Reviews – My Rise 2 Fame by Christopher Wong Won aka Fresh Kid Ice
What young boy growing up in the 1980s at one point didn’t run up to one of the girls in class, or in some cases straight to the hottest teachers desk and screamed out “We Want Some Pussy” at least once? Ok, maybe most kids didn’t go that far, but by the fourth grade I had already heard the song of that same title and many other 2 Live Crew classics. Even though they went above and beyond to ensure that little motherfuckers like myself didn’t get to hear the music by being the first to place Parental Advisory stickers on the albums or to even recording complete clean versions and still were demonized. As nasty as the music was the group took precautions and did it right, but in the end faced horrible backlash from the Media, Angry Parents, the Government, and the Police. In 1991 after releasing several successful albums, the group as we know it with all four members, disbanded. Sure there were different variations and line ups, but as a true 2 Live Crew fan to me the best line up is with Fresh Kid Ice, Luke, Brother Marquis, and Mr. Mixx all together.
Everyone knows the 2 Live Crew, but what many don’t know is the amazing life of the groups founder Christopher “Fresh Kid Ice” Wong Won. I already knew much of the history of the group and bits and pieces about the members, but when I sat down to read Chris’s book “My Rise 2 Fame” I was immediately blown away about the pain and struggles this man has went through. He was born in Trinidad and by 1977 he moved to Brooklyn, and when he arrived he was greeted by the infamous serial killer Son of Sam and the Black Out. By the early 80s Chris was in the Air Force where he first started the Rock-On Crew, but it wasn’t until he was stationed in California where he met Mr. Mixx and Amazing V and formed the 2 Live Crew.
A few years later Luke brought them down to Miami, Brother Marquis replaced Amazing V and the rest is history. During those years of success, Chris experienced some very traumatizing events as in this book he details health issues as well as a serious car crash where he was a passenger in a friend’s Camaro that left him with his arm and shoulder internally severed. The only reason he survived this horrible crash, Doctors say is that he was asleep during the moment of impact.
He also shares with the readers about his wild times on the road, describing in nasty detail only as the founding member of the 2 Live Crew can. When speaking about the groupies that he would fuck, he mentions that some would give up the goods for just a 2 Live shirt. He speaks of group sex, fucking college girls, and speaks about their famous Japanese Tour where one night a chick came on stage and gave JT Money head and the following night the chick did it to Luke.Chris speaks of how sometimes girls would be waiting on them in hotel rooms eating each other out. Like I said, this is the founder of the nastiest rap group ever, so of course you already know you are gonna get some tales of crazy sex with groupies.
It’s also packed full of rare pictures of Chris with all kinds of entertainers such as Ice Cube, Too Short, and E-40 to name a few. When he is speaking about the classic album As Nasty As They Wanna Be he breaks down virtually every song. He speaks on the concepts, ideas, who came up with what, I thought that was dope how he did that. Nasty was one of the most talked about, controversial and remembered rap albums in history.
Things were going good or seemed to be and by the next album Banned In The USA Chris speaks of only receiving a check for less than 10K. They put out As Nasty As They Wanna Be II and shortly after the group broke up. By the mid 90’s Luke Records filed for bankruptcy due to law suits and owing people money, not long after Lil Joe bought the rights to the music and put out 2 more group albums, one with Mixx, Marquis and Chris and one with just Marquis and Chris. Even though the group was honored by VH1, they have still not reunited with all four members.
After reading the book I took a lot away from it. You have a man who came to this country as a youth, served in the US military, formed one of the most controversial groups in Hiphop history, fought for our Freedom of Speech, but also has battled personal demons, survived 2 strokes, a car accident that left him with permanent nerve damage, was not paid what a Multi-Platinum artist should have been and much more. My Rise 2 Fame is one of the dopest books out there, not only does it tell the story of 2 Live from the beginning , but it also goes into great detail of the success and personal struggles of a true pioneer. Fresh Kid Ice helped to pioneer the West Coast and Down South, that alone makes his legacy set in stone! -Scott “Prezident” Bejda
Get the book on Amazon or order it directly from http://www.realfreshkidice.com/
