Vaughan Mason Jr was born in Harlem, NY on October 24, 1950. In 1969, he attended Howard University and began to write, record, produce and manage groups 21st Century and BT Express, who invited him to tour with them. He and joined them, then that led to the BT Express signing to Columbia Records in 1976 after they had hits with "Do It (Til You're Satisfied)" and "Express" on Scepter Records.
With the disco juggernaut at full power in 1979, Mason decided the time was right to write a song for roller skaters and bought into a new genre, Post Disco Boogie. The slower tempo brought a funkier sound to the disco clubs and was easier to perform roller skating dance moves to.
Using Chic's "Good Times" as an inspiration, he came up with "Bounce Rock Skate Roll" but had no lyrics until vocalist Jerome Bell was brought in to sing and he finished the song with Mason. They knew it was a hit, and Brunswick Records agreed to sign the band and got the song ready for commercial release.
It peaked at #5 on Billboard's Hot Soul chart, #38 on the disco chart and #81 on the Hot 100 in early 1980. It has since gained a lot more respect and attention after it was sampled in several rap songs, including Digital Underground's "Doowutchyalike," Heavy D's "Black Coffee," De La Soul's "Cool Breeze on the Rocks," and Redman's "Slide and Rock On."
Two more singles from Vaughan Mason & Crew, "Roller Skate" and "Jammin' Big Guitar" followed on Brunswick but they were unable to maintain their momentum breaking up in 1982. Vaughan then joined up with Butch Dayo to record two charting R&B singles on Salsoul, "You Can Do It" and "Party On The Corner".
Mason reinvented himself in the 80's and renaming himself Raze for his "Break 4 Love" single which took him to the pinnacle of the disco chart in 1988. His reasoning was that since he changed styles that a new name would help reinforce that. He has since come to regret that move.
2016 saw him release a book, "The Music Business Bible". “I tell musicians and people all the time: steal the feel,” Mason says, “Making money in the music business is not about the music, it’s about the feeling people have from what you’re playing, and what you’re playing will get to people faster if it moves like a record they know."
“To this day, it’s human nature that if you hear something new, especially if you’re a dancer who just goes to clubs and wants to dance, you want to feel that same vibe,” he added. “And that’s what letting a song feel like a hot record which is out already — almost like a remix to the damn thing — does. People will stay on the dance floor and think, ‘Yeah, I like this.'”