The She Rockers were a female hip hop group from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, featuring Donna 'She Roc' McConnell, Antonia 'MC Aurra' Jolly, Dupe Fagbesa and Alison Clarkson (who later found fame as

Betty Boo Alison Moira Clarkson (born 6 March 1970 in Kensington, London), better known as Betty Boo, is an English singer, songwriter and rapper. She first came to mainstream prominence in the late 1980s following a collaboration with the Beatmasters ...

Career

She Rockers' first release - as a trio of McConnell, Fagbesa and Clarkson - was a track on the ''Known 2 Be Down'' compilation of UK hip hop artists from West London. "Give It A Rest", the band's only single as a trio, followed on the

Music of Life Music of Life is a British independent hip hop and dance music label formed in 1986 by two influential DJ remixers Froggy and Simon Harris, managed by Chris France. Following several successful productions, one of which reached No. 3 in the U ...

label, and was produced by

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

Professor Griff Richard Griffin (born August 1, 1960), better known by his stage name Professor Griff, is an American rapper, spoken word artist, and lecturer currently residing in Atlanta. He was a member of the hip hop group Public Enemy, serving as the grou ...

after the She Rockers performed an impromptu

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

to Public Enemy at their local

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

in Shepherd's Bush,

; She Rockers also supported Public Enemy in the US. They later toured with De La Soul. Clarkson and Fagbesa departed from the group in 1989, and founding member McConnell then joined forces with original band member Antonia Jolly (Aurra), and landed a recording contract with Jive Records, releasing several singles including "Jam It Jam", and an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

, ''Rockers from London'' (Jive, 1990). ''Rockers From London'' showcased a move towards the contemporary

hip house Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip hop, that originated in both London, United Kingdom and Chicago, United States in the mid to late 1980s. British group the Beatmaster ...

style, was part written and produced by

Todd Terry Todd Norton Terry (born April 18, 1967) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. Musical career Todd Terry was influential in moving House music beyond the early Chicago house sound of 1984–86. He crosse ...

and featured productions by

Technotronic Technotronic was a Belgian electronic music project formed in 1987 by Jo Bogaert, who originally gained popularity in Europe as a solo artist with various new beat projects, including Acts of Madmen and Nux Nemo. Together with rapper Manuela ...

and Double Trouble. "Jam It Jam" reached #58 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in January 1990. In addition to She Rockers, MC Aurra recorded with

Rhythm King Rhythm King Records Ltd was a British independent record label, founded in the mid-1980s by Martin Heath, Adele Nozedar, DJ Jay Strongman and James Horrocks. It was based in Chiswick, London. History Beginnings Starting out as an offshoot of ...

artists Bomb The Bass and Merlin, Aurra and Clarkson - as Hit and Run - released a single on Rap Sonic records and Clarkson featured on Beatmasters single "Hey DJ/I Can't Dance To That Music You're Playing" before leaving for a successful solo career, which led Music Of Life to release a

Simon Harris Simon Harris (born 17 October 1986) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael since 2024. A TD for the Wicklow constituency since 2011, he has served as a minister in the government of Ireland since 2016 and f ...

remix of "Give It A Rest" billed as She Rockers Featuring Betty Boo.

Discography

Albums

* ''Rockers from London'' (Jive, 1990)

Singles

Selected compilation appearances

*"First Impressions" on ''Known 2 Be Down'' (Positive Beat, 1987) *"Give It A Rest" on ''Hard As Hell Vol. 3'' (Music Of Life, 1988)

References

{{Authority control English girl groups English hip hop groups Women hip hop groups British hip hop girl groups British musical trios Musical groups from London Black_British_women_rappers Jive Records artists Rhythm King artists Hip house music groups