Asher D is an English rapper who was part of a successful partnership with
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
artist
Daddy Freddy
S. Frederick Small (born 1965), better known as Daddy Freddy, is a Jamaican ragga vocalist.
Early life
Small was born in 1965, in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in the city's Trenchtown district.Huey, SteveDaddy Freddy Biography", Allmusic, ...
, known as the duo
Asher D and Daddy Freddy. His name was later used by
another
Another may refer to:
* anOther or Another Magazine, a culture and fashion magazine
* ''Another'' (novel), a Japanese horror novel
** ''Another'' (film), a Japanese 2012 live-action film based on the novel
** ''Another'' (TV series), a Japanese ...
English rapper.
Early life and career
Of Jamaican ancestry, Asher D had returned from a trip to
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
in 1986 when he was spotted rapping on the street in
Peckham
Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720.
History
"Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...
and put in touch with the record label
Music of Life. The label's founder,
Simon Harris
Simon Harris (born 17 October 1986) is an Irish Fine Gael politician serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister for Defence since January 2025, having previously served as Taoiseach from 2024 to 2025. He has ...
, who was looking for an artist who could combine reggae with hip-hop, was impressed by the rapper's ability and arranged for him to record a tune with another rapper. Unfortunately, the original rapper backed out at the last minute, and instead Harris brought in
Daddy Freddy
S. Frederick Small (born 1965), better known as Daddy Freddy, is a Jamaican ragga vocalist.
Early life
Small was born in 1965, in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in the city's Trenchtown district.Huey, SteveDaddy Freddy Biography", Allmusic, ...
as a last minute replacement. The tune, "Ragamuffin Hip-Hop" (Music of Life, 1987), was one of the label's earliest successes and lay the foundations for a lasting partnership.
[''Blues & Soul'', Issues 576-588] The track spawned a subgenre that was also known as 'ragamuffin hip hop'.
[Hess, Mickey (2007) ''Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture'', 978-0313339028, p. 13]
"Ragamuffin Hip-Hop" was an instant success and picked up radio airplay in the United Kingdom, but it was the New Music Seminar in New York that broke the sound in the US, when Simon Harris (who attended as a featured panelist at the convention) gave the new record to WBLS DJ Mr. Magic, the hip-hop DJ who featured the record. The airplay on WBLS gained the attention of
Run DMC
Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jam Master Jay, Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as ...
's label
Profile Records
Profile Records was one of the earliest hip hop labels. As well as hip-hop they released disco, dance, and electro records.
History
In 1980, Cory Robbins, who was 23 at the time and had worked briefly for MCA, wanted to start a record label ...
who released "Ragamuffin Hip Hop" in the US.
The duo recorded and released an album, also called ''
Ragamuffin Hip-Hop'' (Music of Life, 1988), described by
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
as "a sterling blend of reggae and hip-hop",
[Wynn, Ron]
''Ragamuffin Hip-Hop'' Review
, AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, retrieved 2011-05-10 and achieved modest worldwide fame for their tunes. Their next single, "Brutality" (Music of Life, 1988) was another success and was followed by a
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of
Mungo Jerry
Mungo Jerry (formerly known as Mungo Jerry Blues Band) are a British rock band formed by Ray Dorset in Ashford, Middlesex, in 1970. Experiencing their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing line-up always fronted by Dorset, the ...
's "
In the Summertime
"In the Summertime" is the debut single by British rock band Mungo Jerry, released in 1970. It reached number one in charts around the world, including seven weeks on the UK Singles Chart, two weeks at number one on the Canadian charts, and ...
".
[Barber, Lynden (1988) "Rub a dub dubscape", '']Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
'', 18 October 1988, p. 22 The duo then featured on Music of Life's album ''Hustlers Convention'' (1989) which is regarded as hip hop's first
live album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...
. Asher D was later arrested and imprisoned on drug related charges. By the time he was released, Daddy Freddy had continued as a solo artist, leaving Asher to do the same - although the pair did team up again for "We Are the Champions" (Mango Records, 1991).
Asher's first solo release was the single "Raggamuffin Darlin'" (Music of Life, 1990), which was followed by a single and album ''Still Kickin'' (Music of Life, 1991). Since then, however, he has disappeared from the spotlight, and finding out information about him since the arrival of his
namesake
A namesake is a person, place, or thing bearing the name of another. Most commonly, it refers to an individual who is purposely named after another (e.g. John F. Kennedy Jr would be the namesake of John F. Kennedy). In common parlance, it may ...
on the scene is all the more difficult. A sample of the Asher D and Daddy Freddy song, "Raggamuffin Duo Take Charge", was used in
187 Lockdown's 1998 hit "
Kung-Fu
Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to c ...
" and
the Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured
Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...
's "
Take Me to the Hospital", from their 2009 album ''
Invaders Must Die
''Invaders Must Die'' is the fifth studio album by English electronic dance music group The Prodigy. The album was released on 23 February 2009 on the band's new record label Take Me to the Hospital, and was distributed by Cooking Vinyl. Althou ...
''.
Discography
Albums
* ''
Ragamuffin Hip-Hop'' (
Music of Life, 1988) - with
Daddy Freddy
S. Frederick Small (born 1965), better known as Daddy Freddy, is a Jamaican ragga vocalist.
Early life
Small was born in 1965, in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in the city's Trenchtown district.Huey, SteveDaddy Freddy Biography", Allmusic, ...
* ''Still Kickin'' (solo album) (Music of Life, 1991)
Singles
*"Ragamuffin Hip-Hop" (Music of Life, 1988) - with Daddy Freddy
*"Brutality" (Music of Life, 1988) - with Daddy Freddy
*"Summertime" (Music of Life, 1988) - with Daddy Freddy
*"We Are the Champions" (Chrysalis, 1989) - with Daddy Freddy
*"Ragamuffin Darlin'" (1990)
Compilation appearances
* ''Hustlers Convention'' (1989)
* ''Dancehall Reggae'' (on 2 tracks: "Like a Bike" with Prento Youth & "Still Kickin'" with
Joseph Cotton) (Eurostar Schallplatten GmbH, 1992)
References
External links
Heroes of UK Hip Hop's Asher D PageOfficial Daddy Freddy homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asher D
English people of Jamaican descent
Black British male rappers
English male rappers
Ragga musicians
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)