Connected

Performer: Stereo MC's
Engineer: Al Stone; Andy Mason
Producer: Rob Birch; The Head; Andrea Groves; Owen If; Veronica Davis; Stereo MC's; Cath Coffey
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Stereo MC's: Rob B, Cath Coffey, Vernoa Davis, Andrea Groves (vocals); Owen If (drums, effects); The Head (DJ). Additional personnel: Jennifer Ismail, Mica Paris (vocals); Johnny T, Ivan Hussey, Laura Cochrane, Anya Ulman (strings); Chicu Modu (saxophone); Kickhorns (brass); James Hallawell (organ); Matthew Seligman, Paul O'Kane (bass). Recorded at Workhouse Studios, London, England. Samples include "Let Me [Let Me Be Your Lover]" (Jimmie "Bo" Borne), "Bite Your Granny" (Morning, Noon & Night), "Passarinho" (Gal Costa), "Love Doll" (Ray Jay and the Eastsiders). Composers: Rob Birch; The Head; Andrea Groves; Owen If; Veronica Davis; Cath Coffey. Personnel: Andrea Groves, Jennifer Ismail, Mica Paris, Cath Coffey (vocals, background vocals); Verona Davis (vocals); Ivan Hussey, Anya Ulman, Johnny T (strings); Chicu Modu (saxophone); Kick Horns (brass); James Hallawell (organ, keyboards); Veronica Davis (background vocals). Recording information: Workhouse Studios, London, England. Illustrator: David Little. Unknown Contributor Roles: Gal Costa; Jimmy "Bo" Horne; Morning, Noon & Night. CONNECTED is the third release from the Stereo MC's, a London trio of remixers who ferment their unique blend of rap, R&B and dance music with a healthy blend of European techno, dub and cool jazz, putting them in the vanguard of the music's new wave along with such irrefutably hip hoppers as Digable Planets. Augmented by the vocal trio of Cath Coffey, Verona Davis and Andrea Groves, CONNECTED is a brave new vision of dance music, as illustrated by the sultry title track, with its swampy rhythmic underpinning, '60s soul jazz punctuations, beefy bass line and its incantory chants, urging on the dancers to greater self-expression, personal responsibility and intellectual curiosity. These social themes run through CONNECTED, augmented by the type of hip Afro funk-jazz mix that distinguished early archetypes of this rap style such as Gil-Scott Heron.

Q (12/99, p.74) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s." Q (6/00, p.70) - Ranked #52 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" - "...A successful British hip hop LP, light on samples and heavy on hemp-fixated mumbo jumbo..."

Mostly known for their hit "Connected" in 1992, the duo of Rob Birch and Nick Hallem, along with a roving cast of DJs and backup singers, are the Stereo MCs. Originally from Nottingham, the group relocated to London and began to record and release soul-influenced rap music through their label Gee Street Records. After garnering the attention of Baby Bam from the Jungle Brothers, they released SUPERNATURAL (which actually featured the Jbeez themselves) and helped open the door for U.K. hip-hop. Several successful remixes of artists such as Queen Latifah and Electronic followed, and the acid house whirlwind of the late '90s swept up the MC's and landed them squarely on the charts with "Elevate My Mind" and the above-mentioned "Connected." Following a long hiatus, the MCs returned in the 2000s.

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