By the latter half of the 1980s,
Soul II Soul had built a monstrous following as a sound system collective in the UK. Starting in 1982, Trevor “
Jazzie B” Beresford Romeo, the sound system’s maestro began to develop and implement a plan of success for his musical outfit. After a series of single releases called dub plates in 1988,
Club Classics Vol. One/Keep On Movin was released on April 10, 1989 by Virgin Records. Upon its release, the fervor surrounding the album increased exponentially due to the popularity of the lead single, “Fairplay.”
The years spent in formulating an eclectic sound finally paid dividends for the sound system. As a result, music audiences began to gravitate to their groundbreaking sounds en masse. Soul II Soul encompassed a vast array of sounds and voices. Their formula for unparallel success was due to the fact of their constant change within the sound system. During this juncture, there were a plethora of outstanding musical groups dominating the musical landscape, but Soul II Soul was that rare brand of artists that comes along once every generation.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This is definitely something that singer Omar Lye-Fook can relate to. As a longstanding member of the UK soul community, since the mid 80‘s he’s been part responsible for putting the UK on the map musically. Not changing his delivery, creative mindset or his target audience, whether it’s his happy-go-lucky attitude to life or his passionate application to making music, you just can’t help but love him. Respected by everybody, hated by none, having him back after seven years is some what of a relief.
“Real Hip Hop’s been lost but now it’s found right here,” Guru recently declared in a London hotel room. The rapper, made legendary for his work alongside DJ Premier as the wordsmith of Hip Hop duo Gang Starr, was back in town “on a global grind” with producer and business partner Solar to promote their latest work together on 7 Grand Records; Guru 8.0: Lost and Found, which features Solar on the mic for the first time. I last spoke to the pair in the summer of 2007, when it was clear the duo were on a mission to shake up the impact of ‘intelligent’ independent Hip Hop. Catching up two years on, their path hasn’t changed... But has the climate?