Author Archives: DJ Kraze One

The Amen Break

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The “Amen break” is a 5.2 second drum solo from an instrumental funk record entitled Amen brother performed by Soul/Funk band The Winstons.

Amen brother was released in 1969 on Metromedia Records. It was the B side to  7″ single entitled “Colour him farther“. The Amen break beat was first popularised by Hip Hop artists in the late 1980’s after its inclusion on the Ultimate breaks & Beats series compiled and edited by Louis Flores. In the 1990’s The Amen break beat formed one of the key elements of Jungle music that evolved via the Rave scene in the early to mid 1990’s in the United Kingdom.

To the present day the Amen break has been sampled hundreds of times by artists, producers and musicians from all different backgrounds and genres. From Jungle anthems like Super sharp shooter by DJ Zinc & The Ganga Kru to classic Hip Hop records like Straight outta Compton by N.W.A. It would appear that the music of today would sound very different if it was not for the creation of Amen brother by The Winstons.

A looped section of the Amen drum break is inserted in the below clip. Check to see if you recognise the drums:

The Amen break beat

So now you are familiar with the drum break it is time to explore the Musical DNA that went in to creating such a popular sample that has been such a prominent feature in classic Hip Hop & Dance music. Continue reading →

DJ Roughcut Interview

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Break to the beat recently caught up with DJ Roughcut for a brief catch up and to get an incite in to his foundations in local Hip Hop Culture. DJ Roughcut’s involvement with the local music scene dates back to the mid 1980s and by the 1990s he was DJing and producing for several local Hip Hop crews including W.I.Z.E, Death Before Dishonour and Klass Dismissed. During the early 1990s DJ Roughcut produced and released several recordings on Milton Keynes based record label 2’E’Z Records.

Wize Crew

DJ Roughcut.

What inspired you to get in to scratch DJ’ing and how did this lead to you entering the DMC mixing championship?

I was sitting watching the movie Breakdance and I remembering turning to my dad and saying I want to be one of them, my dad said “What a breakdancer?” and I said no “the guys behind with the turntables playing the music for them to breakdance to!” My parents bought me a pair of ‘disco double decks’ which I learnt to practice on. A competition appeared on a kids Saturday morning TV programme called Motormouth looking for young DJ’s to send in a demo for a DJ competition. I was in class at school one day and someone came to the class and said Keith Hurley needs to go to reception. I had no idea what it was going to be about, I got there and they said someone from ITV had called and I was a finalist in a competition and I needed to phone them to arrange appearing on TV!!!!I rushed to the local phone box after school and phoned them. I travelled by train to The Empire in Leicester Square where they were filming the competition. I walked in and immediately I was introduced to The Cookie Crew, Derek B, Simon Harris and Tony Prince the founder and owner of DMC, the World DJ Championship organisation; I was told they were going to be the judges for the competition!!! Continue reading →

Overlord X Discography & Review

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The Late 1980’s was a very interesting time for Hip Hop music both in the US and in the UK. I remember as a kid getting in to the Hip Hop culture by watching the film Break dance and hearing music by artists The Fat Boys, Beastie Boys and Run-DMC. During this period I would have been about 8 or 9 years old. It wasn’t however until around 1988 when I first heard the music that artists like Ice T, Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy and De La Soul were making when I really started becoming intrigued by the Hip Hop culture. Along with the US rap superstars there were a handful of UK Hip Hop artists that at the time had the same impact on me as a fan of the music. One of these UK Hip Hop pioneers was Overlord X.

What I respect most about Overlord X is his consistency in making quality Hip Hop tracks, plus on every 12″ single he released there was at least one different track that did not appear on any of his albums. In 2012 this may not seem like a big issue but back in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, music (especially Hip Hop) was not as accessible as it is now. Even in 1990 Hip Hop records were filed under Dance music, Jazz music or even the World music section of a record shop.

My point is that on every Overlord X 12″ single there was a unique track making the singles as much of a worthwhile purchase as the albums. Overlord X along with his DJ Sir-Preme-Tee were one of the few early Hip Hop crews from the UK to make Hip Hop their own in terms of not rapping in an American accent.

Overlord X‘s vocal style and music are somewhat unique to him and DJ Sir-Preme-Tee’s super funky scratches and cuts complimented Overlord X’s musical vibe perfectly. Overlord X also had a crew of rappers, DJs & Performers doing vocal and DJ features throughout his projects called the X Possee, all residents of the East London borough of Hackney. Overlord X, & The X Possee are UK Hip Hop pioneers and along with a handful of other artists kicked off the first wave of British Hip Hop especially in terms of releasing vinyl records. These records went on to inspire others to get in to the Hip Hop culture in the UK, Europe and beyond. This article was put together with the aim of honouring the contributions to UK Hip Hop culture by Overlord X, Sir-Preme-Tee, & The X Possee.

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