While lots of Hollywood stars will have kids that dabble in assorted creative outlets, not many of them will have managed to find a lot of success there. Being a professional creative is hard, and sometimes connections just aren’t enough to help people achieve their dreams. Few will make it in their chosen career, and fewer still will have released music with legitimate hip-hop royalty.
As such, it really did blow my mind when I learned that Scott Cann, star of Hawaii Five-0 and son of famous Hollywood tough guy James Cann, had been in a Hip Hop group with none other than Alchemist, one of the best producers to ever chop a sample. But how did this unlikely pairing ever come about in the first place?
Cann and Alchemist, real name Alan Maman, met in Beverly Hills in the very early 90s. Both found themselves strongly drawn to Hip Hop, finding it a valuable outlet from their boring suburban lives. They went on to form The Whooliganz, with Cann going by the name of Mad Skillz and Maman operating under the moniker Mudfoot. From there, an almost extraordinarily well-connected run through the scene would see them gain recognition and a chance to record an album.
Maman’s friend, Evidence, who would later go on to be a founding member of Dilated Peoples, introduced the duo to Quincy Jones III, and they began working on a demo. This would lead to The Whooliganz being invited to join the Soul Assassins, a loose collective of acts that included Cypress Hill and House of Pain, and connections to both acts would prove to be massively valuable to the pair.
The Whooliganz’ first single, Put Your Handz Up, was produced by none other than DJ Lethal from House of Pain and hit the airwaves in 1993. Sadly, that is when the wheels came off The Whooliganz bandwagon. A lack of interest in the track saw their second single get shelved and a planned album with Tommy Boy Records fall apart. Tommy Boy Records has always worked with some incredible talent, and a record on the label back then would have put them next to acts like De La Soul, Queen Latifah, Naughty by Nature, and House of Pain.
The Whooliganz would go their separate ways shortly after. Cann went on to enroll at the Playhouse West acting school and would start appearing in indie films before making his way into bigger movies like Enemy of the State, Varsity Blues, and Gone in 60 Seconds. The early 2000s would see him appear in the Oceans series with Brad Pitt and George Clooney before eventually landing on Hawaii Five-0 for a decade.
Maman stayed in the Hip Hop scene, learning how to produce from DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill fame, the man behind some of the most iconic breakout beats of the 90s. Maman would once again hook up with Evidence to provide tracks for Dilated Peoples before going on to work with Mobb Deep, Nas, Ghostface Killah, and Snoop Dogg. As Alchemist, he would become known as one of the most talented producers in the Hip Hop scene and quickly established himself as a talent who would bring his absolute A-game, whether he was working for a household name or a talented upcomer.
