UB Black Music Month Spotlight: M.C. Brains Talks ‘Oochie Coochie’ + Mike Bivins

The story goes; Brains mother woke him up and they were off to Denny’s to take a leap of faith. After mamas quick introduction to Michael Bivins security, Brains was freestylin in the parking lot of the Denny’s for Biv and the next month he was on airplane to L.A. He was now part of Michael Bivins’ Biv 10; and James DeShannon Davis was now M.C. Brains.

M.C. Brains first major performance was at The Apollo in 1992. He was added to the roster with Boyz II Men and ABC at the very last minute with his single not yet being released. He performed “Oochie Coochie La La La” and received a standing ovation. After that astounding performance, Motown Records called and wanted his album completed in 30 days.

In 1992, M.C. Brains debut album release entitled “Lovers Lane” went gold and the lead single single “Oochie Coochie” went platinum.

The album also included the other hit singles “Everybody’s Talkin About M.C. Brains” featuring Val Young of the Mary Jane Girls, followed by the R&B sensual “Brainstorming” featuring Boyz II Men.

The album was extremely versatile for a hip hop artist, blending R&B and Hip-Hop, while hitting some notes himself. Brains was doing Drake, before Drake was.

The debut album also featured some other hot joints like “Strawberry Lane” and “Boyz II Men (The Sequel)” featuring Boyz II Men. That song would later be used on their diamond plus album “II” for the “Khalil (Interlude),” which was dedicated to their late bodyguard Roderick (Khalil) Rountree, who was killed during a robbery attempt.

Unfortunately he had the fame but didn’t reap the benefits financially from this project due to not knowing the loopholes of the music industry at the time.

UB spoke to the platinum artist in a 2009 feature, called “Then 2 Now.” We wanted to get his thoughts on that period and allow him to express why he was upset with Michael Bivins.

UrbanBridgez.com: Where did the name M.C. Brains originally come from?
M.C. Brainz: Me and my homeboy was playing the dozens. Calling each other crackheads & things like that. We started calling each other body parts and things (laughs), someone called me Brains. It’s funny because after that, the name just stuck. After that day, people kept calling me Brains. I was 13/14 at the time & popular in the hood, so that’s what I went by. I decided later to put the meaning behind the name (Bringing Raps And Instrumentals None Stop).

UrbanBridgez.com: Did you remember how you felt about “Oochie Coochie” being your lead single and were you surprised by the success of it?
M.C. Brainz: At the time I was dealing with alot of negativity in the streets. My life was on the line, so the deal was really a blessing. I started flowing in the hood and when I got my deal, I felt like life was good. I was snatched out of a situation and I learned to appreciate it. It was #1 on the Rap, Pop and literally any other chart at that time. It’s one of them songs, I could have never done in the hood. When I got to Cali to start working on the album, he (Michael Bivens) had the idea. So I came in and wrote the verses. I knew it couldn’t be gangsta, so I spit it that way. I can spit to anything from Rock to a Country beat, I’m not just in one lane. That song also allowed me to see the business side of things and how they work. So for that I will always respect that song.

UrbanBridgez.com: You’ve stated recently that you feel Michael Bivens (New Edition) took advantage of you, could you elaborate more on that?
M.C. Brainz: When it comes to Mike, I play two sides of the fence. There are times when I get very upset and there was actually a time where I saw him dead in my head. But as I got older I started to realize God works in mysterious ways. All my homies who I was dealing with at the time, we’re either getting shot or ended up in jail. I know if I would of stayed in that situation I would’ve ended up dead. When I got the deal, I was on my way out of all of that. It was a blessing. But again, that’s why I say there are two sides to it, like the Gemini side that’s still pissed off. The thing is he didn’t just take a little, he was greedy, he stole a lot basically the whole shebang! See with me being young, just the fact that I could go out to the car dealer ship and get the car I wanted & have a stack just by signing my name I thought I was good. I was a teenager, that’s how he did it. Long as I had the fly clothes, car, I didn’t have a care in the world. I was 17/18 partying all over the world.

I could just go to the ATM wherever I was to get money and I thought that was good. Just by pushing one button, I could withdraw up to $500. See the deal with me and him came overnight. Like 30 days before all of that started happening I had no idea I would be in that position because it wasn’t planned. Mike was also my manager and the label. I remember talking to my road manager (Todd Russaw) about it at the time. And he was like do the math… We sold 1 million copies of the single and another 500,000 thousand of the album at $10 a pop! Mike made millions, greedy motha fucka. I felt like damn he could of just sent me a million I would of been cool with that, but he kept it all. So again, the other side of me gets pissed when I think about it. But the older I get, I do realize it was a lesson learned.

UrbanBridgez.com: Do you still keep in contact with my boy Todd Russaw, I know he was your road manager back then?
M.C. Brainz: Oh yeah that’s still my boy. I actually talked to Todd some days ago. He was like the only person in that camp I could depend on out on the road. For the two of us we had trust, we had money to make. With Mike, that’s the side that gets me frustrated still. It’s like how could you do another man like that? A man is suppose to respect another man. As I’m sure you know, there are two things you don’t mess with when it comes to a man.. His money & his woman. But it’s cool, I don’t wanna beat his ass on sight no more. Now it’s all about him seeing me succeed, that makes me feel better.

UrbanBridgez.com: You recorded two songs with Boyz II Men for your debut album, what’s your favorite memory of being on the road with them during that time?
M.C. Brainz: Man I just gotta say Wanya is my boy, he’s the one I got in the most trouble with (laughs). I have a lot of stories about us being on the road, I think the most memorable story I have with them though is when we were in the studio. Their vocals are crazy! It was so odd because they would sing like freakin hummingbirds with no flaws. I had never witnessed that before with a group, I mean no effort and they would just sound incredible. I remember when we was recording “Boys II Men (The Sequel),” they told me to sing on it instead of flow. I was like sing, they was like you heard us (laughs). They coached me through it and I did it. It was so much fun. That song was real talk, it’s saying how it is from going from a boy to a man, I still love that song.

Take A Trip Down Memory Lane with M.C. Brains!