Tricksta
Encyclopedia
Tricksta is a hip hop
DJ, producer, and CEO from Wolverhampton
. He is the founder of UK hip hop label
Wolftown Recordings
. He is also known as Mr. Never Sleep, Tricky D, Tricky, Tricky dan, and Trik.
He began his hip-hop career in 1989 as a DJ on Wolverhampton pirate radio
station Fantasy 98.6 FM. In 1995, he started working for a music group where he ran a number of different record labels doing management, A&R, promotions, and music production, and after a number of releases, he began DJing internationally. Tricksta was the first ever British DJ to play in the city of Istanbul
, and has also DJ'ed in Los Angeles
, Miami, San Francisco, Munich
, Stockholm
, Cannes
, Amsterdam
, Zürich
and all over the UK.
In 1997, Tricksta joined with Wolverhampton rapper Late
and started sketching plans for their act Villains, their magazine Rago, and the Wolftown Recordings label, which in 1999 landed a distribution deal with Pinnacle Entertainment. In 2001, Tricksta founded the UK hip hop mixtape
series UK Runnings and since then as a DJ has also done mixtapes with a string of American
artists including—but not limited to—Chamillionaire
, Red Cafe
, Papoose
, Stat Quo
, Sheek Louch
, J-Hood, 40 Glocc and Spider Loc
from G-Unit Records
.
Tricksta has produced beats that the following UK artists have rapped on: UK - LATE, Supar Novar, Conspicuous The Coroner, 10Shott, Size8, Conman, Yeshua, TBear, Big Cakes, Jai Boo
, Moorish Delta 7
, 57th Dynasty, Doyen D, Kid Rad, HKB Finn, Krispy, Souljah Clique, Cafe Recordings, Creamo and many more.
He is also part of South Park Coalition the legendary Houston movement headed by K-Rino, the only UK DJ to be part of East Coast movement Team AFF, as well as being Synplife's (354/D-Block) official DJ. Tricksta does a monthly radio show for on-line [www.theurbanshop.co.uk clothing store] and is sponsored by them, thus all clothing worn by the artist are available at that site.
In 2005, Tricksta was head-hunted by PR
company Park Street PR to be head of their hip hop division, and is considered to be "One of the hardest working individuals in the UK Hip-Hop industry."
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...
DJ, producer, and CEO from Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
. He is the founder of UK hip hop 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,...
Wolftown Recordings
Wolftown Recordings
Wolftown Recordings is a hip hop record label based in Wolverhampton. Formed in 1997 by local artists Tricksta and Late, Wolftown has risen to prominence as one of the UK's premier hip hop labels, releasing records by acts such as Villains, Vicious Circle , Jai Boo, Cee-Rock "The Fury", DL...
. He is also known as Mr. Never Sleep, Tricky D, Tricky, Tricky dan, and Trik.
He began his hip-hop career in 1989 as a DJ on Wolverhampton pirate radio
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
station Fantasy 98.6 FM. In 1995, he started working for a music group where he ran a number of different record labels doing management, A&R, promotions, and music production, and after a number of releases, he began DJing internationally. Tricksta was the first ever British DJ to play in the city of Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, and has also DJ'ed in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Miami, San Francisco, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and all over the UK.
In 1997, Tricksta joined with Wolverhampton rapper Late
Late (rapper)
Late is an underground rapper from Wolverhampton. He is a co-founder of Wolftown Recordings and a member of the rap groups Villains and Wolftown Committee...
and started sketching plans for their act Villains, their magazine Rago, and the Wolftown Recordings label, which in 1999 landed a distribution deal with Pinnacle Entertainment. In 2001, Tricksta founded the UK hip hop mixtape
Mixtape
A Mix Tape or Mixed Tape is a compilation of songs recorded in a specific order, traditionally onto an audio Compact Cassette.A Mix Tape, which usually reflects the musical tastes of its compiler, can range from a casually selected list of favorite songs, to a conceptual mix of songs linked by a...
series UK Runnings and since then as a DJ has also done mixtapes with a string of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artists including—but not limited to—Chamillionaire
Chamillionaire
Hakeem Seriki , better known by his stage name Chamillionaire, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Chamillitary Entertainment. Chamillionaire is also the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click...
, Red Cafe
Red Cafe
Jermaine Denny , better known as his stage name Red Café, is an American rapper. He was born to Afro-Guyanese parents and is signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik, Diddy's Bad Boy Records and DJ Clue's Desert Storm label.-Biography:...
, Papoose
Papoose
A papoose is an American English loanword whose present meaning is "a Native American Indian child" or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in the context of the child's mother. The word came originally from the Narragansett tribe...
, Stat Quo
Stat Quo
Stanley Benton, better known as Stat Quo, is an American rapper. Benton worked his way to college and attended University of Florida, where he majored in economics and international business in 2000. Benton was contemplating law school, until veteran Southern rapper Scarface encouraged him to rap...
, Sheek Louch
Sheek Louch
Sean Divine Jacobs, better known as Sheek Louch , is an African American rapper and member of The LOX , along with Styles P and Jadakiss.-Personal life and career:...
, J-Hood, 40 Glocc and Spider Loc
Spider Loc
Curtis Norvell Williams, more commonly known as Spider Loc is an American rapper signed to G-Unit Records.Loc is also the CEO of G-Unit West.-Biography:...
from G-Unit Records
G-Unit Records
G-Unit Records is an American record label, specializing in hip hop music, founded in 2003 by rapper 50 Cent and his manager Sha Money XL. Upon its inception, it operated as a subsidiary of, and was distributed through, Universal Music Group's Interscope Records...
.
Tricksta has produced beats that the following UK artists have rapped on: UK - LATE, Supar Novar, Conspicuous The Coroner, 10Shott, Size8, Conman, Yeshua, TBear, Big Cakes, Jai Boo
Jai Boo
Jai Boo is an underground hip hop artist from Wolverhampton. She is signed to Wolftown Recordings and is a member of Wolftown Committee. She has received national airplay from radio stations such as BBC Radio 1Xtra and Asian Network, being played by such DJs as Ras Kwame and Bobby Friction.She...
, Moorish Delta 7
Moorish Delta 7
Moorish Delta 7 are a hip hop/UK garage outfit from the Newtown area of Birmingham, England. The trio formed in 1995 and have sold over 50,000 records.-History:...
, 57th Dynasty, Doyen D, Kid Rad, HKB Finn, Krispy, Souljah Clique, Cafe Recordings, Creamo and many more.
He is also part of South Park Coalition the legendary Houston movement headed by K-Rino, the only UK DJ to be part of East Coast movement Team AFF, as well as being Synplife's (354/D-Block) official DJ. Tricksta does a monthly radio show for on-line [www.theurbanshop.co.uk clothing store] and is sponsored by them, thus all clothing worn by the artist are available at that site.
In 2005, Tricksta was head-hunted by PR
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
company Park Street PR to be head of their hip hop division, and is considered to be "One of the hardest working individuals in the UK Hip-Hop industry."
Wolftown discography
- WOLFCD.001 – VILLAINS ‘Welcome To Wolftown’
- WOLFCD.002 – VICIOUS CIRCLE ‘Bagged Out’
- WOLFCD.003 – WOLFTOWN COMMITTEE ‘Legendary Status’
- WOLFCD.004 – LATE ‘International Ryhme Spittin’
- WOLFCD.005 – CHAMILLIONAIRE ‘Wreckless In Texas’
- WOLFCD.006 – JUTTLA ‘Bass, Kicks, Snares, Spits’
- WOLFCD.007 – LATE & TRICKSTA ‘Hustlers, Ballers, Shotcallers’
- WOLFCD.008 - UK RUNNINGS ‘National Anthems’
- WOLFCD.009 – BIGG STEELE ‘How We Do It On The Westside’
- WOLFCD.010 – TRAE ‘Wreckless In Texas 2’
- WOLFCD.011 – WOLFTOWN ‘Metaphors & Verbs’ (2xCD)
- WOLFCD.012 – UK RUNNINGS/CONSPICUOUS THE CORONER ‘Missing Pages’
- WOLFCD.013 – UK RUNNINGS/SUPAR NOVAR ‘Wordz From The Frontline’
- WOLFCD.014 – LATE 'Two Thousand & LATE'
- ENG.001 – LATE ‘Englishman In New York’
- TEN.001 – 10SHOTT ‘Ghetto Brick Road’ (NOW DELETED)
- 765962 – PAPOOSE ‘War & Peace’
- 765912 – UK RUNNINGS ‘National Anthems 2’
- 765572 – J HOOD (D’BLOCK) & GEOLANI ‘From the Streets To The Block’
UK Runnings Underground Mixtapes
- Tricksta Presents UK Runnings "Volume 1"
- Tricksta Presents UK Runnings "Volume 2"
- Tricksta Presents UK Runnings "Volume 2.5"
- Tricksta Presents UK Runnings "Volume 3" (Hosted by LATE)
- Tricksta Presents UK Runnings "Volume 4" (Hosted by 10SHOTT)
- Tricksta Presents UK Runnings "Volume 5" (Hosted by JAI BOO)
- Tricksta Presents UK Runnings "Volume 6" (Hosted by CONMAN)
- Tricksta Presents UK Runnings "The Old Skool Mix"
- URB.001 – UK RUNNINGS ‘Urban Shop Mixtape’
- URB.002 – UK RUNNINGS ‘Music For A Myspace Generation’
- URB.003 – UK RUNNINGS & THE URBAN SHOP ‘100% Exclusive Mixtape & DVD’
The Hip-Hop Village & Wolftown Series
- HHVWT.001 – ST LAZ ‘Don Of Pottersfield’
- HHVWT.002 – GEOLANI & LATE ‘Extended Family – CEO’s Edition’
- HHVWT.003 – K-RINO ‘A Lyrical Legend’
- HHVWT.004 – RAIN ‘Time To Rain On Um’
- HHVWT.005 – RED CAFÉ ‘The Menu’
- HHVWT.006 – SYNPLIFE 354 ‘Murderville’
- HHVWT.007 – DINO WEST ‘Aint No Limit To This Wolftown Gutta Music’
- HHVWT.008 – RICKY LEE ‘Reality Game’
- HHVWT.009 – BIG CAS ‘The Carolina King’
- HHVWT.010 – GEOLANI ‘East Coast Ridaz’
- HHVWT.011 – 40GLOCC (G-UNIT) ‘Street Hop’
- HHVWT.012 – CHAMILLIONAIRE ‘Houston’s Hardest Artist’
- HHVWT.013 – BIG SKEEM & CONMAN ‘Extended Family – Hustler’s Edition’
- HHVWT.014 – STAT QUO ‘So Serious’
- HHVWT.015 – GRIT BOYS ‘Reality Game’
- HHVWT.016 – GRANDADDY SOUF ‘Locked & Loaded’
- HHVWT.017 – SPIDER LOC (G-UNIT) ‘ Straight Up Rider’
- HHVWT.018 – PAPOOSE ‘The Lyrical One’
- HHVWT.019 – SHEEK LOUCH ‘It’s a Movemement’
- HHVWT.020 – BALL PLAYAS ‘Reality Game’
- HHVWT.021 – KB DA KIDNAPPA ‘Street Military Soldier’
- HHVWT.022 – THE JACKA 'International Mobbin'
External links
- Wolftown Recordings
- Tricksta's MySpace page
- Park Street PR
- Rago Magazine
- UK Runnings
- The Urban Shop
- Tricksta Interview at www.reviewgraveyard.com