How Many Ivy League Rappers Do You Know?

NOW YOU KNOW of two: Patrick Steele '92 and Barry Cole '93, who together form the rap group The King & I. Their first album, "World Tribe," is scheduled for release early this year. The label is the group's own, Mack Daddy Records. They also own a Long Island production company, Cam 2, which produces songs and albums for other fledgling rap groups.

Steele first approached Cole in Hovey's Pub (in the basement of Thayer) after his DJ performance, when Barry was known on campus as DJ King Cole. Within a week, the two had already rapped four songs together.

The College community, not known for being a large consumer of rap music, proved fertile ground for the group. "Dartmouth provided the positive reinforcement that made us believe we could make it," says the surprisingly soft-spoken Cole. A film studies major, he did the group's first video for MTV as a senior project. Steele, a computer science major, uses his expertise with the studio's hightech equipment.

What is the music's ultimate meaning? Cole: "An anti-violence, proeducation message which inspires a comprehensive, J universally conscious mindstate." Steele: "Respect."

Rappers Cole(top) and Steele.