Stan's Square Records
Record Store · 1965–2018
Journal Square, then 349 Bergen Avenue. The counter where the city's mixtapes changed hands.
The Scene, By Era
Six decades of the Jersey City Sound in one timeline — the people who made the record and the moments that shaped the scene. Every name links to its entry; every item is cited.
1906
Ozzie Nelson
Bandleader whose orchestra cut a string of 1930s national hits; later created television's The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and father of Ricky Nelson.
1920
Al Caiola
Guitarist and arranger behind the instrumental hits “Bonanza” (No. 19, 1961) and “The Magnificent Seven” (No. 38, 1961).
1929
Ed Shaughnessy
Jazz drummer — the house drummer of NBC's The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992.
1931
Jerry Herman
Broadway composer-lyricist whose “Hello, Dolly!” hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 for Louis Armstrong in 1964.
1933
Flip Wilson
Grammy-winning comedian (1971) who hosted NBC's top-rated The Flip Wilson Show.
1940
Nancy Sinatra
Two Hot 100 No. 1s — “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” (1966) and “Somethin' Stupid,” with Frank Sinatra (1967).
1941
Richie Havens
Folk singer-songwriter and guitarist of a percussive, open-tuned style, remembered for opening Woodstock in 1969.
1943
Roy Hamilton
Epic Records star whose “You'll Never Walk Alone” spent eight weeks at No. 1 R&B (1954), followed by “Unchained Melody.”
1943
Marilyn McCoo
With the 5th Dimension, the Hot 100 No. 1s “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” and “Wedding Bell Blues” (1969).
1943
MacArthur Munford
Bass voice of The Spellbinders and co-founder of Vintage — a cornerstone of the city's Van Liew musical family.
1944
Dino Danelli
Drummer of the Rascals, with three Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles.
1946
Don Ciccone
Singer, songwriter, and musician of the Critters and, later, the Four Seasons.
1951
Frank Infante
Guitarist of Blondie through four Hot 100 No. 1 singles; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
1954
Al Di Meola
Fusion guitar virtuoso whose Elegant Gypsy reached No. 58 on the Billboard 200 (1977).
1950s
Skip Jackson
Born Tommy Brown; the Shantons singer who became the producer and arranger behind much of Stan Krause's Catamount catalog.
1962
The Duprees
Doo-wop hitmakers — “You Belong to Me” (No. 7, 1962) and a run of early-'60s Top-tens.
1962
Ronnie & the Hi-Lites
“I Wish That We Were Married” reached No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 (1962).
1962
The Jelly Beans
“I Wanna Love Him So Bad” reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 (1964).
1962
The Manhattans
“Kiss and Say Goodbye” topped the Hot 100 (1976) and “Shining Star” reached No. 5 (1980), across 45 charted R&B hits.
1962
The Persuasions
“The kings of a cappella,” discovered by Stan Krause; three charting albums in the early 1970s.
1964
Catamount Records and the acappella era
Stan Krause launches Catamount Records, documenting Jersey City's acappella, doo-wop, and soul groups in the label's prized colored-vinyl pressings. He discovers the Persuasions singing on the streets, and their voices reach Frank Zappa over the phone from the store.
1960s
Stan Krause, the Music Man
The record-store owner and producer whose Catamount Records broke the Persuasions (No. 16 R&B, 1972) and 14 Karat Soul (Saturday Night Live, 1983), pushing Jersey City street-corner harmony onto the national stage.
1964
Kool & the Gang
Formed in Jersey City by brothers Robert “Kool” Bell and Ronald Bell; “Celebration” hit No. 1 (1981), across nine Top-10 pop hits.
1965
Stan's Square Records opens
Stan Krause opens his record store in Journal Square, later moving to 349 Bergen Avenue. For five decades it anchors the city's music life — acappella, soul, R&B, and eventually the mixtape trade of the city's top DJs.
1965
The Spellbinders
MacArthur Munford's Jersey City soul group; “For You” reached the Billboard R&B Top 25 (1965, Columbia).
1960s
The Royal Counts
Vocal-harmony group issued on Catamount Records, in the label's prized colored-vinyl pressings.
1960s
Vintage
A cappella group formed by MacArthur Munford and Ray Block, issued on Catamount Records.
1972
Tommy West
Record producer who steered Jim Croce's Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” and “Time in a Bottle” (1973).
mid-1970s
The Catamounts
Jersey City soul and R&B ensemble bridging vocal harmony and orchestrated deep soul on Catamount Records.
Late 1970s
Turntable battles at Audubon Park
The scene's founding generation — figures like DJ Wimpy Bee, Stranger D, and Fresh Jeff — battle on turntables in Audubon Park, where the winner took the loser's equipment. A young DJ Flash comes up on Park Street learning all five elements of the craft.
late 1970s
14 Karat Soul
A cappella revival group launched on Catamount through producer Skip Jackson's disco-era sessions; a 1983 Saturday Night Live spot and a major following in Japan carried the city's vocal-harmony tradition worldwide.
c. 1980
Lord Sun Albee Al
Founder of Sweet Slick and Slide and one of the city's most revered party-rockers.
c. 1980
Sweet Slick and Slide
One of Chilltown's dominant 1980s hip-hop crews — by peers' accounts, strong enough to battle New York.
c. 1980
Tranquilizing Three
Early hip-hop crew out of the Duncan Projects; among the first Chilltown groups to secure a record deal.
1982
Mixed Company
Street-corner vocal quintet formed on Henry Street; their Catamount 45 pairs “Kansas City” with “Yes, I'm Ready.”
1980s
The mixtape scene takes shape
DJ Wimpy Bee and DJ Flash, credited with originating the city's mixtape scene, build pre-sampler productions on two turntables and two tape decks. By decade's end, DJ Mad Money begins his Street Blends series.
1988
Latee
Original Flavor Unit member with The 45 King and Queen Latifah; his “This Cut's Got Flavor” (1988) helped set the crew's sound.
1988
Positively Black
Conscious-rap group led by Prince Kyrie, recording for Trumpet Records before signing to Select Records.
Late 1980s
The Flavor Unit and Jersey City hip-hop
Jersey City's Latee and Chill Rob G — with Apache — record with producer The 45 King as part of the Flavor Unit, the North Jersey collective that also launched Queen Latifah. Latee's “This Cut's Got Flavor” (1988) helps set the crew's sound.
1990s
The blend-tape golden era
Mixtapes command $2,000 and more. DJ E Double founds Double Platinum Entertainment with residencies at Rendezvous (formerly Ruthie's), Lollipop, Taste, Brenda's, and Bills. A new generation — DJ DX, DJ P Dub, DJ 007, Semaj da DJ — comes up through Ferris High School and the record-store counters, with Mark Cee schooling the era on the MPC.
1991
P.M. Dawn
Brothers Attrell (Prince Be) and Jarrett Cordes; “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss” was the first Hot 100 No. 1 of the SoundScan era (1991).
1993
Apache
Flavor Unit rapper; “Gangsta Bitch” (a Q-Tip production) reached No. 11 on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles (1993).
1995
1990s
Rigga Mortis
A Jersey City rapper remembered by peers as a freestyle master who set the era's bar for lyricism.
1996
Heather B. Gardner
Rapper who reached a national audience and built a lasting SiriusXM broadcast footprint.
1999
The A-Team
Punchline-heavy rap duo of Ransom and Hitchcock, tied to DJ Clue's Desert Storm through the Hardhood Classics series.
2000
The Winterblaze battle at the Boys Club
The Winterblaze mixtape battle, organized by Sean and held at the Boys Club, gathers the scene in open competition — preserved in the bonus footage of the 2006 documentary.
2001
Christina Milian
“Dip It Low” reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 (2004); “AM to PM” hit No. 27 (2001).
2003
The look of the scene
Blaze (Blaze-In-Arts) begins designing mixtape covers under his crown logo — roughly a thousand covers over the years that follow, giving the era its visual identity.
2003
Joe Budden
“Pump It Up” reached No. 38 (2003); Slaughterhouse's Welcome to: Our House debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 (2012).
2004
Ransom
A Jersey City rapper of the A-Team who built a reputation as one of the region's sharpest lyricists.
2004
Akon
Two Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles: “I Wanna Love You” (2006) and “Don't Matter” (2007).
2000s
Kenny Kenn
A Jersey City videographer and platform-builder who gave the city's unsigned artists a stage before social media.
2006
The Jersey City DJ Documentary Vol. 1
DJ Wizard (WizTV) directs the nearly three-hour document of the mixtape scene — the archive's single richest primary source, naming the “201 style” of doubled drums and stacked-acapella blends.
2000s
Revenue Wrong
A Jersey City rapper from Arlington Park, affiliated with the Blockstar and Frontline teams.
2000s
Mary Brown
A Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and producer — among the most decorated writers of the city's Van Liew musical family.
2008
Fit for an Autopsy
An American deathcore band formed in Jersey City in 2008.
2010s
Jersey club and the digital turn
The scene moves online. Mista Quietman spins the “201 High School Anthem” for Lincoln, Ferris, Dickinson, and Snyder, and preserved uploads begin returning the older era to view.
2010s
Wilson El Divino
Jersey City songwriter of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, whose self-styled “Afroton del Norte” fuses reggaeton with Afro-Caribbean soul.
2016–18
The Music Man passes
Stan Krause dies in May 2016 at 74, honored the year before with the city's proclamation as “Stan the Music Man of Jersey City.” Stan's Square Records closes in 2018 after 53 years.
2018
Zigimo
A product of Snyder High's Jersey City Arts Program, the experimental hip-hop producer whose tuba training shapes a low-end, lo-fi sound.
2026
The archive opens
The Jersey City Sound is founded on July 5, 2026 — every voice in the city, on the record. New documentation, including WizTV's next documentary, is underway.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Jersey City called Chilltown?
"Chilltown" is Jersey City's hip-hop nickname, adopted in the early 1980s when the city's own DJs flipped "Chilltown, New York" from Ronnie Gee's 1980 record "Rap-tivity" into "Chilltown, Jersey City." The full documented history — the record, the pioneers' accounts, and the legend — is on the archive's Chilltown page.
Who started the Jersey City mixtape scene?
DJ Wimpy Bee and DJ Flash, Jersey City DJs of the scene's founding generation, are credited with originating the city's mixtape scene, building pre-sampler productions on two turntables and two tape decks before samplers existed.
What was Stan's Square Records?
Stan's Square Records was a Jersey City record store founded by Stan Krause in 1965, first in Journal Square and later at 349 Bergen Avenue. For five decades it anchored the city's music life — acappella, soul, R&B, and the mixtape trade — until it closed in 2018.
What is the "201 style"?
The "201 style" — named for Jersey City's area code — describes the local blend-tape technique of doubled drums and stacked-acapella blends, named in The Jersey City DJ Documentary Vol. 1 (2006).