Big Dada

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Big Dada
Logo-Profile-Pic.png
Founded1997
Founder Will Ashon
Distributor(s) Ninja Tune
Genre Hip hop, dub, grime, electronic dance music
Country of origin United Kingdom
Location London
Official website bigdada.com

Big Dada is a British independent record label imprint distributed by Ninja Tune. It was started by reputed hip hop journalist Will Ashon in 1997. It is best known for marketing of prominent British hip hop artist Roots Manuva, poet and playwright Kae Tempest, grime pioneer Wiley, rapper and designer DELS and Mercury Prize winners Speech Debelle and Young Fathers.

Contents

History

Big Dada's first release was Alpha Prhyme's 12-inch single Misanthropic, a collaboration between Luke Vibert and Juice Aleem in 1997. [1] Over the following years, the label has released over one hundred and fifty records [2] and garnered considerable critical acclaim, being described by Observer Music Monthly as "the very best underground hip hop label". [3]

Big Dada's first logo (1997-2012, 2017) Bigdadaoldlogo.png
Big Dada's first logo (1997-2012, 2017)
Big Dada's second logo (2013-2016) Bigdadalogo.png
Big Dada's second logo (2013–2016)

In 2007, Big Dada released the compilation Well Deep to celebrate their tenth anniversary. NME said the label was "not only a platform for the British urban underground but also attracts some of the most progressive wordsmiths and beat-scientists in the whole world... Big Dada are still pushing things forward." [4] As the quote suggests, Big Dada is not exclusively a label for British acts. Their roster has also featured contributions from American hip hop artists including Bigg Jus, Busdriver, and Mike Ladd, as well as French hip hop group TTC. They also released debut albums by both Diplo and Spank Rock, as well as the comeback album from grime legend Wiley, who was so pleased with the record deal they offered that he recorded "50/50" in tribute. [5]

On 8 September 2009, Speech Debelle won the 2009 Barclaycard Mercury Prize for her debut album Speech Therapy produced by Wayne Lotek. It is the label's third nomination, after Roots Manuva's Run Come Save Me in 2002 and Ty's Upwards in 2003. [6] On 30 October 2014, Young Fathers won the 2014 Barclaycard Mercury Prize for their debut album Dead . It was the label's joint fourth nomination alongside Everybody Down by Kae Tempest and second Mercury Prize winning album. [7]

Roots Manuva, one of the label's best-known artists, signed a new deal with the label in 2011. In the 2007 documentary for the label Well Deep, he said, "It's been a lovely relationship over the years... Big Dada's unique and it will always be unique because it's a philosophy, y'know? It's unique because it dares to stick its neck out and it's run by people who genuinely love music. It's not just a record label, it's a movement." [8]

In 2021 Big Dada relaunched "as a label run by Black, POC & Minority Ethnic people for Black, POC & Minority Ethnic artists." [9]

Roster (current)

Roster (alumni)

Compilation discography

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ninja Tune</span> English record label

Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London with a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded by Matt Black and Jonathan More and managed by Peter Quicke and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roots Manuva</span> English rapper

Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva, is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial success with albums Run Come Save Me and Slime & Reason. He has been described as "one of the most influential artists in British music history." His most recent studio album, Bleeds, was released in October 2015.

UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop, is a genre of music, and a 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.

<i>Awfully Deep</i> 2005 studio album by Roots Manuva

Awfully Deep is a studio album by British alternative hip hop artist Roots Manuva, released in 2005 by Big Dada.

Benedict Okwuchukwu Godwin Chijioke, better known by his stage name Ty, was a Nigerian-British rapper. He released the albums Awkward (2001), Upwards (2003), Closer (2006), Special Kind of Fool (2010) and A Work of Heart (2018). Upwards was nominated for a Mercury Prize. Ty collaborated with musicians such as Shortee Blitz, Drew Horley, Tony Allen, Roots Manuva and De La Soul.

<i>Brand New Second Hand</i> 1999 studio album by Roots Manuva

Brand New Second Hand is the first studio album by English hip hop musician Roots Manuva. It was released on Big Dada in 1999.

<i>Run Come Save Me</i> 2001 studio album by Roots Manuva

Run Come Save Me is the second studio album by English hip hop musician Roots Manuva. It was released on Big Dada in 2001.

<i>Alternately Deep</i> 2006 studio album by Roots Manuva

Alternately Deep is the fifth studio album of original material by Roots Manuva. It was released on 13 March 2006 on the Big Dada label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Witness (1 Hope)</span> 2001 single by Roots Manuva

"Witness " is a song by British rapper Roots Manuva, released as the first single from his second studio album Run Come Save Me (2001). A hip hop song with influences of dancehall and funk music and an electronically-inspired bass line, it contains lyrical references to Roots Manuva's British cultural roots with a melody that deliberately resembles the theme song to TV show Doctor Who. Record labels Big Dada and Ninja Tune released "Witness " in various formats during July 2001.

<i>Slime & Reason</i> 2008 studio album by Roots Manuva

Slime & Reason is the sixth studio album of original material by Roots Manuva. It was released on 1 September 2008 on the Big Dada label. Hip Hop Connection magazine named it Album Of The Year 2008.

Will Ashon is an English writer and novelist, former music journalist and founder of the Big Dada imprint of Ninja Tune records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speech Debelle</span> Musical artist

Corynne Elliot, better known as Speech Debelle, is a British rapper formerly signed to the Big Dada record label. She was the winner of the 2009 Mercury Prize for her debut album Speech Therapy. She released her second album, Freedom of Speech on Big Dada in 2012 and her third album, tantil before i breathe independently in 2017.

<i>Speech Therapy</i> (album) 2009 studio album by Speech Debelle

Speech Therapy is the debut album from British rapper Speech Debelle. It was awarded the British Mercury Prize in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne "Lotek" Bennett</span> Musical artist

Wayne "Lotek" Bennett is a music producer, songwriter and rapper from the UK. He is most famous for his work with Roots Manuva and more recently with Speech Debelle, producing her debut album Speech Therapy which won the 2009 Mercury Prize.

Leigh Ryan, better known by the stage name Plutonic Lab or sometimes as Pluto is an Australian music producer, engineer, artist & performer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kae Tempest</span> English poet, musical artist, novelist and playwright

Kae Tempest is an English spoken word performer, poet, recording artist, novelist and playwright.

<i>4everevolution</i> 2011 studio album by Roots Manuva

4everevolution is the eighth studio album by English rapper Roots Manuva. It was released on 3 October 2011 on the Big Dada label.

<i>Dead</i> (Young Fathers album) 2014 studio album by Young Fathers

Dead is the debut studio album by Scottish indie group Young Fathers. It was released on Anticon and Big Dada on 31 January 2014. The album was the winner of the 2014 Mercury Prize. It peaked at number 35 on the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Everybody Down</i> 2014 studio album by Kae Tempest

Everybody Down is the debut album by English poet and spoken word artist Kae Tempest, which was nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize. Its tracks comprise a unified story cycle with a coherent narrative arc, based upon a main character named Becky.

<i>Bleeds</i> (Roots Manuva album) 2015 studio album by Roots Manuva

Bleeds is the ninth studio album by English rapper Roots Manuva. It was released on 30 October 2015 on the Big Dada label.

References

  1. Swash, Rosie (8 June 2009). Label of love: Big Dada - Music - The Guardian Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine . The Guardian . Retrieved on 2012-03-25.
  2. "Big Dada". Big Dada. Archived from the original on 19 February 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  3. Mulholland, Garry (1 February 2004). 'Dead Dogs Two' by cLOUDDEAD - OMM - The Observer Archived 2 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine . The Observer . Retrieved on 2012-03-25.
  4. "NME Reviews - Various Artists: 'Well Deep: Ten Years Of Big Dada Recordings'". Nme.Com. 12 October 2007. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  5. Chick, Stevie (26 October 2007). Stevie Chick on Big Dada Records - Music - The Guardian Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine . The Guardian. Retrieved on 2012-03-25.
  6. Archived 5 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Mercury prize 2014: Young Fathers defy the odds to win - Mercury Music Prize 2014 - The Guardian". 30 October 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  8. "Roots Manuva 'Well Deep' Interview". YouTube. 19 March 2010. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  9. "Pioneering Hip-Hop Label Big Dada Announces Relaunch". 25 January 2021.
  10. "Big Dada". Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  11. "Big Dada to release final, posthumous album by Offshore". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.