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Rodney P, as always, dedicated to the game
RnB/Hip Hop | Friday 6th October 2017 | Phil
Rodney P has been in the game since before many who will be reading this were born.
Always busy on the circuit, the man whose been a 'Gunner since '79' has had a career spanning 30 or so great years. Believe it or not, London Posse, a crew that launched Rodney P but also included emcee Bionic, beatboxer Sipho (RIP) and DJ Billy Biznizz are credited with being the first UK rap crew to popularise rapping in a British accent, with any acts previous to London Posse adopting American accents firstly as they didn't know any better and secondly, to draw the attention and praise of their U.S counterparts. For us, now, this seems almost extraordinary verging on ridiculous, with so many dope British emcees proud of their musical roots emerging from the spheres of hip hop, drum n bass and grime respectively. But it was a time where the only examples to emulate were from the ol' U.S. of A. But, thanks to the UK club scene and crews such as London Posse and guys like Mr. Rodney P, we have had our own very British inspirations to draw from.
Following his London Posse days, Rodney P went on to form a longstanding friendship and alliance with celebrated UK producer and DJ Skitz, collaborating on a plethora of projects and working together as a live act. Throughout the late '90s and early 2000s Rodney released track after track, all of which are now regarded as golden age British tracks, including tunes like 'Dedication' produced by Skitz for the Countryman L.P., the quintessential Rodney P track 'Murderer Style', 'Worldwide' with Skinnyman and Mr. 45, and featuring with a host of legendary London spitters for Root Manuva's 'Swords in The Dirt'.
Over this time Rodney became one of the frontmen for the band The Dub Pistols, something that also evolved into a longstanding friendship and alliance, culminating in the release of 'Peaches' in 2007, a reworking of The Stranglers classic.
Recently, he has been involved on the production of several documentaries, including his own documentary 'Under The Influence' and 'The Hip Hop World News' for the BBC. The latest documentary he features in was just released a few weeks ago and is called 'The Last Pirates', detailing the story about Britain's Pirate radio DJs and culture.
Just last month he performed with Skitz, Taskforce, and Skinnyman as part of James Lavelle's Jazz Cafe takeover in celebration of 25 years of Mo'Wax, as well as as part of London Posse for a special performance at the DMC World DJ Championships. He is now getting ready to take The Roundhouse by storm at the Tru Thoughts 18th Birthday with a special 'Live Up' Rodney P x Tru Thoughts ale collab by Signature Brew.
The Riddim Killa Rodney P has played a massive role in the UK scene since it began, and that is something that is unlikely to change. Mad love out to the Godfather of UK Hip Hop.
You can get tickets for the Tru Thoughts 18th Birthday here.
Rodney P - Insta - Twitter - SoundCloud
