SCOTTY D SPENCER is an everyman. An Everyman who has been everywhere at once. The Compton, CA
native has not only been present to chronicle the birth and growth of West Coast Hip Hop culture,
Spencer has lived and participated in every element to the fullest. From capturing precious moments on
film to managing and promoting some of the West Coast most influential artists, Scotty D Spencer, is
finally sharing his journey riding shotgun to the birth and growth of Hip Hop in California with his
documentary film and book, HOW THE WEST WAS 1.
HOW THE WEST WAS 1 is a 10-part Docuseries with and accompanying book that chronicles the origins
of music, dance, fashion, graffiti, and Hip Hop culture on the West Coast going back to the early 1970s.
More importantly, Scotty D Spencer gives a personal account of this rap phenomenon and provides
interviews with a host of unsung legends who were responsible for setting the stage for the likes Coolio,
NWA, Egyptian Lover, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and every artist and DJ of note that popped on the scene in
the mid-1980s to this present day.
The story of Scotty D Spencer begins when he and his family moved to California from Morgantown,
West Virginia in 1969. Hanging with his older cousins and making new friends in the neighborhood,
Scotty began connecting the dots through friendship, mutual admiration and hustling throughout
several Compton and Los Angeles neighborhoods. This trait would serve him well when he began linking
up the earliest DJs and rappers like the Soundmasters Crew and other local artists and dancers
throughout the city.
After completing Job Corp and a stint in the U.S Navy, Scotty returned to Compton and reached new
levels of connectivity when he partnered in two record shops and purchased stock in J & Dee Exclusive
Custom Sportswear from owner Elsie D. Scott (aka Big Dee). The J & Dee line of custom sportswear
were the first Hip Hop specialized designs predating Harlem New York’s Dapper Dan by a few years.
Working with legendary Los Angeles promoter Rodger Clayton’s Uncle Jamm’s Army, the architects of
promotion and mobile DJ service, Scotty and Big Dee were able to sell their wares (clothes and
mixtapes) all over Southern California, Central Valley, Bay Area, Las Vegas, and the Northwest. Though
most of Scotty’s earliest customers were street entrepreneurs, J & Dee Exclusive Custom Sportswear
soon became a staple on the nationwide Hip Hop scene when rappers Eric B & Rakim, Heavy D, LL Cool J,
Whodini, 2 Live Crew, Geto Boys, RUN DMC, J Prince, and Kurtis Blow among several others donned the
company’s custom designed gear featuring brands such as FILA, Gucci, Louis Vutton, Ellesee, Chanel,
Adidas, Kangol, Diadora, Caddilac, Mercedez Benz, and several popular sports teams.
As the demand for J & Dee Exclusive Custom Sportswear grew, Scotty centralized the clothing retail
operations in Pacoima, CA., which that store customers affectionately nicknamed “THE FILA SHOP.” Not
long after, national orders became so big that satellite stores for J & Dee were created in Houston,
Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Miami, Phoenix, and Louisiana. Each store contained a DJ booth and
played Hip Hop during operation hours attracting young aspiring rappers and DJs. At the Pacoima store,
Scotty linked young Black men with mutual musical aspirations and discovered DJ Pooh, Coolio, King
Tee, DJ Aladdin, WC, and The Alkaholiks... all who would become legendary on the West Coast Hip Hop
scene.
While pulling double duty running the clothing store and working with Uncle Jamm’s Army, Scotty

catapulted J & Dee Exclusive Custom Sportswear to new heights enjoying a successful seven years re-
defining street fashion on the West Coast and beyond. At one point, the J & Dee patterns and designs of

high end brands generated revenue of $1 million a month which attracted the attention of more than its
customers. In 1988, U.S. Marshall’s raided all three clothing stores and the production warehouse
seizing all inventory and leaving its owners to face indictment from FILA and Louis Vutton who claimed
the designs as copyright infringement. J & Dee Exclusive Custom Sportswear had become street famous
and the hustle did not stop until Big Dee’s passing in 2005.
Another Hip Hop “first” that the West Coast can claim is the invention of the “street team”- a collection
of people working under a banner to promote music, dances, and concerts on the streets of different
markets across the country. While working with Rodger Clayton, Scotty as a part of the Uncle Jamm’s
Army crew helped create the first street team long before Loud Record’s owner Steve Rifkind claimed to
be the creator of this promotional act. Years following, Scotty formed his own company, Platinum Street
Promotions, to promote theatrical plays, corporate brands, movies, and music releases for labels such as
Def Jam, Tommy Boy, Jive, Capitol, Profile, Virgin, Priority, Rap-A-Lot, Uptown, and Death Row.
Over a 45 year period Scotty D Spencer has served as a manager, road manager, graphic artist,
promoter, fashion designer, historian, DJ, rapper, dancer, entrepreneur, and now filmmaker and author.
He is an unsung hero of this cultural or social movement we call Hip Hop. With How The West Was 1
documentary and book, Scotty D Spencer is shining the spotlight on all of the architects, pioneers and
others from The West Coast who have been overlooked to showcase how they individually and
collectively worked to build the foundation of the scene before the cameras and media began noticing.
And in typical Scotty D Spencer fashion, HOW THE WEST WAS 1 is an extension of the man and his role
as a motivator who was adept at connecting the dots to expand networks and bring people together to
achieve their dreams. When it comes to Hip Hop music on the West Coast, Scotty D Spencer has been
that catalyst since 1977. Now he is sharing the story of how it all began in the documentary film and
book HOW THE WEST WAS 1.