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The Ruthless Rap Assassins were a British hip hop group from Hulme, Manchester, England. The group was formed by MC Kermit La Freak (later simply Kermit - real name Paul Leveridge) and brothers Dangerous Hinds (real name Anderson Hinds) and Dangerous C (real name Carson Hinds).
Kermit grew up in Moss Side, Manchester - where he learnt to play violin at the age of 6 - and was briefly a DJ under the name of 'DJ la Freak', whilst doing a psychology degree at Manchester Polytechnic. He joined the breakdance crew Broken Glass, who moved into making records with "Style of the Street" following a meeting with Manchester DJ and producer Greg Wilson. The song was recorded for the Street Sounds Electro UK (Street Sounds, 1984) album, but the label owner Morgan Khan was impressed with their work and persuaded them to record more tunes for the album. In order to give the impression of a thriving British hip hop scene, the songs were recorded under a variety of aliases: in truth, of the seven tracks on the album, only one was not recorded by Broken Glass.
Kermit met the Hinds brothers - at the time calling themselves the Dangerous 2 - and together they decided to form the Assassins, with Greg Wilson staying with them as a producer. Their first release was the single "We Don't Kare" (Murdertone, 1987), which had as a B-side a song by Kiss AMC - an all-female Manchester rap group that featured Christine "Kiss" Leveridge, Kermit's sister. They followed this with two singles entirely of their own, "The Meltdown Session" (Murdertone, 1988) and "The Drone Session EP" (Murdertone, 1989) - in between which, Dangerous C performed a rap for a B-side remix of Kym Mazelle's "Useless (I Don't Need You Now)" (Syncopate, 1988).
Following this, the group released Killer Album (Murdertone/EMI, 1990). [1] The album was a mixture of social commentary ("Justice (Just Us)") and more comical tunes ("Jealous MC" or a high-octane cover of The Coaster's "Yakety Yak"). [1] It yielded two minor hit singles in "Just Mellow" and "And It Wasn't A Dream" (a duet with Tracey Carmen). The album received critical praise - UK hip hop magazine Hip Hop Connection (February 1991, No. 25) called it "the best rap album the UK had ever produced" - and even managed to get the single "And It Wasn't A Dream" (Murdertone/EMI, 1990) terrestrial television airplay. But despite making an impact within the scene, and getting crucial support from John Peel at BBC Radio 1 the album failed to translate this into sales. This album was reissued with extra tracks by Original Dope/Cherry Red in October 2010.
Trying again, the group went back to the studio to record their second album Th!nk, It Ain't Illegal Yet, introducing live percussion from Ged Lynch to their usual mix of social commentary ("No Tale, No Twist" told the story of life growing up in Manchester's urban slums, whilst "Down and Dirty" was a sex rhyme featuring "guest vocals" from Jealous MC). [1] Again, the album was liked by the critics and the industry - BBC Television had Dangerous C on an edition of Blue Peter to demonstrate the techniques of sampling and plug the album - but again, this good reception was not reflected in sales. The group split up shortly afterwards. [1]
Soon after the Assassins' split, Kermit and Ged joined Shaun Ryder to form the group Black Grape and earned pop success with them, before leaving the band after suffering from sepsis and being replaced by Psycho. Since then, Kermit has released records as Manmade and made guest appearances on other artists' songs, such as Bentley Rhythm Ace. His more recent project was Big Dog with Ged from Black Grape. Anderson Hinds left the music industry and worked as a teacher - although in a 2000 interview, [2] Kermit mentioned that the two of them were considering making more tunes together. Ged Lynch became a session musician.
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California, formed in 1988. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and they have obtained multi-platinum and platinum certifications. The group has been critically acclaimed for their first five albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast hip hop and 1990s hip hop. All of the group members advocate for medical and recreational use of cannabis in the United States. In 2019, Cypress Hill became the first hip hop group to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Latin hip hop is hip hop music that is recorded by artists in the United States of Hispanic and Latino descent, along with Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean, North America, Central America, South America, and Spain.
Black Grape are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1993, featuring former members of Happy Mondays and Ruthless Rap Assassins. Their musical style fuses funk and electronic rock with electronic programming and samples.
Lawrence Muggerud better known by his stage name DJ Muggs, is an American DJ, audio engineer and record producer. He has been a member of Cypress Hill, a member of the trip hop band Cross My Heart Hope to Die and the leader of hip hop and art collective Soul Assassins.
UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop, is a music genre and culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of R&B/hip-hop. British hip hop can also be referred to as Brit-hop, a term coined and popularised mainly by British Vogue magazine and the BBC. British hip hop was originally influenced by the dub/toasting introduced to the United Kingdom by Jamaican migrants in the 1950s–70s, who eventually developed uniquely influenced rapping in order to match the rhythm of the ever-increasing pace and aggression of Jamaican-influenced dub in the UK. Toasting and soundsystem cultures were also influential in genres outside of hip hop that still included rapping – such as grime, jungle, and UK garage.
The Herbaliser is an English jazz hip hop group formed by Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba in London, England during the early 1990s. Although currently releasing on their own label and having previously been signed to !K7 Records, they were one of the best-known acts from the Ninja Tune independent record label. They have released 12 albums, including two DJ mixes: one for Ninja Tune's Solid Steel series and the other for Fabric's Live Mix series. The Herbaliser's album Same As It Never Was was their first release on !K7 Records. Their latest album Bring Out The Sound was released in 2018, on the BBE label.
Louis Mario Freese, known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper. Since 1991, he has been one of two lead rappers in the hip hop group Cypress Hill, along with Sen Dog. He has also been a part of the rap metal band Kush (2000–2002), the hip hop supergroup Serial Killers (2013–present) and the rap rock supergroup Prophets of Rage (2016–2019). He has released a variety of solo mixtapes, as well as two solo albums: Smoke n Mirrors (2009) and Tell You Something (2020).
"Ice Ice Baby" is the debut single by American rapper Vanilla Ice, K. Kennedy and DJ Earthquake. It samples the bassline of the song "Under Pressure" by British rock band Queen and British singer David Bowie, who did not receive songwriting credit or royalties until after it had become a hit. Released on Vanilla Ice's debut album, To the Extreme (1990), it is his best-known song. It has appeared in remixed form on Platinum Underground and Vanilla Ice Is Back! A live version appears on the album Extremely Live, while a nu metal version appears on the album Hard to Swallow, under the title "Too Cold".
Greg Wilson is an English DJ and producer, associated with both the early 1980s electro scene in Manchester and the current disco/re-edit movement. He is also a writer/commentator on dance music and popular culture.
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were an American hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. The group's members were Grandmaster Flash, Kidd Creole, Keef Cowboy, Melle Mel, Scorpio, and Rahiem. The group's use of turntablism, breakbeat DJing, and conscious lyricism were significant in the early development of hip hop music.
It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah is the debut studio album by the English rock band Black Grape, released on 7 August 1995 through Radioactive Records. Following the breakup of Happy Mondays, frontman Shaun Ryder formed Black Grape with vocalist Paul "Kermit" Leveridge and dancer Bez. They were put in contact with management company Nicholl and Dime, who secured the band a recording contract with Radioactive Records. After demos and the band finalizing their line-up, Ryder met with producers Stephen Lironi and Danny Saber. Black Grape recorded their debut studio album in late 1994 and early 1995 at Rockfield Studios in Wales, Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire, and Boundary Row in London. It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah is a dance-pop and pop funk album, with the word “straight” in its title referring to being sober from drugs.
Vincenzo Luviner, better known as Vinnie Paz, is an Italian-born American rapper and producer behind the Philadelphia underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. He is also the frontman of the hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs.
The discography of American rapper Big Boi consists of three studio albums, one mixtape, twenty-two singles, five promotional singles and twenty-five music videos. Big Boi initially achieved success as a member of the hip hop duo Outkast with fellow rapper André 3000; they have recorded and released six studio albums together, and the singles "Ms. Jackson", "Hey Ya!" and "The Way You Move" have all topped the US Billboard Hot 100. Big Boi guest appeared on the 1995 single "Dirty South" by Atlanta-based hip hop group Goodie Mob, which entered the Billboard Hot 100. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, he made other appearances on commercially successful singles including "All n My Grill" by Missy Elliott, "A.D.I.D.A.S." by Killer Mike and "Girlfight" by Brooke Valentine—each likewise entered the Billboard Hot 100.
Slaughterhouse were an American hip hop supergroup consisting of rappers Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Kxng Crooked, and Royce da 5'9". They released their eponymous debut studio album independently in 2009, and signed to Shady Records, an imprint of Interscope Records to release it's follow up, Welcome to: Our House in 2012. The group disbanded in 2018.
Rise Up is the eighth studio album by Cypress Hill, which was released on April 20, 2010. It is their first album of new material in six years, following 2004's Till Death Do Us Part, and their first to be released on EMI's Priority Records, their first venture away from Columbia, who handled all of their previous releases.
Keenon Dequan Ray Jackson, better known by his stage name YG, is an American rapper. He released his debut mixtape 4Fingaz in 2008, and its follow-up, The Real 4Fingaz, the following year. The latter gained recognition for its local hit song "Toot It and Boot It", which entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 67 and received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings in October 2009, which entered joint-venture with Atlanta-based rapper Jeezy's record label, CTE World, in 2013.
Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head is the eighth studio album by American rapper T.I. It was released on December 18, 2012, by Grand Hustle Records and Atlantic Records. The production was provided by some of T.I.'s longtime collaborators; including DJ Toomp, Jazze Pha, Pharrell Williams and Lil' C. These high-profile record producers such as T-Minus, Cardiak, No I.D., Rico Love, Planet VI, Tommy Brown and Chuck Diesel, also contributed to the album. The album features guest appearances from P!nk, Lil Wayne, André 3000, R. Kelly, Akon, Meek Mill, CeeLo Green, ASAP Rocky, Trae tha Truth, Victoria Monet and Grand Hustle's own D.O.P.E.
Jonathan Matthew McCollum, better known by his stage name Rittz, is an American rapper. His debut album The Life and Times of Jonny Valiant was released on April 30, 2013, rising to number 8 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. His next two albums, Next to Nothing (2014) and Top of the Line (2016) peaked at number 3 on the same chart. His fourth album, Last Call (2017), hit number 43 on the Billboard 200. All of these were released under Tech N9ne's Strange Music label.
Dijon Isaiah McFarlane, known professionally as Mustard, is an American record producer and DJ. A frequent collaborator of fellow California-based artists YG and Ty Dolla Sign, he began his career producing singles and albums for both rappers, and has since done so for other prominent acts in hip hop and R&B. He first saw recognition for his work on Tyga's 2011 single "Rack City".
Street Sounds UK Electro is the one and only release of UK based artists from the StreetSounds label. The album was released on LP and cassette in 1984 and contains seven electro and old school hip hop tracks mixed by DJ Mastermind. Although each track has individual producer and artist credits, everything except B2 is actually the work of Manchester electro-funk DJ Greg Wilson and associates.
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