When Spoil Bratts won the Nescafé Party Time in 1992, they became the first dance crew to claim the crown. For the boys from Morvant, life changed overnight. The hysteria was so intense that founding member Hamid Rahman couldn’t even attend school the next day. Any time he stepped out of his house, it was pandemonium. “As we pulled up on the Morvant taxi stand to go home, girls would point at us, scream, stare, and even run after us,” Hamid recalls. “They would say things like, ‘Oh my god! Look them!’”
The name Spoil Bratts—Hamid Rahman, Daniel Lashley, John Lashley, Robert Grenich, Blair Collier, and Anderson Walker—still comes up in local dance circles today.
If you grew up in the ’90s, you would know Party Time stood as the centre of youth culture in Trinidad and Tobago. It was a variety talent competition showcasing dance, lip-syncing, and local music. More than that, it was the proving ground for aspiring entertainers—securing a spot on that stage meant making it to the big leagues. Hosts included O’Brien Haynes, Renee Castle, and Lisa Wickham, who helped build the platform at the iconic Upper Level Club in West Mall.
Spoil Bratts: The beginning
Before the win, Hamid was a self-described nerd, often bullied by classmates at Belmont Boys’ Secondary. But after that July/August vacation, everything changed. “Going back to school was never the same,” he tells Guardian Media. “We were now the most popular individuals, not only in school but period.”
Growing up in the ’80s, Hamid always wanted to dance. American R&B group New Edition was his favourite, but watching Michael Jackson perform the moonwalk at Motown 25 really pushed him to learn the craft. Then, in 1990, he saw Raw Basix perform on Party Time for the first time. He knew that’s what he wanted to do. “They were my peers—shout out to Nicono, Marcelle, Fraser, and my dance hero, Dechland—so that just hit different. Because of them, what I thought was a mere dream, I became determined to make it a reality.”
The journey started when his friend Anderson Walker began looking for talent to form a new group and hosted auditions in the school’s AV room during the lunch period. “Nope, we didn’t get permission to use the room,” Hamid laughs. “To make a long story short, I was the only one that showed up that made any sense.”
The two became best friends and embarked on a house-to-house search through Morvant. They scoured Coconut Drive until they were ready to give up, but an older man pointed them towards Petunia Avenue to find a “youthman named Daniel” who could “real dance”. They found Daniel, who recruited Robert. Daniel’s younger brother, John, had the “swagger and look”, with a fresh fade and twisted hair, but he initially turned them down.
The original four called themselves Spoil Bratts and entered a competition at The Wall Street nightclub at the Roundabout Plaza (now known as Maritime Plaza). They won and received the $100 first prize. That’s when John and his friend Blair, both QRC students, finally joined. The group was then complete.
Party Time was up next.
Dr Hyde endorsed
Seeking a competitive edge, the boys knew they needed the best music to win, and the best at that time was Dr Hyde. One afternoon after school, they visited the legendary DJ’s residence and met “Small Man”, the infamous voice of the era’s hottest mixes.
The initial reception was cold. “Small Man replied, ‘Allyuh can’t afford a mix from Dr Hyde,’” Hamid remembers. “He asked, ‘What allyuh does do? Dance? Let me see allyuh dance and I would decide if allyuh good enough for a Hyde mix.’”
The group chose “Uptown Anthem” by Naughty By Nature and started their routine right there. Small Man was so mesmerised, he forgot to mix the record into the next song. Hamid says, “I will never forget his reaction and the smile on his face: ‘Eh, allyuh youthmen real bad boy.’” Small Man became their first fan, and from that day on, Dr Hyde’s yard became their official rehearsal space.
They experimented with different styles to stand out and birthed “The Swim”, which became their signature move. Five members would lie flat on each other’s torsos while holding their hands up, allowing John to breaststroke across them to Shabba Ranks’ ‘Ting A Ling’. Hamid recalls: “crowds would go crazy whenever we did it. That was such an amazing feeling to see such a reaction to something we created in a garage.”
The win
At the finals, Daniel, then a student of Malik Senior Comprehensive, became the group’s anchor. “I remember him having this almost fearless demeanour which comforted the entire group,” Hamid says.
After dominating the preliminaries and semi-finals, expectations grew around whether they could deliver something new. Despite fresh gear sponsored by Craigees on Frederick Street, the boys worried their routine might have lost its impact. Backstage, Daniel jokingly suggested John spit water like a fountain during “The Swim”. They laughed it off, but mid-performance, as John transitioned from the backstroke to the breaststroke, he did just that. “The entire crowd erupted so much we couldn’t hear our music,” Hamid says.
That split-second decision secured their victory. The Party Time title catapulted them onto bigger stages to open for international icons like MC Hammer, Boyz II Men, Kris Kross, and TLC.
Where are they now?
Today, they lead different lives. John is an architect and recording artist based in New York, while Daniel is a DJ, creative director, and drone pilot in the US. Blair is married and lives and works in the UK. Robert remains in Trinidad as a music producer, while Anderson works in the local fashion industry alongside top designers. Hamid’s own journey led him to co-found Eclectik Dance Crew in 2003, which won gold at the World Hip Hop Dance Championships in 2007. He runs the St James-based Xtreme Dance Academy, mentoring the next generation of dancers in Trinidad and Tobago.
Even with distance and time, the connection hasn’t faded. Daniel still shouts out their day-one circle, including their former manager, Penny. “Looking back, I’ve learnt there is no time like the present,” he says of that time. “You can’t put off things for the next day.” His brother John agrees. “I was a winner early in life. I practised hard and saw results. That has stayed with me throughout everything I put effort into.”
The Spoil Bratts era may feel like a lifetime away, but for these Morvant boys, it was one heck of a ride.
