The Mysterious Case of The U.S. Rap Team Sweatshirt

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by defunkd (@defunkd)

I got this sweatshirt about 10 years ago in a bundle of vintage clothing from a second-hand clothing mill in the Netherlands. I had no clue what it was, but it seemed promising and of the rap tee genre. This was also amid the tri-blend t-shirt goldrush, where it seemed any print on a tri-blend tee would fetch more money. And this just so happened to be a Russell Athletic tri-blend sweatshirt, so I thought, I could really have something unique here. And I wasn’t wrong. This obscure sweatshirt opened up a wormhole of Harlem and Hip Hop history.

Yet, after scouring Google, I couldn’t find a single nugget of information about the shirt. Not only could I not figure out who The U.S. Rap Team was, but there wasn’t a shred of information on Jam Creations Entertainment either. So I stashed it away and forgot about it.

Fast-forward to a few months ago, when I pulled the sweatshirt out of storage. I got excited to see it again, thinking that by now, some information must have surfaced. I also had a few new tricks up my short sleeves for identifying t-shirts, so I confidently got to work.

Sadly, there were still no hits. I came up empty again.

It’s pretty mind-boggling that there’s no information about the Rap Team or Jam Creations, especially considering the effort and money it takes to print a shirt in that era. So I reached out to our IG community to see if they had information, offering a reward of $50 AND AND the sweatshirt if they could crack the case.

I got a handful of DMs, most out of frustration due to failed efforts. Another one that was a theory based on the “Jam” element of the piece, maybe it was pre Def Jam. My old pal Oscar from badbackvintage messaged me to tell me he reached out to Freddy Fresh, a Hip Hop Historian who literally wrote the book on obscure rap recordings.

“This is the first book in the world that deals with the uncharted mysteries of every conceivable RAP 12″ single released between 1979-1988” describes the Rap Records book on Amazon.

Well that certainly sounds promising!

At the same time I reached out to DJ Ross One at Rap Tees, another Hip Hop historian author, who has the world’s finest rap t-shirt collection.

As it turns out, neither hadn’t the foggiest clue what this sweatshirt represented.

But then I received a beacon of hope, in the form of a DM from Thrift4Lyfe, aka Dan S.

Good Afternoon,

I have tried to do some research on your sweatshirt, although I could not come up with much, I was pleased to at least find some info on the U.S. Rap Team, who was, according to this flyer, going on tour and releasing an album. I can’t really find info on “Tellin’ it like it is”, I’d think the Jam Creations Entertainment is either a promoter or a label.

credit: Cornell University

The Promoter for the show in the Flyer was Willie Gums, who according to two sources, wanted to help kids in the community, hence the talent show aspect.

The tag from the sweatshirt does seem to be from the 80s, although I don’t this tag logo was used until 1983, so the group must have remained intact after 1981, but I was unable to find more info on them.

When I asked Dan how he found it, he said he went through Cornell University’s Hip Hop flyer collection, searched through the entire database one by one. Because as it turns out, “The U.S. Rap Team” is not actually mentioned in the meta data of the entry, he just happened to spot the graphics while sorting through them all. He found a needle in a digital haystack.

The other interesting thing – this flyer is part of Johan Kugelberg’s hop hop flyer collection, his name may sound familiar because he authored the legendary Vintage Rock T-Shirts book from 2007.

But so many questions still remained. First, Jam Creations Entertainment is still a mystery. But Dan’s idea that it was a label seemed to be solid. Likely they were new, maybe this was their foray into the business, yet things didn’t go according to plan and nothing ever came of them.

I thought for sure Willie Gums would have more information, but sadly, I find out he passed away. So then I felt it essential to learn as much about Willie Gums as I could, who was this Harlem Hip Hop legend? Information about him is fairly scarce, we contacted anyone and everyone who was linked to Willie, but DMs were never opened, and if they were, we weren’t replied to. But thanks to his niece along with an entry in a book about the history of hip hop, we were able to piece things together.

Who Was Willie Gums?

In 1976, a savvy Harlem-based entrepreneur named Willie Johnson, aka Willie Gums, and sometimes L.A. Boy Willie Gums, created “The Rolls Royce Movement.” Gums had a brilliant idea: turn high-end vehicles into luxury taxis. He would go on to have a mini-fleet of them; two served Harlem, and one catered to the Bronx. The fact that Gums managed to convince the owners of these cars to use them was an example of his skills as a salesman and negotiator. Those who wanted a private ride to a show could arrive in style. The movement also catered to rides for couples, who wanted to kick their date night up a notch.

Gums also organized events at The Renaissance Ballroom in Harlem, and his luxury vehicles made frequent trips there. In the 1930s “The Renny,” was a massive space was used for big band dances and was home to the Harlem Rens, the first black-owned basketball team.

credit: blackfives.org/pacesconnection.com

Fast forward to 1976, amid the disco era, from 6pm-11pm on Friday and Saturday, kids could party for a $1 cover charge, thanks to Willie Gums. By 1980, Hip Hop was having a huge moment, and Gums would go on to promote some of the largest hip-hop events at the Renaissance Ballroom (and the legendary Audubon Lounge).

DJ AJ, Lovebug Starski, Busy Bee, and Kurtis Blow were among a few of the hip-hop legends Willie worked with.

According to Nelson George who authored Hip Hop America, the promoters who were using the Renny for their events were on borrowed time. All thanks to the Abyssinian church where a young Hip Hop-hating reverend named Calvin Butts started making an ass of himself. He was not a fan of the loud partying by young people in earshot of his beloved church. Sure, it may sound like the plot of a 1980s teen movie, but in that era, the church had a massive influence over the community, and it wasn’t long before Butts got the Rolls Royce Movement got booted from the Ballroom. While his days at the Ballroom were over, Willie was far from finished. His mission simply shifted to other more welcoming venues, like the theatre at Broadway and 146th St, featured on the flyer above, where he advertised being back by popular demand and the “NEW” Rolls Royce Movement.

Willie Gums’ commitment to the Harlem community continued his entire life. A mentor, coach, and director of his senior center operated by NYCHA. He was also a proud grandfather of two twin girls, and a son, from his daughter Tameika.

Willie Gums Johnson passed away in 2018.

“He was a big man in stature and had the heart to match. He would help those he cared for until the goal was completed. He inspired me to be who I am today in 2018. I am an award-winning youth activist, community center director, media consultation entrepreneur, and forever grateful,” wrote his niece, Aprecia “Preem” Cabey.

Reverend Calvin Butts

Reverend Butts continued his ill-fated hip-hop crushing mission in the decades that followed; on one occasion in 1993 he literally tried to crush it by putting boxes of tapes and CDs outside of his church and had planned to use a steamroller he had on standby.

Daily News 1993/06/06

(The only t-shirt I could spot among that crowd is a total classic. A Fashion Victim, “Get a Job” t-shirt. Hey, if you want to piss off a reverend, it was the perfect choice. Also a touch surprising the editor allowed it to be printed.)

Calvin Butts also debated with Ice-T, on TV.

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony even used a sample from one of his sermons in their songs. “We’re not against rap. We’re not against rappers. But we are against those thugs.”

Butts would also play a big role in the fate of the Renny, more on that later…

What Happened to the Renaissance Ballroom?

In 1989 good ol’ Reverend Butts founded a non-profit called, the Abyssinian Development Corporation. One of the company’s most ambitious projects was to purchase the Ballroom property, with the promise of restoring it. A group of Harlem entrepreneurs chipped in a chunk of change and formed the Renaissance Complex Redevelopment Corporation (RCRC). Meanwhile, the community rallied to have the site designated a landmark, which was basically a no-brainer.

“The question before the Commission today is whether these buildings are eligible for designation as landmarks, and clearly they are. As one committee member put it, these buildings comprise one of the ‘dearest sites in Harlem,’ and are a cultural touchstone for Harlem. […] Both the Ballroom and Casino played an important role in the Harlem Renaissance. Owned and operated by African-American entrepreneurs, they were Harlem’s first entertainment complex where movies, theater, dancing, and sports could be enjoyed. Major films featuring all African-American casts, banquets, award ceremonies, major musical talent, and the Renaissance Five basketball team, all contributed to the reputation of the complex into the 1960s. In short, the buildings are eligible for designation based on their cultural and historical significance.”

Can you guess who was not in favor of a landmark designation? Butts, his non-profit and the RCRC. They knew their Renny project couldn’t go forward under that designation due to the limitations that are imposed on such sites. In 2007 they successfully persuaded NYC Landmarks Commission to remove the Ballroom from its list of buildings under landmark consideration. In their defense, the building was in extremely poor shape. Spike Lee even used it as a filming location, the backdrop of a crack den from hell, in the movie Jungle Fever.

The RCRC had promised some preservation – use part of the building’s facade as the base of the structure that would house a new ballroom, restaurant, and 500-seat theater, with condos on top.

Plans went ahead, but crashing markets and financial constraints eventually dismantled the project.

Photo: Harlem Bespoke

After turning most of the building into a into piles of bricks, Butts, the ADC and the RCRC quietly cashed out in 2014 to the tune of $15 million. A real estate investment group called BRP Development purchased the property, and it was eventually discovered that they had zero intention of preservation.

So Butts and his corporate entities, are ultimately responsible for the obliteration of this piece of Harlem history. They rallied to remove landmark protection, then, failed to incorporate any type of protection for the property in their deal with BRP.

The community called Butts’ character into question, they protested, signed a petition, but despite the outcry, it was a done deal. In a final effort to save face, it was said that construction workers would save the original bricks and use them to build a wall inside the new building, complete with a placard that honors the history of the address. I’ve been unable to confirm if such a wall exists, or if was just another false promise to quell the community’s qualms.

“The Rennie” is now a 134 unit luxury apartment building.

We absolutely love the fact that this sweatshirt unlocked treasure trove of history, and it helped bring a little attention to a legendary Harlem man and historic venue. Plus, we got to say Calvin Butts made an ass of himself, I hope y’all caught that one.

Yet, the mystery of this sweatshirt has only been partially solved, and has spawned some new missions:

1. Figure out who “Jam Creations Entertainment” was and what became of them.
2. Find members of the U.S. Rap Team and ask them tell their story.
3. Pray to the Hip Hop gods that there’s a demo cassette tucked away in a closet somewhere so we could hear a track or two from “Tellin’ It Like It Is.”

If you have any further information please contact us here.

And congrats to Dan, the sweatshirt has gone to a wonderful home.