jam is dedicated to you and your boys''
:''I brought my Queensbridge thugs to kill that noise''

Shan's second album, ''[[Born to Be Wild (MC Shan album)|Born To Be Wild]]'', followed in 1988 and revealed Shan's [[b-boy]] persona, with production once again by Marley Marl.<ref name="LarkinDM"/> 1990's ''[[Play it Again, Shan]]'' displayed a more mature style but it also proved to be his last album.<ref name="LarkinDM"/> When Cold Chillin's sub-label Livin' Large was active, Shan was listed as one of its artists but only released two singles ("Hip Hop Roughneck" b/w "Watchin' My Style" and "Pee-Nile Reunion" (prod. Large Professor, feat. Kool G Rap, Neek The Exotic, Snow, and Diesel) b/w "Don't Call It A Comeback"). Despite the fact that he focused more on his production career (like Snow's ''[[12 Inches of Snow]]'', which featured "[[Informer (song)|Informer]]", on which he appeared) he recorded "Da Bridge 2001" for [[Nas (rapper)|Nas]]' 2000 compilation called ''[[Nas & Ill Will Records Presents QB's Finest|QB's Finest]]'', which also featured [[Mobb Deep]], [[Cormega]], and [[Nature (artist)|Nature]].

Shan had a brief stint in films, playing a bit role in [[Steve Martin]]'s ''[[L.A. Story]]'' as Rappin' Waiter. Shan is credited as the guest rapper on the [[Sum 41]] song "[[It's What We're All About|Dave's Possessed Hair/It's What We're All About]]" in the album ''[[Half Hour of Power]]''.

In June 2017, MC Shan released his first new studio album in 27 years titled ''Bars Over Bullshit'', which was released digitally through iTunes and Google Play.

==Discography==
===Studio albums===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em;" | Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:23em;" | Album details
! scope="col" colspan="3" | Peak chart positions
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| [[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums|US<br />R&B<br/>/HH]]<br /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/stetsasonic/chart-history/blp/|title=Stetsasonic Chart History|work=[[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums]]|access-date=2020-12-02}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Down by Law (MC Shan album)|Down by Law]]''
|
* Released: August 8, 1987
* Label: [[Cold Chillin' Records|Cold Chillin']]/[[Warner Bros. Records|Warner]]
* Formats: [[Compact Disc|CD]], [[LP record|LP]], [[Compact Cassette|Cassette]], [[Music download|digital download]], [[Streaming media|streaming]]
| 40
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Born to Be Wild (MC Shan album)|Born to be Wild]]''
|
* Released: October 25, 1988
* Label: Cold Chillin'/Warner
* Format: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download
| 48
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Play it Again, Shan]]''
|
* Released: April 11, 1990
* Label: Cold Chillin'/Warner
* Format: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download
| 40
|-
! scope="row" | ''Bars over Bullshit''
|
* Released: June 25, 2017<ref>{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/en/album/bars-over-bullshit/1248509806|title=Bars over Bullshit by MC Shan|website=Apple Music}}</ref>
* Label: Pioneered Dis Recordings
* Format: LP, digital download, streaming
| —
|-
| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
|}

===Unreleased albums===
*''You Love to Hear the Story'' (2007, [[Bungalo Records|Bungalo]])<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/you-love-to-hear-the-story-mw0001594475 |title=MC Shan - You Love to Hear the Story |last= |first= |publisher=[[TiVo Corporation]] |work=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=September 7, 2021}}</ref>

===Compilation albums===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of compilation albums
! scope="col" rowspan="1" style="width:11em;" | Title
! scope="col" rowspan="1" style="width:16em;" | Album details
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Battle for Rap Supremacy]]''
|
* Released: 1996
* Label: [[Cold Chillin' Records|Cold Chillin']]
* Formats: CD, LP, Cassette
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row" | ''The Best Of Cold Chillin': MC Shan''
|
* Released: May 22, 2001<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-of-cold-chillin-mw0000587275 |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=
|access-date=September 6, 2021 |title= MC Shan - The Best of Cold Chillin'}}</ref>
* Label: Landspeed Records
* Formats: CD, LP
|-
! scope="row" | ''Q.B.O.G.: The Best of M.C. Shan''
|
* Released: March 20, 2012<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/qbog-the-best-of-mc-shan-mw0002308325 |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=
|access-date=September 6, 2021 |title= MC Shan - Q.B.O.G.: The Best of M.C. Shan}}</ref>
* Label: Cold Chillin', Traffic Entertainment Group
* Formats: CD
|-
|}

=== Singles ===
==== As lead artist====
<!-- ALL SINGLES MUST BE LISTED HERE. ANY SINGLE RELEASED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY TO RADIO IS CLASSIFIED AS A SINGLE. PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE -->

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year
! scope="col" colspan="2"| Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|US R&B]]<br><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/monie-love/chart-history/bsi/ |title=Monie Love - US R&B/Hip-Hop Songs |publisher=billboard.com |access-date=6 September 2021}}</ref>

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| [[Hot Rap Songs|US Rap]]<br><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/monie-love/chart-history/rap/ |title=Monie Love - US Hot Rap Songs |publisher=billboard.com |access-date=6 September 2021}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row"| "Feed the World"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/feed-the-world-mr0000960330|title=MC Shan - Feed the World (LP - MCA #MCA23603)|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
|1985
|align="center"| —
|align="center" rowspan="8" {{n/a|*}}
|{{N/A|Non-album single}}
|-
! scope="row"| "[[Jane, Stop This Crazy Thing]]"
|rowspan="3"|1986
|align="center"| —
|rowspan="5"|''Down by Law''
|-
! scope="row"|"[[Beat Biter]]"
|align="center"| —
|-
! scope="row"|"[[The Bridge (MC Shan song)|The Bridge]]"
|align="center"| —
|-
! scope="row"|"[[Left Me Lonely]]"<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(featuring [[TJ Swan]])</span>
|rowspan="2"|1987
|align="center"| 71
|-
! scope="row"|"Down by Law (Remix)"<ref>{{cite AV media notes | others=MC Shan | date=1987 | title=Down By Law (Remix) | type=track listing | publisher=[[Cold Chillin' Records|Cold Chillin']] | id=CC 104}}</ref>
|align="center"| —
|-
! scope="row"|"[[I Pioneered This]]"
|rowspan="2"|1988
|align="center"| —
|rowspan="2"|''Born to Be Wild''
|-
! scope="row"|"Juice Crew Law"<ref>{{cite AV media notes | others=M.C. Shan | date=1988 | title=Juice Crew Law/They Used To Do It Out In The Park | type=track listing | publisher=[[Cold Chillin' Records|Cold Chillin']] | id=0-21159}}</ref>
|align="center"| —
|-
! scope="row"|"[[It Don't Mean a Thing]]"
|rowspan="2"|1990
|align="center"| —
|align="center"| 29
|rowspan="3"|''Play it Again, Shan''
|-
! scope="row"|"Ain't It Good to You"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/aint-it-good-to-you-vinyl-single-mr0001615614|title=MC Shan - Ain't It Good to You [Vinyl Single] (12 inch Vinyl Single - Warner Bros. #21726)|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
|align="center"| —
|align="center"| —
|-
! scope="row"|"Time for Us to Defend Ourselves"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/time-for-us-to-defend-mr0001248318|title=MC Shan - Time for Us to Defend (12 inch Vinyl Single - Warner Bros. #21809)|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
|1991
|align="center"| —
|align="center"| —
|-
! scope="row"|"Hip Hop Roughneck/Watchin' My Style"<ref name="allmusic.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/hip-hop-ruff-neck-mr0002290843|title=MC Shan - Hip Hop Ruff Neck (12 inch Vinyl Single - Livin' Large Records #118)|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
|rowspan="2"|1993
|align="center"| —
|align="center"| —
| rowspan="2" {{Non-album singles}}
|-
! scope="row"|"Pee-Nile Reunion"<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(featuring [[Kool G Rap]], Neek the Exotic, Diesel & [[Snow (musician)|Snow]])</span><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/penial-reunion-mr0001174812|title=MC Shan - Penial Reunion (12 inch Vinyl Single - Livin' Large Records #127)|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
|align="center"| —
|align="center"| —
|-
! scope="row"|"[[Kill That Noise]]"
|1995
|align="center"| —
|align="center"| —
|''Battle for Rap Supremacy''
|-
! scope="row"|"Shan & The Queens Connect"<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(featuring Michael Myers)</span><ref>{{cite AV media notes | date=1998 | title=Shan & The Queens Connect | type=track listing | publisher=BUDS Distribution | id=BDS-805}}</ref>
| 1998
|align="center"| —
|align="center"| —
| rowspan="3" {{Non-album singles}}
|-
! scope="row"|"My Swagga Make My Chain Swing"<ref>{{cite AV media notes | date=1998 | title=Shan & The Queens Connect | type=track listing | publisher=BUDS Distribution | id=BDS-805}}</ref>
| 2009
|align="center"| —
|align="center"| —
|-
! scope="row"|"Back to the Streets"<ref>{{cite AV media notes | date=1998 | title=Shan & The Queens Connect | type=track listing | publisher=BUDS Distribution | id=BDS-805}}</ref>
| 2010
|align="center"| —
|align="center"| —
|-
! scope="row"|"Let's Bring Hip-Hop Back"<ref>{{cite AV media notes | date=1998 | title=Shan & The Queens Connect | type=track listing | publisher=BUDS Distribution | id=BDS-805}}</ref>
| 2012
|align="center"| —
|align="center"| —
|rowspan="2"|''Bars over Bullshit''
|-
! scope="row"|"Every Body Wanna Be a Big Star"<ref>{{cite AV media notes | date=1998 | title=Shan & The Queens Connect | type=track listing | publisher=BUDS Distribution | id=BDS-805}}</ref>
| 2013
|align="center"| —
|align="center"| —
|-
! scope="row"|"Gritty"<ref>{{cite AV media notes | date=1998 | title=Shan & The Queens Connect | type=track listing | publisher=BUDS Distribution | id=BDS-805}}</ref>
| 2015
|align="center"| —
|align="center"| —
| rowspan="2" {{Non-album singles}}
|-
! scope="row"|"Bounce"<ref>{{cite AV media notes | date=1998 | title=Shan & The Queens Connect | type=track listing | publisher=BUDS Distribution | id=BDS-805}}</ref>
| 2021
|align="center"| —
|align="center"| —
|-
| colspan="5"  style="text-align:center; font-size:75%;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. "*" indicates a chart that did not exist at the time.
|}

===Singles===
*1985: "Marley Scratch"
*1985: "Feed The World"
*1986: [[The Bridge Wars|"The Bridge"/"Beat Biter"]]
*1986: "Jane, Stop This Crazy Thing"
*1987: "Left Me Lonely"/"Kill That Noise"
*1988: "A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste'
*1988: "I Pioneered This"
*1988: "Juice Crew Law" / "They Used To Do It In The Park"
*1990: "I Ran The Game"
*1990: "It Don't Mean A Thing"
*1991: "Time For Us To Defend Ourselves"
*1991: "Ain't It Good To You"
*1993: "Hip Hop Roughneck"
*1993: "Pee-Nile Reunion" / "Don't Call It A Comeback"
*2001: "Da Bridge 2001" (w QB's Finest)
*2012: "Let's Bring Hip Hop Back"
*2013: "Everybody Wanna Be A Big Star Drive A Big Car"

==References==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

==External list==
*[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p13564|pure_url=yes}} MC Shan] at [[Allmusic]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shan, MC}}
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:African-American male rappers]]
[[Category:20th-century American male rappers]]
[[Category:Five percenters]]
[[Category:People from Long Island City, Queens]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Rappers from New York City]]
[[Category:Cold Chillin' Records artists]]
[[Category:21st-century American rappers]]
[[Category:21st-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American rappers]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American musicians]]
[[Category:Juice Crew members]]