Derek B

Derek B
Birth name	Derek Boland
Also known as	EZQ
Born	15 January 1965(1965-01-15) London, United Kingdom
Died	15 November 2009(2009-11-15) (aged 44) London, United Kingdom
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, songwriter, MC
Years active	1986–2009
Labels	Profile, Orchard Music of Life, Tuff

Derek Boland (15 January 1965 – 15 November 2009), better known by his stage name as Derek B was a British rapper.^[1][2] His most commercially successful releases were "Goodgroove" and "Bad Young Brother" in 1988.^[3]

Biography

Born Derek Boland in Hammersmith, London to Trinidadian nurse Jenny Boland, he was raised in Woodford.^{[disambiguation needed ]} 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 record label, as the closest thing they had to an A&R man. When a planned compilation of US 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 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 was followed by three more - the most successful of which were "Goodgroove" (Music of Life, 1988), and "Bad Young Brother", both of which reached #16 in the UK Singles Chart.^[3] Derek B's third and final UK chart entry was "We've Got The Juice", which peaked at #56.^[3]

Derek B was the first UK rapper to achieve pop success,^[1] appearing on BBC Television's Top of the Pops, at a time when the only other rappers who had appeared were Break Machine and Doug E. Fresh. He received criticism for rapping under an assumed American accent, something which was popular in the early days of British hip hop, but later abandoned.^[4]

Following his chart success, Derek B was signed up to Rush Artist Management and released singles and the album, Bullet From a Gun (Tuff Audio, 1988).

Derek B was also successful as a record producer and remixer, working with the Cookie Crew and Eric B and Rakim.^[2] He also helped write the 1988, Liverpool F.C. anthem, "Anfield Rap".^[5]

He died of a heart attack in London on November 15, 2009.^[2] His death was reported on November 16, 2009.^[1]

Discography

• Bullet From a Gun (1988, Tuff Audio) - UK #11^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "British rapper Derek B dies at 44". BBC. 2009-11-16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8363336.stm. Retrieved 2009-11-16. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Derek B 'dies of heart attack' aged 44
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 35. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
4. ^ Emery, Andrew (2009-11-17). "Derek B paved the way for UK hip-hop". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/nov/17/derek-b-uk-hip-hop. Retrieved 2009-11-17. 
5. ^ "Derek B Dies Of A Heart Attack Aged 44". Gig Wise. http://www.gigwise.com/news/53466/Derek-B-Dies-Of-A-Heart-Attack-Aged-44. Retrieved 2009-11-17. 

External links

• Derek B MySpace page
• Guardian obituary
• Heroes Of UK Hip Hop Derek B Page

Persondata
Name	B, Derek
Alternative names
Short description	British rapper
Date of birth	1965-01-15
Place of birth
Date of death	2009-11-15
Place of death