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Us3 were a British jazz rap group founded by London-based producer Geoff Wilkinson in 1992.
Us3 | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Years active | 1992–2014 |
| Labels | Blue Note Us3 |
| Members | Geoff Wilkinson |
| Past members | Mel Simpson (1993–95) Vocalists: Rahsaan Kelly (1993–95) Kobie Powell (1993–95) Tukka Yoot (1993–95, 2013) KCB (1996–99, 2013) Shabaam Sahdeeq (1996–99) Michelob (1999–2001) Alison Crockett (1999–2002) Reggi Wyns (2003–05) Mpho Skeef (2003–05) Akil Dasan (2005–07, 2013) Gaston (2005–07) Adeline (2007) Brook Yung (2009) Sene (2009) Oveous Maximus (2011) Akala (2011) |
| Website | us3 |
The name was inspired by Us Three, a Horace Parlan album produced in 1960 by Alfred Lion, the founder of Blue Note Records.[1] Us3's debut album, Hand on the Torch, used samples from Blue Note songs produced by Lion.
In the early 1990s, London-based producer Geoff Wilkinson produced two recordings under the name Us3. The first was 1990's "Where Will We Be in the 21st Century", a limited-edition white label 12" release. It drew the attention of independent label Ninja Tune, resulting in NW1's 1991 12-inch single "The Band Played The Boogie", featuring UK rapper Born 2 B.[2] It sampled a dancefloor tune of the burgeoning jazz dance scene, Grant Green's "Sookie Sookie", originally released on Blue Note Records.
After London's Kiss FM added "The Band Played The Boogie" to its playlist, Blue Note Records threatened to sue Wilkinson for unapproved use of the sample. Instead, Wilkinson convinced Blue Note executives to sign him to make more music featuring Blue Note samples.
So Wilkinson established Us3 with production partner Mel Simpson.[2] One of the resulting demos, recorded in March 1992, was "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)", featuring UK trumpeter Gerard Presencer.[2] It sampled Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island".[2] Two years later, it entered the US top ten and was included on Hand on the Torch, the first Blue Note album to achieve platinum status (1,000,000 sales) in the US.
More touring followed, but personnel changes within Blue Note's owner, Capitol Records, allowed Wilkinson to leave and sign to Sony, working with the A&R executive that initially signed him in 1992.[citation needed]. Blue Note samples were not included and two new vocalists joined the group: rapper Michelob, and singer Alison Crockett. However, before the album was complete, a major personnel change at Sony left Us3 in limbo.[citation needed].
After winding up Us3 in 2014, Wilkinson went on to specialise in producing film and library music.[3]
Albums
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] |
AUS [5] |
AUT [6] |
GER [7] |
NLD [8] |
NZ [9] |
SWI [10] |
US [11] |
US R&B/HH [12] | ||
| Hand on the Torch | 1993 | 40 | 51 | 11 | 29 | 81 | 28 | 21 | 31 | 21 |
| Broadway & 52nd | 1997 | 93 | 90 | 28 | 80 | 91 | 39 | 48 | — | 90 |
| An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place | 2001 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Questions | 2004 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Schizophonic | 2006 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Say What!? | 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stop. Think. Run. | 2009 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lie, Cheat & Steal | 2011 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| The Third Way | 2013 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] |
AUS [13] |
AUT [6] |
BEL (FL) [13] |
GER [7] |
NLD [8] |
NZ [9] |
SWI [10] |
US [14] |
US R&B [15] | ||||
| "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" | 1992 | — | 32 | 3 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 21 | Hand on the Torch | |
| "Tukka Yoot's Riddim" | 1993 | 34 | — | 24 | — | 97 | — | 28 | 26 | — | — | ||
| "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" (UK reissue) | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "I Got It Goin' On" | 1994 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | 39 | — | — | — | ||
| "Eleven Long Years" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Come on Everybody (Get Down)" | 1997 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 49 | — | — | Broadway & 52nd | |
| "I'm Thinking About Your Body" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "You Can't Hold Me Down" | 2001 | 94 | — | — | — | — | 98 | — | — | — | — | An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place | |
| "Get Out" | 2002 | 174 | — | — | — | — | 97 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Say You Belong to Me" | 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Say What!? | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||
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