MC Shan got his big break in 1983 when the future boss of Cold Chillin' Records caught Shan trying to steal his car -although the fact that old-school superproducer Marley Marl was Shan's cousin probably didn't hurt either. Shan took advantage of the opportunity to become a member of Marl's Juice Crew All-Stars and after several singles (including the old-school classic The Bridge), his 1987 album debut 'Down by Law', produced by his cousin, Marley established MC Shan's B-boy persona.

The same held for the 1988 follow-up album, 'Born to Be Wild'. For the 1990 release 'Play It Again, Shan', he opted for a more mature outlook and a new producer, this to date has proved to be his final album release. Shan has since moved into production work, where he gained some fame for producing (and rapping on) Snow's chart-busting track Informer in 1992 - [m96610].