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Artist
Derek B
12+ albums
Hip-Hoprapold schoolbritishUK hip-hop
about
Derek B (born Derek Boland, 15 January 1965, in London. Died 15 November 2009 of heart failure). 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 a
top songs
albums
Bullet From a Gun
Chillin' With Santa
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Bullet from a Gun (Redux with Bonus Track)
Christmas Rap
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Now That's What I Call Music 12 - CD 2
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Bullet From A Gun (Redux)
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Legends - Derek B
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The Best of Derek B
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Hard As Hell Raps Next Generation
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A Look Back
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Now Thats What I Call Music - 12
now that's what i call music 12