Rarely
will you find a talent whose
vision supersedes the
boundaries of genre, until
you have met King Britt.
This Philadelphia native has
found a way to escape the
boundaries of a single
category of music by
expressing his creations
through deep house, hip-hop,
broken beat, nu-jazz, funk
and afro-tech. He has been
honing his DJ and production
skills for the greater part
of a decade. The result: a
pioneer of all things
soulful, rhythmically
textured and melodically
provocative.
King
began his DJ tenure in 1992
when he became the wax poet
for the Grammy award winning
Digable Planets. Together
with Ishmael
"Butterfly"
Butler, Doodlebug and
Ladybug, this quartet
changed the face of modern
hip hop by fusing skat style
jazz with the ingenious
lyrical witticisms of
Butterfly's Kafka inspired
language. While touring the
globe with Digable Planets,
King continued to develop
his love of the dance music
culture by making numerous
appearances in house music
clubs all over the world.
With his gifted knowledge of
music past, present and
future, he crafted timeless
sets that remain legendary.
These international
escapades set the stage for
his planetary DJ career. He
continues to deliver
performances as a house,
hip-hop, funk and even 80's
DJ, to adoring fans the
world over.
1994
witnessed the birth of
King's Sylk130 collective.
This ensemble of top notch
Philadelphia musicians and
performers, including Ursula
Rucker, Alma Horton and
Alison Crockette,
collaborated to create a
tribute to the funkafied
Philly of the '70s and, in
1996, release the full
length LP "When the
Funk Hits the Fan (Ovum/Sony)."
As a follow-up to this
red-hot debut, "Re-Members
Only (Six Degrees)" was
released in 2001 to pay
homage to the dance music of
the 80's. This time, King
consulted British chanteuse
Alison Moyet of Yaz fame,
ABC's Martin Frye and Grover
Washington Jr. to craft what
Gear magazine referred to as
"an album that flows
like a dope mix tape from a
bygone era of Britt's own
imagination." A third
installment of this
incomplete trilogy will be
dedicated to the future, a
finishing touch that is
eagerly awaited.
As
a remix producer, King has
flipped and funked everyone
from Macy Gray and Tori Amos
to Yoko Ono and Femi Kuti.
He is included amongst
Masters at Work and Joe
Claussell on Verve Records
"Remixed"
compilation. His recent
remix of breakthrough artist
Josh One's "Contemplation
(5.1 Entertainment)"
was nominated for the
Dancestar Remix of the Year
award, alongside remixes by
Danny Tenaglia and Basement
Jaxx, placing him in the
ranks of the top notch, most
sought after remixers in the
world.
As
a curator of remixes, King,
alongside a team of his
favorite producers,
reinvents the original work
of the Philadelphia
Experiment's Ahmir "?uestlove"
Thompson, Uri Caine and
Christian McBride (Ropeadope
Records.) With his
unfaltering ability to
discover the latest new
talents and his appreciation
for those who have paved the
way, he is also curating an
LP of original material for
Japanese label Handcut
Records. He has selected
choice cuts from Jody Watley,
Yesterday's New Quintet and
Ivana Santilli to appear on
the forthcoming album.
As
his "Scuba"
moniker, King released
"Hidden Treasures (Om
Records)" in July 2002.
This compilation of lushly
layered underwater inspired
house remixes features new
versions of songs by 4hero,
Fantastic Plastic Machine
and Michelle Shaprow. A full
length of original Scuba
material is slated for 2003
release, also on Om Records.
Never
one to hog the spotlight, he
recently collaborated with
Nigerian born producer Oba
Funke to create "Cosmo
Afrique (Karma Giraffe),"
an LP of original Afro-Tech
productions that features
the vocal stylings of Soul
II Soul's Wumni, Zap Mama
and Diva Blue and is an
exploration of polyrhythmic
beats, chants and tribal
grooves. Oba Funke
celebrated a massive
premiere at the 2002 Winter
Music Conference, where
Radio One's Gilles Peterson
named "Bush Workout"
as one of the hottest debut
tracks at the WMC.
As
a return to his love for hip
hop, King will release a
full-length album of
original tracks for the
highly acclaimed BBE Records
Beat Generation Series in
the autumn of 2003. For this,
he called in Ishmael
"Butterfly"
Butler, Quasimoto and
Bahamadia to drop serious
licks over space aged sonic
beats.
When
he's not busy in the studio
or trotting the globe, King
can be found at the office
of FiveSixMedia, his
multi-media, studio and
Marketing Corporation.
Together with his team of
Dawn Englehart, Rob Yancey,
Dozia Blakey and Justin
Paul, FiveSixMedia provides
music licensing and
production, video production
and editing and market
branding services.
Whether,
it's hip-hop or house, afro
tech or funk, there are no
limits to what King Britt
will do next. Watch, listen
and experience as he
continues to craft the sound
of music and pop culture in
the 22nd century. |