Tag Archives: Classic Hip Hop

Arrested Development “People Everyday”

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“People everyday” was the second single to be released from Arrested Development‘s debut album “3 years, 5 months & 2 days in the life of…” that was released in 1992 on Chrysalis Records. The Single edit aka the “Metamorphosis radio version” reached number 2 in the UK pop chart and number 1 in the US rap chart at the time of its release. Arrested Development were from Atlanta, Georgia in the USA and the group was founded by rapper Speech and DJ Headliner in the late 1980s.

Arrested Development “People Everyday- Metamorphosis radio version” 1992 Chrysalis Records

The “Metamorphosis radio version” of people everyday contains a looped sample from a record by Jazz keyboardist Bob James called “Tappan Zee” which was the B side to the 1981 Single “Sign of the times” released in 1981 on Bob James’s own Tappan Zee record label. Bob James‘s music has been re-popularised and has been sampled several times in the past by hip hop artists, some of the most popular being Run DMC, Missy Elliott, Wu Tang Clan, LL Cool J, Erik B & Rakim, and De La Soul.  Continue reading →

Overlord X Interview

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Break to the beat recently had the honer of catching up with and interviewing one of Hip Hop in the UKs godfathers Overlord X. Overlord X along with the X Possee put their home borough of Hackney, London and the entire UK on the hip hop map back in the late 80 and early 90s giving us 3 outstanding LPs that were not only an inspiration but for many an introduction to British rap music. Overlord X’s contributions to the UK music scene over the years have been nothing short of outstanding and has provided us with both thought provoking intellectual lessons in life as well as timeless hip hop classics. Any readers not familiar with Overlord X & The X Possee’s work should check the Overlord X Discography & Review article posted a few months ago on break to the beat.   


Taking things right back to the beginning before you started rapping and producing records please tell the readers how and when you discovered hip hop music?

I really started to get into hip hop music from Africa Bambaataa and the soul Sonic force, back then hip hop was in the style of Electro and they were the ones that grabbed my attention to start even thinking of making music. At that time I was a young break dancer and DJ producer just being a big fan and follower of the movement. I was looking for a rapper to spit over my beats but there were very few Mc’s around so I picked up the mic and started creating rough demos at home. Continue reading →

Rizzle Kicks “When I was a youngster”

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Rizzle Kicks second official single from their debut album “Stereo typical” entitled ”When I was a youngster” was released in 2011 on Island Records. “When I was a youngster” peaked at number 8 in the UK Singles charts and is based around a sample of a track called “Revolution rock” recorded by British Punk Rock group “The Clash“. Rizzle Kicks are a British Hip Hop duo from the city of Brighton who met at performance and drama workshops organised by a charity called Audio Active. Although both members of the group (Jordan “Rizzle” Stephens & Harley “Sylvester” Alexander-Sule) were born during hip hop’s golden era (1988-1992) they have been inspired by that period of classic hip hop and have produced several tracks based around sampling.  

Rizzle Kicks “When I was a youngster” 2011 Island Records

“Revolution Rock” by The Clash is one of the tracks from their third studio album entitled “London Calling“. “London Calling“ was released in late 1979 on CBS Records and sold approximately 2 million copies when it was initially released. The “London Calling” album was also ranked number 8 in rolling stone’s list of 500 greatest albums of all time compiled in 2003. ”Revolution Rock” was a cover version of a reggae song that was first performed by Danny Ray and the Revolutionaries also released in 1979. Continue reading →