Trip hop is a musical genre that originated in the late 1980s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound, often incorporating elements of jazz, soul, funk, reggae, dub, R&B, and other genres, typically of electronic music, as well as sampling from movie soundtracks and other eclectic sources.
Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws, better known by his stage name Tricky, is a British record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Bristol, in southwest England, he began his career as an early member of the band Massive Attack, alongside Robert Del Naja, Grant Marshall & Andrew Vowles. Through his work with Massive Attack and other artists, Tricky became a major figure in the Bristol underground scene, which gave rise to multiple internationally recognized artists and the music genre of trip hop.
The Ultramagnetic MCs is an American hip hop group based in the Bronx, New York City. Founded by Kool Keith, the group also includes Ced Gee, TR Love, and Moe Love. Tim Dog became an unofficial member in 1989. In 1990, DJ Jaycee was added as a road manager and backup DJ. Big.D was put down with the crew by Kool Keith in 1989. A former member, Rooney Roon, was fired following an assault arrest. Beat-boxer Rahzel was also involved with the group early in its career. The group's work was associated with unorthodox sampling, polysyllabic rhymes, and bizarre lyrical imagery.
Help! is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965 by Parlophone. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles "Help!" and "Ticket to Ride", appeared in the film and take up the first side of the vinyl album. The second side includes "Yesterday", the most-covered song ever written. The album was met with favourable critical reviews and topped the Australian, German, British and American charts.
The Bomfunk MC's is a Finnish hip hop group that was active from 1998 to 2005, before reuniting in 2018. The group's frontman is rapper B.O. Dubb, and the main producer is Jaakko Salovaara, also known as JS16.
William Michael Griffin Jr., better known by his stage name Rakim, is an American rapper. He is one half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, with whom he released four albums: Paid in Full (1987), Follow the Leader (1988), Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em (1990), and Don't Sweat the Technique (1992). He also released four solo albums: The 18th Letter (1997), The Master (1999), The Seventh Seal (2009), and G.O.D.'s Network: Reb7rth (2024).
Martina Gillian Topley-Bird is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who first gained fame as the featured female vocalist on trip hop pioneer Tricky's debut album, Maxinquaye (1995). She also worked with him on his subsequent albums, Nearly God and Pre-Millennium Tension. In 2003, Topley-Bird released her debut solo album, Quixotic, which was critically praised and earned her a Mercury Prize nomination.
Armand van Helden is an American DJ, record producer, remixer and songwriter from Boston, Massachusetts. He is considered one of house music's most revered figures, with a career spanning three decades.
Ultra Naté Wyche is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ and promoter who has achieved success on the pop charts with songs such as "Free", "If You Could Read My Mind", and "Automatic".
Stereo MC's are an English hip hop and electronic dance group that formed in Clapham, London, England, in 1985. They had an international top 20 hit with their single "Connected" and a UK top 20 hit with "Step It Up". After releasing eight albums for Island Records, K7, Graffiti Recordings, and Pias, they formed the label Connected with the band Terranova to release their own material and that of other artists within the house/techno/electronic genre.
Mr. Fantasy is the debut album by English rock band Traffic, released in December 1967. The recording included group members Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood, Chris Wood, and Dave Mason; Mason temporarily left the band shortly after the album was released. The album reached the number 16 position in the UK Albums Chart, and number 88 on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the United States.
Connected is the third studio album by Stereo MC's. The tracks "Connected", "Ground Level", "Step It Up" and "Creation" became hit singles.
Nearly God is the unofficial second album by English rapper and producer Tricky. It was released in February 1996 under the pseudonym "Nearly God", which originated from an interview during which Tricky was asked "so how does it feel to be God... well, nearly God."
Terranova is a German band based between Berlin and Paris made up of current members Fetisch and &me. Terranova are signed to Kompakt records. Terranova was formed in 1996 by Fetisch, Marco Meister and Kaos. They previously went under the moniker Turntable Terranova on the Compost label and sometimes as Edition Terranova. Their music is a fusion of punk rock, electronic, hip hop and House. They currently reside between Paris and Berlin and perform DJ sets worldwide. They have been constant collaborators with artists in the past, Cath Coffey, Nicolette Krebitz, Tricky, Ari Up, Mike Ladd, Khan, Snax, Billie Ray Martin e.a.
Fiction Records is a British record label founded by Chris Parry in 1978, owned by Universal Music Group and based in the United Kingdom. It is best known for being the home of The Cure for over 20 years. It was originally a part of Polydor, but in January 2014, Universal restructured Fiction as a standalone label, removing it from Polydor's corporate affiliation. Fiction repertoire is now released internationally through Virgin.
"Connected" is a song by British hip hop/electronic music group Stereo MC's. It is the title track of their third studio album, and was released in September 1992 by Gee Street and Island Records as the album's lead single. The song samples "Let Me " by Jimmy "Bo" Horne and peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. Internationally, "Connected" peaked within the top 10 of the charts in Austria, Sweden and Switzerland, and entered the top 20 of the charts in Belgium, Finland and the United States. Its music video was directed by Matthew Amos. NME and Melody Maker ranked "Connected" number 16 and 19 in their list of "Singles of the Year" in December 1992. The song later appeared in the 1995 movie Hackers, and it was the theme to the Rob Lowe programme Dr. Vegas (2004).
Supernatural is the second album by Stereo MC's, released in 1990. The US release is subtitled "American Mix" and has a different track list. In 1996, Mixmag ranked the album at number 46 in its list of the "Best Dance Albums of All Time".
"Elevate My Mind" is a song by English hip hop/electronic dance group Stereo MC's, with female vocals provided by Cath Coffey. It made #74 on the UK Singles Chart, #36 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales and #39 on the Billboard Hot 100, making them the first British rap group to make the Billboard Hot 100. It features a sample of "White Lines " by Grandmaster Melle Mel.
Deep Down & Dirty is the fourth studio album by the British electronic band Stereo MC's, released on 28 May 2001, nine years after the album Connected. The album maintains a similar style to its predecessor with deep-groove, beatbox funk, nods to soul-jazz and gospel though music critics at the time noted its grittier, edgier approach. The title track was released as the album's first single. It was recorded at Frontline Studios, Brixton, London.
Run-DMC was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, formed in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture and especially one of the most famous hip hop acts of the 1980s. Along with Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new-school hip hop music and helped usher in the golden age of hip hop. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship.
