One of the founding members of
the Treacherous Three,
Special K is an old-school rapper from New York City who was active throughout 1980s and early '90s. Born
Kevin Keaton in the Bronx, NY, he is the younger brother of fellow old-school rapper
T la Rock. In addition to rappers
Kool Moe Dee and
L.A. Sunshine, plus DJ Easy Lee, he was one of
the Treacherous Three. One of the very first rap acts put to wax,
the Treacherous Three made their debut in 1978 on Enjoy Records and released several singles on the label, most notably "The Body Rock" (1980). In 1982 the group moved to Sugar Hill Records, and released another series of singles. They also made their full-length debut on the label with
The Treacherous Three (1984), which compiled past singles such as "The Body Rock." In 1985
the Treacherous Three splintered, and
Kool Moe Dee swiftly embarked on a successful solo career, teaming with up-and-coming producer
Teddy Riley in 1986 for the hit single "Go See the Doctor." Meanwhile,
Special K also embarked on a solo career, though it proved considerably less fruitful. He made his solo debut in 1987 with "Special-K Is Good" on Public Records, and in 1988 he released the single "Knockout" on PKO Records. Neither of these singles led to a full-length album, however, and
Special K instead turned toward production work. Most notably, he co-produced the full-length debut of
Ed O.G & da Bulldogs,
Life of a Kid in the Ghetto (1991), which spawned the hit single "Be a Father to Your Child." A few years later
Special K reunited with the other members of
the Treacherous Three and released the reunion album
Old School Flava (1994) on Wrap Records.
–
Jason Birchmeier, Rovi