Spearheaded by New York multi-instrumentalist Vaughan Mason of Vaughan Mason and Crew, Raze was formed in 1986 as a studio/concept group where the idea was to have a different lead singer on each song. Mason hooked up with soul singer Keith Thompson in the studio for "Break 4 Love", considered by many to be one of the best house songs ever recorded. It was the group's only song that made it to urban radio, debuting on October 22, 1988 at #24 for 16 weeks.