Description
The Fila Fresh Crew was a West Coast rap group originally based in Dallas, Texas. The group consisted of Fresh K, Dr. Rock, and The D.O.C. (known as Doc-T at the time). Dr. Rock’s association with Dr. Dre during his stint as a DJ for the World Class Wreckin’ Cru helped land the Fila Fresh Crew a spot on the N.W.A. and the Posse compilation in 1987.
A year later, the trio released minor material through Macola Records, even though the group broke up by 1988. Doc-T changed his name to The D.O.C. and became a valuable contributor to the Eazy-E debut album and the newly formed gangsta rap group N.W.A. He acted as a writer to many tracks with Ruthless Records (and later Death Row Records). However, The D.O.C. is most remembered for his 1989 debut album featuring the hit single “It’s Funky Enough”.
During the same time, Dr. Rock continued to re-release his former group’s works and launched a solo album of his own in 1991 under the pseudonym Fela Fresh Crew. The Fila Fresh Crew’s only studio album, Tuffest Man Alive, was released in 1988 by Get Live Records/Macola Record Co. on cassette tape and vinyl.
The album was produced primarily by Dr. Rock, with production from Dr. Dre on three tracks. The songs “Dunk the Funk”, “Tuffest Man Alive”, “3 The Hard Way”, and “Drink It Up” were previously released on the compilation album N.W.A. and the Posse and were also released as the “Dunk the Funk” single.
“I Wanna Know What Love Is” was first released as a b-side to the “Fear of the Rap” single and is included as a bonus track on the 2017 reissue of Tuffest Man Alive. Despite being relatively unknown outside of the West Coast rap scene, Tuffest Man Alive remains a classic of the genre and showcases the unique sound of the Fila Fresh Crew in the late 1980s.
