by Mildred C. Fallen
09.12.2012
Rap influence and naughty, naughty man Blowfly brings his XXX-rated show to Newport
Blowfly hatched from Soul songwriter/producer Clarence
Reid’s depraved imagination as his alter ego who loves to make parodies
about, well, getting off. As Blowfly, he rapped nasty ditties
decades before Too Short and 2 Live Crew. In the ’70s and ’80s, Reid
released a slew of Adults Only party records as Blowfly on his own Weird
World record label, all the while writing and producing for R&B
artists like Betty Wright, Joe Tex, Wilson Pickett, KC & the
Sunshine Band — and himself. At the time, fans of Reid (and even his family) didn’t know about his career as Blowfly.
His appeal remained underground. Like Rudy Ray Moore, who also built
his following imitating the street culture of signifying, Blowfly’s
poetic toasts were tall tales about size and strength. On “Rapp Dirty,”
he spits an outrageous storyline of him as a sexual superhero whipping
the Ku Klux Klan with his tool. A 45 spelled “Rap Dirty” from 1965, with
him rhyming to a beat like Southern radio disc jockeys, is considered
by many collectors to be the first Rap record.Even bawdier at 73, Blowfly still makes music, and in 2011, he was featured in a documentary about his career, The Weird World of Blowfly.
(The film is available on Netflix; check out the trailer below). In it, the caped crusader’s very elderly mother remembers that he said
his first cussword when he was 9 months old and told her his okra tasted
“ass-ty.” Blowfly is currently touring the Midwest and Canada on his “Porno Freak” tour.
Sept. 12 • York Street Cafe
2 Comments · Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Blowfly hatched from Soul songwriter/producer Clarence
Reid’s depraved imagination as his alter ego who loves to make parodies
about, well, getting off.