The story behind Camp Lo’s ‘Luchini AKA This Is It’
The Bronx rap duo Camp Lo could perhaps best be described today as “cult” icons, given that they never quite made it big. They failed, really, to ever top their debut album, Uptown Saturday Night, and its second single ‘Luchini AKA This Is It’,’ which was something of a hit.
‘Luchini AKA This Is It’ is heavy on the horns, and it showcased members Geechi Suede and Sonny Cheeba’s impressively smooth flow. It did fairly well for the duo, hitting number five on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart, while even making it into the broader US pop charts at number 50. This would prove to be their best ever chart performance.
Most of Uptown Saturday Night, including ‘Luchini AKA This Is It,’ was produced by Ski Beatz, who later became more known for producing music for Jay-Z. In fact, as Ski himself revealed during a conversation with Complex in 2010, his work with Hov proved to be somewhat contentious with the boys of Camp Lo.
“I had done ‘Politics As Usual’ for Jay-Z,” Ski recalled, “but Camp Lo wanted the beat because of the horns. And they was like, ‘Yo how you gonna give that beat to Jay-Z? What about us? You always giving Jay the dope beats!’”
But Ski did also produce some great music for Camp Lo, whom he had gotten involved with after becoming neighbours with Geechi Suede around 1992 or ’93. Suede started visiting Ski’s house from time to time, and he made clear his desire to start making music. “So,” Ski recalled, “I started doing songs for him.”
Ski and Suede made music together for a period, but it never really went anywhere and they eventually stopped seeing each other so much. A year or so passed before Suede reached out to Ski again, but, this time, he had company. He and Sonny Cheeba were working together now, and they wanted help.
“I heard them rhyme and I was like, ‘Yo, it’s kinda dope,’” Ski recalled. “They didn’t have any music but they had that flow, that sound, that kick. We just put it together and that’s how we came up with most of that Uptown Saturday Night stuff.”
The trio put together most of the album, but, as the process neared its end, it became clear that the album was lacking in a strong enough single. Describing this point as “crunch time,” the coveted single only really started to take shape once Ski had landed on the disco track ‘Adventures in the Land of Music’ by Dynasty.
“I got that Dynasty sample,” Ski recalled, “and I said, ‘This is it, this is the one for them.’ I wrote the hook in my house.”
Ski, satisfied with what he’d made, called up Suede and played it for him over the line. Suede and Cheeba then made it Ski’s house, and they got to work on writing and recording their verses. They showed the demo to their label, who approved, and they were then in the studio to record it properly. “Next thing you know,” said Ski, “it was all over the place.”