Cookie Crew – Secrets (Of Success)

Cookie Crew is a rap music duo formed in Clapham, South London in 1983. Pryce and Banfield decided to break away from a 13-strong rap aggregation called “Warm Milk And The Cookie Crew” and make a career as a duo. In 1985 their career took off after winning a national rap championship and recording two sessions for the John Peel radio show. They gained a contract from the UK dance record label Rhythm King and were put in the studio with the production trio Beatmasters, who put them in a house music direction. In July 1987, the resultant single “Rok Da House” (no relation to the dance single “Rock The House” by Scoop) was popular in the nightclubs and peaked at number 79 in UK Singles Chart. Their follow-up single “Females” also was a minor hit in October 1987. The continuing popularity of “Rok Da House” in nightclubs eventually renewed interest in the track and garnered a couple of television appearances. The record was re-issued at end of December 1987 and crossed over into the mainstream. The song became a Top 5 hit at the beginning of February 1988, and was even used for an advertising campaign. The track is often quoted as being the first hip house record. The duo moved on to another label, FFRR Records and different producers, resulting in a string of hit singles in 1989, with “Born This Way (Let’s Dance)”, “Got To Keep On” with Edwin Starr and “Come And Get Some”; plus the album Born This Way! which reached a modest number 24 in the UK Albums Chart. By 1992 there …