Rebel MC

Biography

Michael Alec Anthony West (born 27 August 1964 in Islington, London, England), better known as Rebel MC and Congo Natty, is a British jungle producer, spiritual chanter, and toaster. He has also gone by aliases including Conquering Lion, Blackstar, Tribe of Issachar, Lion of Judah, X Project, and Ras Project.

Biography

West was born to a Jamaican father and a Welsh mother.
In the late 1980s, West formed the group Double Trouble with Michael Menson, Karl Brown (more commonly known as the UK garage DJ Karl 'Tuff Enuff' Brown), and Leigh Guest. This would lead to two hip house records reaching the UK Top 40 in 1989 - "Just Keep Rockin'×Just Keep Rockin'1989 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Just Keep Rockin' (7" Hip-House mix)3:282Just Keep Rockin' (7" Sk'ouse mix)3:163Just Keep Rockin' (12" Hip-House mix)5:034Just Keep Rockin' (12" Sk'ouse mix)4:585Just Keep Rockin' (Robin Albers mix)5:186Just Keep Rockin' (DMC mix)6:087Just Keep Rockin' (12" Sk'ouse remix)5:438Just Keep Rockin' (12" Hip-House remix)5:269Just Keep Rockin' (dub Hip-House remix)3:3610Just Keep Rockin' (dub Sk'ouse remix)2:54" followed by "Street Tuff×Street Tuff1989 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Street Tuff (Scar mix)5:002Street Tuff (Ruff mix)4:233Street Tuff (Norman Cook mix)5:244Street Tuff (Time to Rock - The Trouble dub)3:09". The latter reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart. These would appear shortly after on his debut album Rebel Music×Rebel Music1990 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Just Keep Rockin' (Sk'ouse mix)5:432Street Tuff (Scar mix)3:303Music Is the Key4:284Love?3:395Storytime4:116MC²4:487Better World3:428Rebel Music5:139Commin' Brand New5:1510Set Yourself Free5:0211Cockney Rhythm (remix)4:5912Better World (Peace mix)4:5913Better World (Unity mix)4:45.
In 1991, West released his second album, Black Meaning Good×Black Meaning Good1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Black Meaning Good4:482Keep On Steppin'1:513No Man Is an Island4:284Soul Rebel5:415Word of a Ghetto4:156Afrikan2:327Culture3:598The Wickedest Sound4:039Live Good5:3410Tribal Base4:1811Comin' On Strong4:2412Soul Sister3:5813Test the Champion3:57, which combined his former hip house and pop-rap influences with radical political, spiritual consciousness, and a stronger roots reggae, dubwise, and breakbeat edge. The album featured notable reggae and dancehall artists such as Barrington Levy, Tenor Fly, and Dennis Brown. Singles released from the album included "The Wickedest Sound×The Wickedest Sound1991 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1The Wickedest Sound (Swemix radio edit)3:252The Wickedest Sound (Don Gorgon mix)6:343The Wickedest Sound (Swemix remix)6:21", "Comin' On Strong", and "Tribal Base×Tribal Base3 June 1991 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Tribal Base (Foundation edit)4:012Rebel Music (From the Soul mix)4:393Tribal Base (Foundation mix)6:43" - to which their breakbeat hardcore and reggae fusion would give rise to an early precursor to the jungle sound.
His third album Word, Sound and Power×Word, Sound and PowerNovember 1992 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Humanity3:252Rich Ah Getting Richer4:173Let Jah Light Shine4:344Afrikan Descendant4:545The Governments Fail4:116Jahovia3:477I Can't Get No Sleep4:028Creation Rebel3:599Power to the People4:5610Revolution4:4011Revelation Time3:40 (released in 1992, also featuring vocals from Spikey T and Little T ) represented further exploration of increasingly politicised awareness, breakbeat hardcore, house, conscious spiritual roots reggae, dubwise, and hip hop, with two singles "Rich Ah Getting Richer" and "I Can't Get No Sleep" released from it.The album opens with Rebel's version of Lincoln Thompson’s "Humanity (Love the Way It Should Be)", whilst the track "African Descendent" opens with a sample from Lloyd Coxsone's iconic King of the Dub Rock ( pt 2 ) Tribesman label album track, “Black Wars Reggae”, spliced with a vocal refrain chant from Johnny Clarke. "Rich Ah Getting Richer" was built on melodies and samples from Twinkle Brothers "Jahovia×JahoviaJune 2013 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAJahoviaBJahovia (E.M.M.A. And Wil LV dub mix)", Junior Byles, and King Tubby's'"Fade Away" as well as Junior Delgado's "Tichion." The track "Jahovia" samples the keyboard hook from the sound system favourite, "Kunta Kinte". Kunta Kinte, the film character from Alex Haley's book "Roots" inspired a reggae riddim of the same name, which started off life as a track called Beware Of Your Enemies released from Jamaica's Channel One. A dub version, put out in 1976 by Channel One house band The Revolutionaries became a sound system anthem for many years on dubplate, and inspired a UK version produced by Mad Professor in 1981. The track inspired Rebel MC and other jungle covers.
On Word, Sound and Power Rebel MC also built tracks around samples and melodies from Yabby You, Lincoln Thompson and the Royal Rasses ("Humanity"), and Burning Spear's "Creation Rebel."
The track "African" samples Lloyd Coxsone’s King of the Dub Rock part two, and Johnny Clarke’s vocals from Bunny Lee productions.
The album track “Revolution” is largely based on Dennis Brown’s track of the same name.
Whilst West was enjoying further commercial success with "Tribal Base" featuring Barrington Levy and Tenor Fly, he was also experimenting with white label releases on his X Project label. The first of these would be "Walking in the Air" (which contains samples from The Snowman track), followed by a further five releases which by this time were jungle.
West is often noted for having popularised the term "jungle". In the book Energy Flash by Simon Reynolds, MC Navigator of Kool FM is quoted as saying: "Rebel got this chant - 'all the junglists' - from a yard-tape" (referring to the sound system tapes from Kingston, Jamaica). "When Rebel sampled that, the people cottoned on, and soon they started to call the music 'jungle'".
In 1994, West converted to Rastafari. As Conquering Lion, he would release a classic jungle track "Code Red", with vocals from Super Cat. This was picked up for major release by Mango Records, a subsidiary of Island Records, which was followed by "Champion DJ×Champion DJ2005 · Single · RemixSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAChampion DJ (Ebony Dubsters remix)AAChampion DJ (Potential Bad Boy '95 remix)" (featuring Top Cat) and "Junglist×JunglistNovember 2004 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Junglist5:562Junglist (DJ Zinc remix)6:24" (featuring Peter Bouncer), both released on his Congo Natty label that would be prolific in the mid-1990s to early 2000s.
In 2013, West returned with the album Jungle Revolution, featuring Jah Shaka's son, Young Warrior, General Levy, Top Cat, Tippa Irie, Tenor Fly, and Nãnci Correia.

As X Project, Lion of Judah et al

"Walking in the Air" (X Project, 1992)
"The Calling"/"Jah Sunshine" (X Project, 1993)
"Inahsound"/"Lion of Judah" (X Project, 1993)
"Code Red" (as Conquering Lion) (X Project/Mango, 1994)
"Champion DJ×Champion DJ2005 · Single · RemixSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAChampion DJ (Ebony Dubsters remix)AAChampion DJ (Potential Bad Boy '95 remix)" (as Blackstar with Top Cat) (Congo Natty, 1994)
"Junglist×JunglistNovember 2004 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Junglist5:562Junglist (DJ Zinc remix)6:24" (as Tribe of Issachar) (Congo Natty, 1995)
"Jah Set It" (as Lion of Judah) (Congo Natty, 1996)
"Emperor Selassie I" (as Lion of Judah) (Congo Natty, 1997)