Us3
Us3 | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Years active | 1992–2014 |
| Labels | Blue Note Us3 |
| Past members | Geoff Wilkinson Mel Simpson Rahsaan Kelly Kobie Powell Tukka Yoot KCB Shabaam Sahdeeq Michelob Alison Crockett Reggi Wyns Mpho Skeef Akil Dasan Gaston Adeline Brook Yung Sene Oveous Maximus Akala |
| Website | us3 |
Us3 were a British jazz rap group founded by London-based producer Geoff Wilkinson in 1992.
The name was inspired by Us Three, a Horace Parlan album produced in 1960 by Alfred Lion, the founder of Blue Note Records.[1] Us3's debut album, Hand on the Torch, used samples from Blue Note songs produced by Lion.
History
[edit]In the early 1990s, London-based producer Geoff Wilkinson produced two recordings under the name Us3. The first was 1990's "Where Will We Be in the 21st Century", a limited-edition white label 12" release. It drew the attention of independent label Ninja Tune, resulting in NW1's 1991 12-inch single "The Band Played The Boogie", featuring UK rapper Born 2 B.[2]
Wilkinson established Us3 with production partner Mel Simpson.[2] One of the resulting demos, recorded in March 1992, was "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)", featuring UK trumpeter Gerard Presencer.[2] It sampled Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island".[2] After winding up Us3 in 2014, Wilkinson went on to specialise in producing film and library music.[3]
Discography
[edit]Albums
[edit]| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] |
AUS [5] |
AUT [6] |
GER [7] |
NLD [8] |
NZ [9] |
SWI [10] |
US [11] |
US R&B/HH [12] | ||
| Hand on the Torch | 1993 | 40 | 51 | 11 | 29 | 81 | 28 | 21 | 31 | 21 |
| Broadway & 52nd | 1997 | 93 | 90 | 28 | 80 | 91 | 39 | 48 | — | 90 |
| An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place | 2001 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Questions | 2004 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Schizophonic | 2006 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Say What!? | 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stop. Think. Run. | 2009 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lie, Cheat & Steal | 2011 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| The Third Way | 2013 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Singles
[edit]| Title | Year | Peak positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] |
AUS [13] |
AUT [6] |
BEL (FL) [13] |
GER [7] |
NLD [8] |
NZ [9] |
SWI [10] |
US [14] |
US R&B [15] | ||||
| "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" | 1992 | 76 | 32 | 3 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 21 | Hand on the Torch | |
| "Tukka Yoot's Riddim" | 1993 | 34 | — | 24 | — | 97 | — | 28 | 26 | — | — | ||
| "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" (UK reissue) | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "I Got It Goin' On" | 1994 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | 39 | — | — | — | ||
| "Eleven Long Years" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Come on Everybody (Get Down)" | 1997 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 49 | — | — | Broadway & 52nd | |
| "I'm Thinking About Your Body" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "You Can't Hold Me Down" | 2001 | 94 | — | — | — | — | 98 | — | — | — | — | An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place | |
| "Get Out" | 2002 | 174 | — | — | — | — | 97 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Say You Belong to Me" | 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Say What!? | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ Hand on the Torch booklet remark by Bruce Lundvall, President of Blue Note Records
- ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 357. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.
- ^ "Composer - Geoff Wilkinson". MediaTracks. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Official Charts Company: Us3". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 290.
- ^ a b "Discographie US 3". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Us3 – German Chart". offiziellecharts.de (in German). Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Discografie US 3". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Discography US 3". charts.nz. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ a b "US 3 – Cantaloop". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Billboard 200: Week of March 12, 1994". Billboard. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ Peaks on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart:
- Hand on the Torch: "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Week of March 12, 1994". Billboard. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- Broadway & 52nd: "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Week of April 26, 1997". Billboard. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ a b "US 3 – Cantaloop". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Us3 – US Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ^ "Us3 – Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
Other sources
[edit]- Radio interview with Us3 founder Geoff Wilkinson on Kiss FM February 1992 Us3 Founder Geoff Wilkinson and Born 2 B, Kiss FM London 1992 - Play on N1M
- Ninja Tune - Two decades of mixes and mash-ups
External links
[edit]- Official website
- The Us3 youtube channel
- The official Us3 myspace page
- Comprehensive 2009 interview with Geoff Wilkinson
- "Jazz and Hip-Hop: Can They Really Mix?" by Jared Pauley, (Jazz.com)
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