Damon Wimbley
Background information
Also known as	Kool Rock-Ski
Born	(1966-11-09) November 9, 1966 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop, electro funk
Years active	1982-present
Labels	Kama Sutra Records, Tin Pan Apple, Polydor, PolyGram Records

Damon Wimbley (born November 9, 1966), known professionally as Kool Rock-Ski, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and former member of the American hip hop trio The Fat Boys.

Early life and career

Damon Wimbley was born on November 9, 1967, in Brooklyn, New York, NY. In his early teens, he met two kids who would become his musical collaborators, Darren Robinson and Mark Anthony Morales.^[1] His career began in the early 1980s alongside Robinson and Morales, the trio establishing themselves initially as The Disco 3.^[2] After participating in and winning a contest called The Tin Pan Apple After Dark Dance & Rap Contest, put on in 1983 by Swiss producer Charles Stettler,^[3] culminating in a performance at Radio City Music Hall, the group quickly rose to fame.^[4] Wimbley was only 16 when The Fat Boys gained mass popularity, going on an international tour organized by their then-manager Charles Stettler, the same person who had organized the Tin Pan Apple After Dark Dance & Rap Contest.^[5]

Later career

By 1984, the Fat Boys had participated in national marketing campaigns and had been featured in several movies, the trio’s first role being in the 1985 musical comedy-drama Krush Groove.^[6] About that experience, Wimbley says "Krush Groove had things in there that were hot for a while, [but] it was about showing off the culture. It had to work and lay down the foundation [for how] hip-hop can be what it is today. With rap you have two to three months to have a good record—then they go to the next one. [But] our place in hip-hop history [still] isn’t recognized."^[7]

By the mid-to-late 1980s, the group had begun releasing covers of surf-rock songs that had been popular in the 1950s and 1960s, their cover of the surf-rock classic Wipeout becoming a top 20 hit.^[8] Two years after the release of “Wipeout,” Robinson left The Fat Boys to pursue a solo career.^[9] The Fat Boys went on to release one more record, “Mack Daddy,” in 1991.^[10][11]

Wimbley is still active on social media, and regularly posts about the Fat Boys, and also produces Fat Boys merchandise which he promotes via Instagram.^[12] He has been featured on multiple records, collaborating with New York rappers City the Great and Kokane in 2022. He is also the host of the annual Classic Hip-Hop and R&B Cookout in New York City, which began in the summer of 2021.^[13] As of 2023, Wimbley is the only living member of The Fat Boys.

Discography

Filmography

• Krush Groove (1985)
• Knights of the City (1986)
• Disorderlies (1987)

References