MC Kinky

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MC Kinky
Birth nameCaron Liza Geary
Also known asFeral, [1] Feral is Kinky, [1] Feral a.k.a. MC Kinky, [2] Cantankerous, [1] The Infidel, [1] Special K [3]
Born (1963-10-15) 15 October 1963 (age 60)
Paddington, London, England
Origin Kilburn, North West London, England [4] [5]
Genres Ragga, dancehall
Years active1989 (1989)–present
Labels More Protein

Caron Liza Geary (born 15 October 1963 in Paddington, London), [1] known by various stage names, is an English female raggamuffin toaster. She was the world's first white female reggae/dancehall MC, and the first dancehall MC ever, to chat reggae-inspired lyrics over house music. [1] [6]

Contents

According to Geary, her first recorded track was over the dub version of "Kid Ralph", a dancehall track by Little Twitch. [7] [8] [9] The song, unbeknown to her, spoke about a "legendary" homosexual figure in Jamaica's prison system.Her track. was called "Reggae gone Kinky" and the dubplate was recorded at Music House in Finsbury Park. [10] She has subsequently worked as a solo artist and with other musicians, including Erasure and Boy George, who described her music as "the dirtiest 'slackest' reggae I'd heard since the seventies". [11]

Background

Growing up in Marylebone, [12] Geary was exposed to reggae from a very young age. It was this precocious exposure to reggae music and Caribbean culture which inspired her to write in her inimitable style on early releases such as "Kipsey' and "Everything Starts with an 'E'" as part of E-Zee Possee, which was banned by the BBC because of its lyrics[ citation needed ][ dubious – discuss ] and initially made No. 69 in the UK Singles Chart in 1989, leaving the chart after only one week; [13] however it was re-released less than a year later in March 1990 and climbed to No. 15 on the UK chart, [13] spending eight weeks in the chart. [13]

Kinky's first solo single, the Apollo 440 produced "Get Over It", [14] reached No. 95 on the UK Singles Chart. [15] Her only solo top 75 hit, coming five years later, was Everybody, released under the name "Kinky", which charted at No. 71 on that chart. [16] Her first demo recording was taken without her knowledge by Boy George and recorded with her programmer at the time Simon Rogers. It was this demo that Boy George turned into Generations of Love, which retained her bass line and keyboard melody. The writing credits reflect her contribution.

Kinky has been touring underground, occasionally providing vocals for other artists. In 1997, she took a residency in Ibiza as "the Infidel", [12] operating under the name for a week [17] before writing an album called Cantankerous and taking up the name for herself. [12] When a member of staff at Club Motherfucker described her sound as "feral pop", [7] she became "Feral" and finally ended up with "Feral a.k.a. MC Kinky" [2] and "FERALisKINKY". [18]

Artistry

Descriptions of Geary's sound have varied from a "bass driven, vitriolic sonic hybrid of grimy electronic ragga, manic house and punk rock" [6] to a "white female raggamuffin toaster". [19] Kinky has denounced these descriptions, saying "I can't be bothered with people who spend large amounts of time trying to place people and music into small and narrow categories. I do what comes naturally to me, and it usually has a combination of influences." [19]

Discography

Singles

Solo singles

YearSingle UK chart position
1991"Get Over It" [15] 95
1991"Inna We Kingdom" [3] —
1992"Won Love" [3] —
1992"Twisting The Mind" [3] —
1996"Everybody" (as "Kinky") [16] 71
YearSingle UK chart position
1989"Everything Starts with an 'E'" (E-Zee Possee ft. MC Kinky) [20] 69
1990"Everything Starts with an 'E'" (re-entry) (E-Zee Possee ft. MC Kinky) [20] 15
1990"Generations of Love" (Jesus Loves You ft. MC Kinky) [21] 80
1991"Generations of Love" (re-entry) (Jesus Loves You ft. MC Kinky) [21] 35
1992"Take a Chance on Me" (Erasure ft. Special K) [22] 1 track from Abba-esque
1992"Flight" (Flight ft. MC Kinky) [23] —
1995"Yalla Chant" (She A Baad Gal Edit; Natacha Atlas ft. MC Kinky) [24] —
2000"The Chase" (Giorgio Moroder vs. Jam & Spoon ft. MC Kinky) [25] —
2001"We Love" (Storm ft. MC Kinky) [26] —
2006"Wind It Up" (Abashment Electro House Mix; Gwen Stefani ft. MC Kinky) [25] —
2013"Raging in the Dancehall" (Endymion & The Viper ft. FERAL is KINKY)—
2013"Heavy Medication Punx Soundcheck" (Endymion Remix ft. FERAL is KINKY)
2014"Reload" Endymion ft. FERAL is KINKY
2013"Bring Dat" (Daishi Dance ft. FERAL is KINKY)—
2017"Militant" Will Sparks & Tyron Hapi (ft. FERAL is KINKY)—

Other songs

YearSong
1989"Kipsy" (Boy George ft. MC Kinky) [27]
1995"Son of Bambi (Walk Tuff)" (Towa Tei ft. MC Kinky) [28]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Screenshot from official website, shows newspaper clipping dated 24th December 2012". Official website.
  2. 1 2 "Hear that voice: Glass meets Feral a.k.a. MC Kinky". The Glass Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "MC Kinky". Discogs.
  4. ↑ "Official MySpace page for Cantankerous". Cantankerous.
  5. ↑ "Official Facebook page". Facebook.
  6. 1 2 "Gig Guide - Week Starting Thursday the 14th of February, 2013". Leng Pleng, the premier gig guide for live music and DJ gigs in Cambodia. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013.
  7. 1 2 "FERAL i$ KINKY". DJmag.com. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "Feral Is Kinky Interview". guestlist.net. 18 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "Distinctive and Dangerous: We Meet FERAL is KINKY". The DJ List.
  10. ↑ "Top 10 Songs That Buju Banton Can Listen To As He Awaits His Freedom". Top10Jamaica.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  11. ↑ Boy George (1995). Take It Like A Man. The Autobiography of Boy George. Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 533. ISBN   0-330-32362-8.
  12. 1 2 3 "Feral sound, kinky style". The Phnom Penh Post.
  13. 1 2 3 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 175. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  14. ↑ "List of songs Apollo 440 have produced a remix for". Soundslogic.com.
  15. 1 2 "The Official Charts Company - MC Kinky". The Official Charts Company. 6 May 2013.
  16. 1 2 "The Official Charts Company - MC Kinky". The Official Charts Company. 5 May 2013. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010.
  17. ↑ "Feral a.k.a. MC Kinky". Stewartwho.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  18. ↑ "Feral is Kinky". Feraliskinky.com. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  19. 1 2 "Caron Geary a.k.a. MC Kinky". reocities.com. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  20. 1 2 "The Official Charts Company - MC Kinky". The Official Charts Company. 5 May 2013.
  21. 1 2 "The Official Charts Company - MC Kinky". The Official Charts Company. 5 May 2013.
  22. ↑ "Abba-Esque". Allmusic.com.
  23. ↑ "Flight". Discogs.
  24. ↑ "Yalla Chant". Discogs.
  25. 1 2 "Past releases from 2005-2007". Boy George fansite. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013.
  26. ↑ "Jam & Spoon". Jamandspoon.de. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  27. ↑ "Tense Nervous Headache". Discogs.
  28. ↑ Son of Bambi (Walk Tuff) at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
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