Caveman was a
British hip hop group originally from
High Wycombe, England, consisting of MCM, the Principal, and Diamond J.
They were the first
British hip hop group to be signed to a major
U.S. record label,
Profile Records.
History
The group's first releases were the twelve inch
single "Victory" (Profile, 1990) and "Fry You Like Fish" (Profile, 1990),
and the ''I'm Ready EP'' (Profile, 1990). This established their
jazz-based style of hip hop, influenced by U.S.
artists such as
Gang Starr. The
song "I'm Ready", however, was based on
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
's, "
Crosstown Traffic" and showed early on a liking for the harder style that they adopted for later releases. "I'm Ready" was a popular song, and still regularly turns up on hip hop
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
s today.
Their debut
album, ''Positive Reaction'' was released by Profile in 1990.
The following year, the group released ''The Victory EP'' (Profile, 1991) and then took a break from recording. They returned with ''The Whole Nine Yards...And Then Some'' in 1992.
Shortly after the release of the album, the group decided to go their separate ways.
MCM had a short-lived solo career, releasing some twelve inches and guesting on other artists' tracks - such as
Dodge City Productions' "Understand This" from their ''Steppin' Up and Out'' (
4th & Broadway, 1993) album. The Principal went on to produce other artist's tracks, such as a remix of
Run-D.M.C.'s "Ooh, What'cha Gonna Do?" from their ''
Down with the King
Down most often refers to:
* Down, the relative direction opposed to up
* Down (gridiron football), in American/Canadian football, a period when one play takes place
* Down feather, a soft bird feather used in bedding and clothing
* Downland, a ...
'' (Profile, 1993) album. Diamond J went on to provide scratches for Maxim's ''Hell's Kitchen'' (XL Recordings, 2000) album.
Almost 20 years after the last Caveman album, front man MCM incorporated the name Caveman on his first solo studio album ''
The Gospel: The Missing Gems of MCM Caveman'' (I-innovate UK, 2011). The double album included several unreleased tracks from the 1990s.
Discography
Chart singles
*"I'm Ready" (1991) -
UK #65
Chart albums
*''
Positive Reaction'' (1991) -
UK #43
*''The Whole Nine Yards And Then Some'' (1992)
References
External links
Discog's MCM pageDiscog's Caveman page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caveman
English hip hop groups
Profile Records artists