MC Mell'O'

MC Mell'O' comes from Battersea in south London, and was originally known for his bodypopping skills rather than his rapping, going under the tag Moomin. He was a member of various crews such as The 52 Flash Kru, the SAS (Strawberry all-stars) and Truly Unique, before getting caught up in the fledgling rap scene emerging in the late 1980s.

His first release was the single "Free Style / Proud" (Tuff Groove, 1988), which he recorded under the name "MC Mellow" as part of the Jus Bad crew, which featured Monie Love, Sparki and DJ Pogo. This was quickly followed by a guest spot on D2 The K's "Slow Jam" (BMP, 1988), changing his name to the more familiar spelling that he has used ever since.

Mell'O' signed to Republic Records in the late 1980s, where he continued to work with DJ Pogo. The first fruit of this collaboration was the "Comin' Correct/Wize/Bizzie Rhymin' EP" (Republic Records - 1989), which was followed by his only solo album "Thoughts Released (Revelation I)" (Republic Records - 1990). This album is now considered to be one of the true classics of the British hip hop scene's early years, and is widely sought after amongst fans of the genre.

Unfortunately, following the release of this album and its single "Open Up Your Mind" (Republic Records, 1990), Mell'O' and his record company had a despute over the terms of his contract, which kept a follow up album from being released. Eventually, Mell'O' left Republic, and moved to Funky Dred for the 1992 single "Mello's Gone Crazy". In the following years, Mell'O' had trouble settling with any one record company - in 1994 he released an EP with BMG "and" an EP with the Stereo MCs' company Natural Response. He later worked with producer Mark B on "Melloizdaman" (Jazz Fudge, 1999), but sadly didn't get the success that the producer achieved with other UK legend Blade. After a long period of being away from solo work, where he continued to collaborate with a wide variety of other artists, Mell'O' released "Give Them What They Want" (Sleeping Giants, 2005).

MC Mell'O' is one of the great names in the UK scene, sadly remaining underground and failing to get the widescale success that his talent and respect in the scene would deserve.

Discography

Albums

* "Thoughts Released (Revelation I)" (Republic Records - 1990).

Appears on

* "Slow Jam" by D2 The K from "Hardcore One" (BMP, 1988)
* "Beyond the 16th Parallel" B.R.O.T.H.E.R. movement (4th and Broadway, 1989)
* "Young Disciples Theme" by the Young Disciples from "Road to Freedom" (Talkin' Loud, 1991)
* "Hold You Back (Brixton Bass Mix)" by Blacksmith (BPM, 1990)
* "Senga Abele" by Manu Dibango from "The Rebirth of Cool Too" (4th and Broadway, 1992)
* "Dark and Sinister" by Blade from "The Lion Goes From Strength to Strength (No Compromise)" (691 Influential, 1993)
* "Reality Check" by Urban Species from "Blanket" (Talkin' Loud, 1998)
* ??? by Blacka'nized from "Fading Never EP" (Yush, 1998)
* "Ham n' Cheese" by Blacka'nized from "Yush Presents Blacka'nized" (Yush, 1999)
* "The English Patient" by Gunshot from "International Rescue" (Words of Warning, 2000)
* "Inner State of Mind" by Courtney Pine from "Back in the Day" (Polygram, 2000)

External links

* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=62512823 MC Mell'O' MySpace page]
* [http://www.heroesofukhiphop.com/MCMello.htm Heroes of UK Hip Hop's Mell'O' section]
* [http://www.ukhh.com/features/interviews/mc_mello/index.html Interview with MC Mell'O']
* [http://www.ackniculous.com/cgi-bin/dbman/db.cgi?db=records&uid=default&ID=&Artist=MC%20Mell&Title=&Format=&Label=&CatNo=&Year=&re=on&keyword=&mh=100&sb1=1&so1=ascend&sb2=6&so2=ascend&sb3=5&so3=ascend&view_records=View+Records MC Mell'o' Discography]