Like so many of black America’s most enduring musical genres, hip hop was born out of invention. When, as the 1970s came to a close, a combination of disco and big record company involvement had diluted funk and soul to the extent that it had become boring to go out to a club on a Saturday night, something rumbled out of New York’s South Bronx that would change the music business for ever – hip ...
(Rapper, b. 1975) Curtis James Jackson II was born in New York, and has come to symbolize a brand of rap/actor that somehow manages to place circumstance over actual style. 50 Cent’s main claim to infamy is the fact he has been shot numerous times. Understandably brash in his delivery, his thuggish attitude towards many aspects of life, a psychiatrist might add, is a self-defence mechanism. Either way, after writing for Run ...
(DJ/rap artist, b. 1960) As a DJ, Bambaataa (b. Kevin Donovan) was at the forefront of the rise of hip hop in the late 1970s. In 1982, he released ‘Planet Rock’, which borrowed from Kraftwerk’s ‘Trans-Europe Express’, and essentially invented electro. In the mid-1980s he collaborated with both John Lydon and James Brown. His debut album, Beware (The Funk Is Everywhere) arrived in 1986. His immeasurable influence on progressive black music ...
(Vocals, b. 1981) Senegalese-American ex-convict Akon’s rise to fame has been swift, and his ability to stay there is testament to his musical ability. The rap and hip hop star (born Aliaune Badara Akon Thiam) arrived with debut single ‘Locked Up’ in 2004, and has since been nominated for six Grammys; he even held the top two positions in the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously. The following year he started his own ...
(Vocals, b. 1980) Born Alicia Cook in New York, Keys has that most rare of talents – a vocal range matched by a musical ability. She has played piano from the age of seven and retains classical ambitions to this day. Her 2001 debut Songs In A Minor contained her first US No. 1, modern soul epic ‘Fallin’’, which showcased her vocal range dramatically. In 2005, Keys joined an elite rank ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1984–95) Mick Jones followed his stint as a founder member of The Clash with the genre-hopping BAD. He enlisted filmmaker Don Letts on ‘effects’ and adventurously married punk, hip hop and electronica on 1985’s This Is BAD. The album’s single, ‘E=MC2’ scored highly in the UK. Jones recruited old chum Joe Strummer for the similar No. 10 Upping Street (1986). An excitingly innovative outfit at the outset, BAD succumbed ...
(Bass, vocals, b. 1951) Formerly the bassist in James Brown’s backing group the J.B.s of which his driving, rhythmic playing was a prominent feature, Collins joined George Clinton’s musical collective in 1972, supplying bass and songwriting for Funkadelic. An outrageous showman, he founded Bootsy’s Rubber Band, whose first three albums, Stretchin’ Out In Bootsy’s Rubber Band (1976), Ahh ... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby (1977) and Bootsy? Player Of The Year ...
(Vocals, b. 1989) American R&B star Chris Brown burst into the charts at just 16 years old in 2005. His self-titled debut album went straight to No. 2 in the US off the success of his debut single ‘Run It!’. Second LP Exclusive made the Top 5 two years later, but an assault conviction involving then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009 threatened to derail his career. Even so, third album Graffiti (2009) made ...
(Vocals, b. 1981) Initially inspired by a musical father (a reggae bass guitarist), Craig David’s first appearance on the music scene to those outside the Southampton club circuit was his vocal for Artful Dodger’s ‘Rewind’ (1999). Subsequently signing to Telstar, David made his name with melodic, often acoustically laced R&B that reflected his casanova lifestyle in a down-to-earth fashion. ‘Fill Me In’ (2000) detailed suspicion over a girlfriend’s monogamy, while ‘Walking ...
(Rapper, b. 1985) Dizzee Rascal (real name Dylan Mills) has become known as something of a young godfather of the emergent ‘grime’ music scene, swiftly delivering a new kind of rap, quickly spoken and aggressive, over synthetic, staccato rhythms. His critical acclaim stems from a wide understanding of music (he cites Nirvana’s In Utero as his favourite) and a deft sociological wordplay. Boy In Da Corner (2003) won the Mercury Music ...
(Producer, rapper, songwriter, b. 1965) Adopting the name Dr. Dre, Andre Young is colossally influential in rap. A creative force behind Niggaz With Attitude, he pioneered gangsta rap and has a vast number of production credits, including Snoop Dogg and Blackstreet’s ‘No Diggity’ to his name. Dre also created the more laid-back G-funk musical style. His classic debut solo album The Chronic (1992) was released on his own label Death Row ...
(Vocal group, 1992–97, 2006–present) Named after their Walthamstow postal district, Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy and Terry Coldwell were a ‘bad’ boy vocal band who took style and attitude from America. Musically they racked up an impressive number of Top 40 hits between 1992 and 1997 – mostly penned by Mortimer – ranging from dance rap to balladry. Harvey was thrown out in 1997 for comments about drugs. When Mortimer ...
Marshall Bruce Mathers III was born on 17 October 1972 in Detroit, Michigan. The exact details of his upbringing there and in nearby Warren are unknown, suffice to say he was raised solely by his mother Debbie, and the upbringing, reputedly poverty-stricken, provided ample subject matter for much of the rapper’s lyrical material. 8 Mile And Detroit Marshall Mathers was introduced to hip hop music, which he soon came to adore, by ...
‘Rock Me Amadeus’, 1986 Perhaps Austria’s great pop export, Falco (born Johann Hölzl) was a classically trained child prodigy who later fronted a jazz rock combo. His early career mixed a lot of techno-synths with German rap, and he even had a single, ‘Jenny’, banned. ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ played on his classical background, fusing synths with classical strings, and it reached No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic. Falco’s subsequent ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1993–present) Forming in New York, Huey Morgan (vocals, guitar), Steve Borovini (drums, programming) and Brian ‘Fast’ Leisler (bass, keyboards) blended hip hop, funk and soundtrack references on early releases with some success. Debut album Come Find Yourself (1996) was a fine work spawning the addictive single ‘Scooby Snacks’. Barry White tribute single ‘Love Unlimited’ became a huge UK hit as did the soulful 100% Columbian (1998). More albums followed, ...
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