Ruthless Rap Assassins
Encyclopedia
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).
, 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). 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
"). It yielded two minor hit single
s 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 Jed 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). 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.
Soon after the Assassins' split, Kermit and Jed joined Shaun Ryder
to form the group Black Grape
and earned pop success with them, before leaving the band after suffering from septicemia 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 Jed and Danny Saber
from Black Grape. Anderson Hinds left the music industry and worked as a teacher - although in a 2000 interview Kermit mentioned that the two of them were considering making more tunes together. Jed Lynch became a session musician
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
group from Hulme
Hulme
Hulme is an inner city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England. Located immediately south of Manchester city centre, it is an area with significant industrial heritage....
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. 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).
History
Kermit grew up in Moss SideMoss Side
Moss Side is an inner-city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre and has a population of around 17,537...
, Manchester - where he learnt to play violin at the age of 6 - and was briefly a DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
under the name of 'DJ la Freak', whilst doing a psychology degree at Manchester Polytechnic
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
. 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
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Greg Wilson
Greg Wilson
Greg Wilson is a DJ and producer associated with both the early 80’s electro scene in Manchester, and the current disco / re-edit scene, for which he’s acquired a global following...
. The song was recorded for the Street Sounds Electro UK (Street Sounds, 1984) album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the 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
British hip hop
British 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 urban music...
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
Greg Wilson
Greg Wilson is a DJ and producer associated with both the early 80’s electro scene in Manchester, and the current disco / re-edit scene, for which he’s acquired a global following...
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-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
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
Kym Mazelle
Kym Mazelle is an American dance-pop, Hi-NRG, soul, and house singer. She was brought up and lived on the same street as the Jackson family and knew Michael Jackson's mother and uncle.-Career:...
's "Useless (I Don't Need You Now)" (Syncopate, 1988).
Following this, the group released Killer Album (Murdertone/EMI, 1990). 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
The Coaster
The Coaster is a weekly newspaper based in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The Coaster covers a number of Jersey Shore area communities in central Monmouth County, including: Asbury Park, Allenhurst, Avon, Bradley Beach, Deal, Interlaken, Loch Arbour, Neptune, Neptune City, Oakhurst, Ocean Grove, Ocean...
's "Yakety Yak
Yakety Yak
"Yakety Yak" is a song written, produced, and arranged by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for The Coasters and released on Atlantic Records in 1958, spending seven weeks as number one on the R&B charts and a week as number one on the Hot 100 pop list...
"). It yielded two minor hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
s 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
Hip Hop Connection
Hip Hop Connection is the longest running monthly periodical devoted entirely to hip hop culture. HHC has earned international recognition and was described by Chuck D as "the best magazine in the world".-History:...
(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
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
at BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
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 Jed Lynch
Jed Lynch
Ged Lynch is an English percussionist and composer.Lynch had early commercial success drumming with the Ruthless Rap Assassins, which included Kermit. In 1989 he joined The Icicle Works. He and Kermit joined Shaun Ryder and Bez in Black Grape in 1993. They had a No...
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). Again, the album was liked by the critics and the industry - BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
had Dangerous C on an edition of Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
to demonstrate the techniques of sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
and plug the album - but again, this good reception was not reflected in sales. The group split up shortly afterwards.
Soon after the Assassins' split, Kermit and Jed joined Shaun Ryder
Shaun Ryder
Shaun William Ryder, aka X, is an English musician, occasional newspaper columnist, actor, author, singer-songwriter and television personality, best known as lead singer for Happy Mondays and Black Grape – and more recently as the runner-up of the 2010 version of the British TV Show I'm a...
to form the group Black Grape
Black Grape
Black Grape were a 1990s rock band from England, featuring former members of Happy Mondays. The group's music was funky and eclectic, using varied instrumentation and samples.-History:...
and earned pop success with them, before leaving the band after suffering from septicemia 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
Bentley Rhythm Ace
Bentley Rhythm Ace are a duo formed in Birmingham, England in 1997, consisting of Mike Stokes and Richard March.-Career:The band was formed in Birmingham by Richard March, formerly with the group Pop Will Eat Itself, and Mike Stokes, with guest appearances by James Atkin, a member of indie band EMF...
. His more recent project was Big Dog with Jed and Danny Saber
Danny Saber
Danny Saber is a Los Angeles, California musician, audio engineer, record producer, and remixer. A former member of Black Grape and Agent Provocateur, Saber plays guitar, bass, organ, and keyboards, and is also a prominent Los Angeles DJ....
from Black Grape. Anderson Hinds left the music industry and worked as a teacher - although in a 2000 interview Kermit mentioned that the two of them were considering making more tunes together. Jed Lynch became a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
.
Albums
- The Killer Album (EMI, 1990)
- Th!nk, It Ain't Illegal Yet (EMI, 1991)
- The Killer Album - The 20th Anniversary Edition (EMI/Original Dope/Cherry Red, 2010)
Singles
- Just Mellow" (1990) - UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#75 - "And It Wasn't A Dream" (1990) - UK #75