The Egyptian Lover

Biography

Perhaps one of the most innovative companies from the old-school/electro period, Egyptian Lover’s Greg Broussard recorded a parade of singles through the mid-’80s that proved influential for many years. Inspired himself by Kraftwerk/hip-hop soundclashes like Afrika Bambaataa’s “Globe Rock and roll” and Guy Parrish’s “Hip-Hop End up being Bop (Don’t End),” along with the extroverted black-lover spirit of Prince and Zapp, Broussard started documenting from his LA bottom in 1983. Twelve months later, he surfaced using the breakdancing anthem “Egypt, Egypt,” released over the Freak Defeat label. Much like excellent tracks getting produced around America — from Detroit (Cybotron) to NY (Mantronix) — “Egypt, Egypt” and successors “Exactly what is a DJ If He Can’t Nothing,” “And My Defeat Goes Increase,” and “Pc Love (Special Dreams)” spent enough time in DJ crates through the ’80s and ’90s. Broussard also released many LPs in the mid-’80s with the ’90s, highlighted by 1984’s Over the Nile (virtually a greatest-hits compilation), 1986’s One Monitor Brain, and 1994’s Back again through the Tomb. He came back in 2006 with Platinum Pyramids, continuing to execute live — including times with M.We.A. — created a monitor for Rye Rye, and, in 2015, released the long-in-the-works 1984. The next year, Stones Toss compiled 1983-1988, an effective anthology of Broussard’s early shows. It included a few re-edits from label manager Peanut Butter Wolf, who sampled “Exactly what is a DJ If He Can’t Scrape” during his early-’90s collaboration with MC Charizma.

Quick Facts