Derek B
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Derek B – Bad Young Brother
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Biography
When he was 15, he started DJing in a mobile unit around London, before joining local pirate radio stations such as Kiss FM and LWR and finally starting his own station, WBLS (not to be confused with the radio station of the same name in New York).
He joined Simon Harris’ Music of Life as the closest thing they had to an A&R man. When a planned compilation of U.S. hip hop called Def Beats 1 (Music of Life, 1986) ran short of tracks, Boland stepped in to record a track called “Rock the Beat”. He co-produced the track with Simon Harris, rapped on it under the pseudonym EZQ and also did his own DJing under the Derek B name. “Rock the Beat” (Music of Life, 1987) was released as a single, and followed by two more - the most successful of which was “Good Groove” (Music of Life, 1988) which reached number 16 in the UK Singles Chart.
Derek B was the first UK rapper to achieve pop success, appearing on Top of the Pops at a time when the only other rappers who had appeared were Break Machine and Doug E. Fresh. He never received much respect from the British hip hop community, however, who at the time were very concerned about the idea of “selling out”: in the eyes of the serious hip hop fans, money and pop success compromised an artist’s integrity and were not to be openly courted. This attitude is summed up by the story of rapper Kamanchi Sly winning a Tim Westwood rapping competition and throwing his prize money into the audience shouting “It’s not about money but about art” - ironic considering that it was watching this performance that led Derek B to put Sly in touch with Music of Life
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rich808
RIP - loved the album
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erazer32
Nicht alles was gut ist setzt sich durch, nicht alles was sich durchsetzt ist gut... Und letztendlich vergeht das Gute nicht ohne dem Schlechten eine Lehre zu erteilen. Was am Ende übrig bleibt, ist der geringe Versuch in der Gegenwart, etwas Gutes für die Zuknuft zu hinterlassen. (erazer32) R.I.P. Derek B...
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Brutalinski
R.I.P. loved his LP back then.
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energyneverdies
R.I.P. mate
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GriotScribe
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/nov/17/derek-b-obituary
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Swerveaction
Love Light, & Respect to Derek B. RIP
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carpetguy
RIP man. "paid in pounds, not in dollars!!!" class.
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eguinan
RIP Derek B.
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gilgongo
Bad Young Brother is a minor classic, but the rest of the album is pretty terrible really.
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KBC262
crazy talented
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