Us3
| Us3 | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Jazz rap |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels |
Blue Note Us3 |
| Website | Us3.com |
| Members | Geoff Wilkinson |
| Past members | Mel Simpson (1993-95) plus vocalists: Rahsaan Kelly (1993-95) Kobie Powell (1993-95) Tukka Yoot (1993-95, 2013) KCB (1996-99, 2013) Shabaam Sahdeeq (1996-99) Michelob (1999-2001) Alison Crockett (1999-2002) Reggi Wyns (2003-05) Mpho Skeef (2003-05) Akil Dasan (2005-07, 2013) Gaston (2005-07) Adeline (2007) Brook Yung (2009) Sene (2009) Oveous Maximus (2011) Akala (2011) |
Us3 is a jazz-rap group founded in London in 1992. Their name was inspired by a Horace Parlan recording produced by Alfred Lion, the founder of Blue Note Records. On their debut album, Hand on the Torch, Us3 exclusively used samples from the Blue Note Records catalogue, all originally produced by Lion.
Us3 is the brainchild of London-based producer Geoff Wilkinson. Formed in 1992 alongside production partner Mel Simpson, Us3 had two previous incarnations. The first, a limited edition white label 12" release in 1990 called "Where Will We Be In The 21st Century". The release garnered the attention of independent label Ninja Tune, resulting in NW1's 1991 12" "The Band Played The Boogie" featuring UK Rapper Born 2 B. It sampled a dancefloor tune of the burgeoning jazz dance scene, Grant Green's "Sookie Sookie", originally released on Blue Note Records.
London's Kiss FM added "The Band Played The Boogie" to its playlist and Wilkinson received a call summoning him to EMI Records's offices in London. Wilkinson avoided a lawsuit and was granted rights to the archives of Blue Note Records. One of the resulting demos, recorded in March 1992, was "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia),"featuring UK Trumpeter Gerard Presencer. It sampled Herbie Hancock's Cantaloupe Island. Two years later, it entered the US top ten and was included on Hand on the Torch, the first Blue Note album to achieve Platinum status (1,000,000 sales) in the USA.
After several world tours with Us3, Mel Simpson left the group for other endeavours. Wilkinson initiated work on a second album in 1996, marshalling New York rappers KCB and Shabaam Sahdeeq to replace Rahsaan Kelly, Kobie Powell, and Tukka Yoot for the 1997 release Broadway & 52nd. The Blue Note samples became more embedded in the grooves and experimental tracks like "Snakes" (in 5/4) and the spoken-word "Sheep".
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