Conquering Lion
Encyclopedia
Michael West better known under the aliases Conquering Lion, Congo Natty, Rebel MC, Blackstar, Tribe Of Issachar, X Project and Ras Project, is an English
jungle
producer
and toaster. "Conquering Lion" is an abbreviation
for "The Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah", one of emperor Haile Selassie
's many titles.
DJ Karl 'Tuff Enuff' Brown) and Leigh Guest; and released the single
"Just Keep Rockin" on the Desire record label
in 1989 as Double Trouble and Rebel MC. The single was a UK
Top 20 hit
, and the follow-up "Street Tuff
" (1989) was his biggest success, reaching #3 in the UK Singles Chart
.
Because of the style and content of these releases, West was often dismissed by a British
hip hop
community, distrustful of pop
success and "selling out". His first album was Rebel Music (Desire, 1990) which included the popular dance track "Better World".
His second album. Black Meaning Good (Desire, 1991) was a complete change of style for West, mixing his former pop-rap influences with reggae, hip hop, dance and the emerging jungle styles. The album featured ragga
notables like Barrington Levy
, Tenor Fly and Dennis Brown
singing and toasting on top of reggae
-house music
rhythms.
Word, Sound and Power (1992) was a further exploration of roots electronica
that mashed
up techno, house, reggae, ragga and hip hop music.
Forming the Tribal Bass label
, Rebel MC released "Tribal Bass" (1992), which was his last significant hit, reaching #20 in the UK charts, and the hip house
track Demon Boyz
"Dett" (1992) and the Oldschool Jungle
track "Jungle-ist" (1993). The X Project label followed shortly with the "Old School Ting" (1993) single. As Conquering Lion, West, with help from DJ Ron and Jumping Jack Frost, released the sound system mash up
"Lion of Judah/Innah Sound/Dub Plate Special" (1993). With vocals from Supercat, Conquering Lion's "Code Red/Phenomenon" (1994) caught the attention of 4th & Broadway who re-released the track along with "Rastaman/Word, Sound and Power/Code Black" (1995).
Tribal Bass gradually mutated into Congo Natty, and West himself released some material under this name, before settling on the Conquering Lion name. However, this was not the last the world heard of Rebel MC. Despite his continued success with his new style of music, West released the single "Junglist" (Congo Natty, 2004) under the Rebel MC name, and followed this up with a greatest hits album Born Again (Congo Natty, 2005).
New interest in the Double Trouble & Rebel MC song, "Just Keep Rockin" in December 2007, saw it re-enter the UK Dance Chart
at #32.
. The lyrics embrace a wide range of approaches to blackness and black-pride, bringing a different understanding of tradition by combining the different voices, themes and styles drawn from all kinds of sources of "blackness", creating a "playful, vibrant, postracial utopia". This amalgamated version of modern thought has allowed for the emergence of a uniquely London
version of politically charged hip hop. Paul Gilroy
argues that Rebel MC's message prevents the existence of "the trope of race as family." Instead, Gilroy states that the London
hip hop culture allows for a healthy competition between African-American and Caribbean
sounds to gain exposure.As recently as 2009 Joe Rankin' Rattigan described the song Street Tuff
as "the birth of UK grime", a view supported by Dizzee Rascal
also.
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...
jungle
Oldschool jungle
Jungle is a genre of electronic music that incorporates influences from genres including breakbeat hardcore, and reggae/dub/dancehall. There is debate as to whether jungle is a separate genre from drum and bass as many use the terms interchangeably...
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...
and toaster. "Conquering Lion" is an abbreviation
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
for "The Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah", one of emperor Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I , born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974...
's many titles.
Biography
In the early 1980s, West formed the group Double Trouble with the now deceased Michael Menson, Karl Brown (more commonly known as the UK garageUK garage
UK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...
DJ Karl 'Tuff Enuff' Brown) and Leigh Guest; and released the single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Just Keep Rockin" on the Desire record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
in 1989 as Double Trouble and Rebel MC. The single was a UK
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...
Top 20 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
, and the follow-up "Street Tuff
Street Tuff
"Street Tuff" is a hit single by Rebel MC & Double Trouble. It became the biggest hit of both performers' careers, peaking at #3 on the UK Singles Chart. It is the follow-up to their first hit, "Just Keep Rockin'", which made it into the UK Top 20...
" (1989) was his biggest success, reaching #3 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The 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 ...
.
Because of the style and content of these releases, West was often dismissed by a British
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 music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
community, distrustful of pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
success and "selling out". His first album was Rebel Music (Desire, 1990) which included the popular dance track "Better World".
His second album. Black Meaning Good (Desire, 1991) was a complete change of style for West, mixing his former pop-rap influences with reggae, hip hop, dance and the emerging jungle styles. The album featured ragga
Ragga
-Origins:Ragga originated in Jamaica during the 1980s, at the same time that electronic dance music's popularity was increasing globally. One of the reasons for ragga's swift propagation is that it is generally easier and less expensive to produce than reggae performed on traditional musical...
notables like Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy is a reggae and dancehall artist from Jamaica.-Career:In 1976, Levy formed a band with his cousin, Everton Dacres, called the Mighty Multitude; the pair released "My Black Girl" in 1977...
, Tenor Fly and Dennis Brown
Dennis Brown
Dennis Emmanuel Brown was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lovers rock, a sub-genre of reggae...
singing and toasting on top of reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
-house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
rhythms.
Word, Sound and Power (1992) was a further exploration of roots electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
that mashed
Mashup (music)
A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...
up techno, house, reggae, ragga and hip hop music.
Forming the Tribal Bass label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Rebel MC released "Tribal Bass" (1992), which was his last significant hit, reaching #20 in the UK charts, and the hip house
Hip house
Hip house, also known as house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip-hop. The style rose to prominence during the 1980s in New York and Chicago...
track Demon Boyz
Demon Boyz
The Demon Boyz were an English hip hop group formed in London by Demon D, Mike J and DJ Devastate. They began rapping whilst in their early teens, performing at the Rebel MC’s Beat Freak gigs. Their big break came when they won a competition on Dave Pearce’s rap show, their prize being to perform...
"Dett" (1992) and the Oldschool Jungle
Oldschool jungle
Jungle is a genre of electronic music that incorporates influences from genres including breakbeat hardcore, and reggae/dub/dancehall. There is debate as to whether jungle is a separate genre from drum and bass as many use the terms interchangeably...
track "Jungle-ist" (1993). The X Project label followed shortly with the "Old School Ting" (1993) single. As Conquering Lion, West, with help from DJ Ron and Jumping Jack Frost, released the sound system mash up
Mashup (music)
A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...
"Lion of Judah/Innah Sound/Dub Plate Special" (1993). With vocals from Supercat, Conquering Lion's "Code Red/Phenomenon" (1994) caught the attention of 4th & Broadway who re-released the track along with "Rastaman/Word, Sound and Power/Code Black" (1995).
Tribal Bass gradually mutated into Congo Natty, and West himself released some material under this name, before settling on the Conquering Lion name. However, this was not the last the world heard of Rebel MC. Despite his continued success with his new style of music, West released the single "Junglist" (Congo Natty, 2004) under the Rebel MC name, and followed this up with a greatest hits album Born Again (Congo Natty, 2005).
New interest in the Double Trouble & Rebel MC song, "Just Keep Rockin" in December 2007, saw it re-enter the UK Dance Chart
UK Dance Chart
The UK Dance Chart is a chart compiled by The Official Charts Company from sales in record stores and digital downloads. Although the chart does not currently receive any airplay on the radio or television, the chart can be viewed on the BBC Radio 1 and The Official Charts Company website.Digital...
at #32.
Music
Rebel MC's sound derives from his focus on blackness from various angles. Rather than solely celebrating Afrocentric motifs, his music hearkens back to the African diasporaDiaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
. The lyrics embrace a wide range of approaches to blackness and black-pride, bringing a different understanding of tradition by combining the different voices, themes and styles drawn from all kinds of sources of "blackness", creating a "playful, vibrant, postracial utopia". This amalgamated version of modern thought has allowed for the emergence of a uniquely London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
version of politically charged hip hop. Paul Gilroy
Paul Gilroy
-Biography:Born in the East End of London to Guyanese and English parents , he was educated at University College School and obtained his bachelor's degree at Sussex University in 1978. He moved from there to Birmingham University where he completed his Ph.D...
argues that Rebel MC's message prevents the existence of "the trope of race as family." Instead, Gilroy states that the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
hip hop culture allows for a healthy competition between African-American and Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
sounds to gain exposure.As recently as 2009 Joe Rankin' Rattigan described the song Street Tuff
Street Tuff
"Street Tuff" is a hit single by Rebel MC & Double Trouble. It became the biggest hit of both performers' careers, peaking at #3 on the UK Singles Chart. It is the follow-up to their first hit, "Just Keep Rockin'", which made it into the UK Top 20...
as "the birth of UK grime", a view supported by Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...
also.
Album discography
- Rebel Music (Desire, 1990)
- Black Meaning Good (Desire, 1991)
- Word Sound and Power (Big LifeBig LifeBig Life was a record label established in 1987 by Jazz Summers and Tim Parry. It featured hundreds of releases from artists such as The Orb, Stare, Yazz, Junior Reid, Coldcut, and De La Soul....
, 1991) - Born Again (Congo Natty, 2005)