Rest In Peace Derek B

Very sad news reached me today that Derek B has died of a heart attack at the age of 44, in Charing Cross Hospital, London.

He kick started his career as a DJ in the late 80's under the name Easy Q, and dropped his first single 'Rock The Beat' on Music Of Life Records in 1987. He was one of the first UK rappers to get some decent chart success with his later singles 'Get Down', 'Bad Young Brother' & 'We've Got The Juice' and even appeared on Top Of The Pops.
He released the 'Bullet From A Gun' album in 1988 on his Tuff Audio label via Music Of Life/Phonogram, and also signed with Russell Simmons' Rush Artist Managment in the US, shining the light on the ever expanding Hip Hop scene here in the UK.

As someone who grew up with Derek B's music (and still plays it out to this day), I just wanna say Rest In Peace to a 'bad young brother' and pioneer of the British rap scene.

Here's some education to those who may not know of the legacy he's left behind...

Derek B - 'Rock The Beat (Remix)'
(on the Profile 12" from 1987)



Derek B - 'Power Move'
(one of my favourite cuts lifted off the 'Bullet From A Gun' album)



Derek B - 'Power Move (With X-Tra Strength Boyee!!!)'
(found on the 'We've Got The Juice' Remix 12" 1988)



Derek B performing 'We've Got The Juice' @ Regals in Uxbridge, 1988.

Crate Classics Part 2 - General Levy, press release pressure

So, we all know that a good way to get your music out there, talked about, played on radio and written about, is to mail it with a press release to magazines/dj's/tastemakers etc, with as much information about the artist and product you're wanting promoted as possible (also including the release date, catalogue number, label, format etc).

Now you'd think Tim Westwood of all people would know that this information is paramount in your release schedule? Back in 1992 he released a 12" on his Justice Records label from General Levy, a dope record if ever there was one...


However, just check out the press release that came with it, you couldn't get more brief, it's like he was in a rush to get out the office that day. Gotta laugh, i've seen some dodgy press releases in my time but this one took the biscuit, mind you, he got the main points down I suppose - 'the no.1 jam on the street', 'slamming hip hop with a mad fat bass line', 'hottest ragga dj in the uk', and 'produced by tim westwood & bryan 'chuck' new'. Oh yeah, and 'check it'. No more, no less.


Nuff said I s'pose, and I must be honest, the music DID do to the talking on this occasion, and that really is a 'mad fat bass line'...

Crate Classics Part 1 - Lords Of Rap

This is a new feature I'm gonna run on the blog looking at various artists that paved the way in the early days of the UK's Hip Hop scene. Not too much text as I don't have a lot of time, but most definatly the music and image scans...

First up is a South East London crew who released four 12"s back in the early 80's, and had a very strong stance on sounding British. They were MC Reu, Def G, Xtreme & GLK, aka Lords Of Rap.


I first heard of them on the BBC documentary 'Rapping - The Low Down' that aired around 1988/89, they caught my attention for 1.Looking fly as a crew all colour co-ordinated (yeah ok shell suits aren't that hot now, back back then, bwoy they were the lick). And 2.Sounding very unique, and British, you gotta remember that not a lot of crews took this stance back then, it was all new and exciting and everyone wanted to imitate the latest U.S. artist. Over here we were just realising we could rap in our own accent to stand out.

-BBC documentary 'Rapping - The Low Down' (featuring Lords Of Rap)-



So yeah there's a little flavour of what was going on with the Lords back then, repping Peckham to the fullest. As mentioned they sadly only released four 12"s, and from seeing them on 'The Low Down' film I made it my mission to seek out and buy everything they released...


This was their first outing on wax, which I only found by accident on the floor of in a very dusty record stall on a Lewisham market stall 6 years ago (now this has made me realise that the younger generation collecting their MP3 folders will have no memories like this of finding their music will they!). The 'Hip To House' track is kinda corny, and also featured on a Furious Fish Records compilation too. However the title track 'Lords Of Rap' shows them in their early development, with slightly yank twangs too. Still a dope cut though...


Next up was the 'In Effect' 12", which came in 3 mixes. I can remember the day I bought this too, it was at one of the early Southport South Weekenders many moons ago, one of the record stalls had it amongst some house tunes. Without knowing the track I picked it up and paid for it on the strength of the name Lords Of Rap, who I'd seen on TV recently...


Now i'm not sure which 12" came next, but by this time they'd hooked up a deal with the HUM label (Hardcore Urban Music), and their product came through this via their own (I think) Mad Dog imprint (which I recently found out had their offices in the same block in Camberwell that Suspect Packages used to operate out of), anyway... The 'Jazz It Up' 12" in 1991 came with the extra cut 'Where Are You Coming From?', however it was the title track that gained them some extra airplay and focus with its jazz fueled vibes...



They even performed it on Normski's 'Dance Energy' programme back in the day, this was the shit for those who remember it...


And finally there's the cream of the crop, for me anyway, the 'Stix N Stones EP'. The last official release they dropped and what a blinder it is. It was around the time CDs had just started making their way into stores and replacing vinyl, 'Where Does The Xtra 3 Quid Go?' deals with this issue, classic stuff. This 12" also came with a little cartoon 'Mad English' by Art Jazz, you can check it below with all the Lords Of Rap tracks mentioned above, enjoy, and educate ya'self...





Gotta give props to the Lords Of Rap for bringing some dope music into my life (and many others I imagine), I'm not sure what the rest of the crew are up to these days but Def G aka Soliheen is still active, hit us up bro. You must have some unreleased Lords Of Rap ya wanna play me?!

MC's Logik 7" picture cover

I've had to scan this record cover for Plan B magazine as they're running an article on the early Nottingham Hip Hop scene and thought I'd share it here too. It's the 7" of MC's Logik 'Peace & Unity' track from 1990, and for the trainspotters amongst you there's a very young looking Joe Buhdha in the centre and an equally young Big Trev wearing the black jacket. It's all about the high top fades though...

UK Hustlerz Volume 1

Back in April 1996 I put together a mixtape to showcase just what was on offer from the UK's Hip Hop scene, no one seemed to be concentrating on our healthy Hip Hop scene in their mixtapes so as far as I’m aware it was probably the first commercially available mixtape of 100% UK material. Straight low budget style though, made with two turntables, a tape deck and a cd player. Spliced with exclusive freestyles to make it that little bit more unique this was the start of many more to come, little did I know just what it would spawn and how it would shape what I do now in the music industry...
I stumbled across a link this morning for the first in the series of the UK Hustlerz tapes, so I thought I’d share it with you, saves me a bit of time anyway. Ya can’t knock the hustle > 1996-2009...

download side A - UK Side
download side B - Hustlerz Side

Intelligent Maddness, whut... you don't know??!!

For those not knowing I used to be in a crew called Intelligent Maddness from Peterborough, before I moved down to the big smoke 15 years ago we managed to get our drunk asses off the bar stools and record some material. The crew consisted of three main emcees - Oliver Twist, Crackajack & Red Eyed Skunk, and at times myself, then two producers Chris & Lee (Contagious Productions) and finally our DJ, Wrecka.
We managed to get two releases out, the Mind Over Matter? EP on tape, and the No Room EP on vinyl (this was named after the infamous freestyle sessions we used to have in my bedroom along with the Deftex & Parlour Talk/Undivided Attention crews, big up! I must dig out those recordings, or maybe not... haha).


Anyway, Chris who kinda held us all together over the many years we rolled as the Intelligent Maddness Crew has just uploaded the tracks we put out onto youtube, along with some live photos from the numerous shows we did back then, and some images of the two releases and the comic we also gave away with the 12"...
Check out our steez back way when, and peep me out on the last verse of '18 Optional Purposes' (this track was named after a Swiss Army Knife, jokes).









Some of us are still in touch with each other but we're not recording as a group unfortunatly, Twist is still writing rhymes and i'm still doing my thing with Suspect Packages & DJing, but this period from around '93 to '98 was very memorable, we had a laugh, too many memories! Shouts to anyone that caught the I.M.C. live and all the people we connected with, you know who you are! 1 Love. Disorda.

Aspects 'Words' exclusive

Here's an exclusive entitled 'Words' that Bristol's Aspects recorded for the UK Hustlerz Vol.5 mixtape back in 1998. Bit of a dodgy recording tho as it came straight off the original master 'tape', but i think that's all part of the charm of this recording. Big up the full crew on this one...

Unreleased Universal Soldiers exclusive for Lewis Sterling/Disorda mixtape

Here's another from the Suspect Packages archives, lifted off the unreleased mixtape from myself and clothing label Lewis Sterling. It's an exclusive freestyle joint that Ricochet & Ultra aka Universal Soldiers put together for the release, you need to check for this crew, such a shame they are no longer recording though, they truly repped for the London streets. Peep their album 'Slanguage', and Ricochet aka Ric Branson's mix CD 'No Pressure', two dope releases for real... Anywayz, enjoy this slice of the mighty Uni Sols crew in their prime...

Karl Hinds, Seanie T & Blak Twang - Lewis Sterling Special

Another one from the archives for ya, a special from the unreleased Lewis Sterling/Disorda mixtape. Recorded early 2000 by Karl Hinds, Seanie T & Blak Twang , here's the 'Rotten Dress Code' enjoy... Big up's go to Olive for the fresh garms, bring back dat sheeet.

Gunshot's Suspect Packages exclusive from 1998

Check it, fresh from '98 and dusted off from the box of masters is an exclusive from my 'UK Hustlerz Vol.5' mixtape from the mighty Gunshot crew. They stepped up to the game here and delivered me a rocker that kicked off the tape in fine stylee... Let me know what you think anyway...
(in the pic from left to right - Barry Blue, White Child Rix, Mercury, Disorda, Blokey Man & Alkaline)

Unreleased Lyn E Lyn track

Here's the last of the unreleased Sindecut action, again another DJ Fingers production with Lyn E Lyn on the vocal, a track called Splurtin, don't sleep. I can remember seeing this crew perform live at the Southport Soul Weekender around the same time 'Live The Life' was released, so that would have been around 1990. A solid crew who bought something fresh to the UK's Hip Hop scene... Aswell as sporting Chipie jeans with the pin rolls, arrh yeah...

Unreleased Crazy Noddy track

Here's another unreleased Sindecut gem from Disorda's dusty demo box, from the same Lewis Sterling sessions as the joint below. This time round a solo from the one like MC Crazy Noddy called We Don't Play, produced by DJ Fingers again me thinks... blam!

Unreleased Sindecut & Demolition Man

Ok so here's a little treat, around the year 2000 I was helping out clothing label Lewis Sterling put together a likkle mix tape ting, that never materialised! Shame. We had some ILL exclusives, some of which I'll be sharing with you here in the coming weeks and months... This joint features The Sindecut & Demolition Man, it's produced by DJ Fingers and called Rinse Without Remorse, download here yo...

Estelle demo

As promised, the first post of many coming from the dusty demo tapes and the like that I have sat here. And as she's been riding high in the charts recently we thought why not kick off with the UK's first lady and premier export, after Monie Love that is...
Here's an early track lifted off a demo tape that I copped off Estelle called 'Ahead Of My Flow', pretty decent it is too. Not sure who's on production here, but it's kinda fresh, check how young she sounds. Not sure when this was but i'm guessing around '99??




There's a few more from Estelle (or Est'elle as she was then) lurking in the boxes which we'll post at a later date, plus a whol'eap a others, keep checkin' back...