The Demon Boyz were an English

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group formed in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

by Demon D, Mike J, and DJ Devastate. They began

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

in their early teens, performing with Twilight Soul Sound. They won a competition on a

Dave Pearce David Alistair Pearce (born 14 June 1963) is an English dance DJ, EDM producer and broadcaster, who has performed across the United Kingdom and the world. He previously presented ''Dance Anthems'' on BBC Radio 1 for ten years. He is renowned ...

rap show, which brought them fame, and their prize was to perform live onstage with

Derek B Derek Boland (15 January 1965 – 15 November 2009), better known by his stage name Derek B, was a British rapper. His most commercially successful releases were "Goodgroove" and "Bad Young Brother" in 1988. Biography Born in Hammersmith, Lon ...

, Faze One, and

T La Rock Terrence Ronnie Keaton known by the stage name T La Rock, (born September 16, 1961) is an American old school hip hop, old-school emcee best known for his collaboration with Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin and the 1984 in music, 1984 Si ...

at a Camden Palace gig.

(also known as Derek Boland) was the A&R man for Music of Life. He put them in touch with the company’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 ...

History

The group assisted the label, The Twilight Firm, in recording the song "This Is a Jam" for the inaugural release of the label's classic series, ''Hard as Hell'' (Music of Life, 1987). The group was quickly signed based on the song's reception. The Demon Boyz rapped in their "natural accents" instead of rapping in the more traditional American accent, and they influenced the

British hip hop UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop or British rap, is a music genre and culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. The development of UK rap was shaped by a distinct set of regional inf ...

scene. Three singles and their debut album ''Recognition'', produced by The Twilight Firm ( Music of Life, 1989) followed, and the band was heavily featured on Music of Life's album ''Hustlers Convention'', which claimed to be the world's first-ever live rap album. The success of that album brought the group to the attention of

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

’ subsidiary,

Mango Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. The group moved to the new label, along with The Twilight Firm, and released the single "International Karate" (

, 1990) to high acclaim. However,

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

closed their subsidiary soon afterwards and the group found they had no record deal. They joined the Tribal Bass label in 1991, and were also joined by a new DJ, DJ Def K. The new label was run by their friend

Rebel MC Michael Alec Anthony West (born 27 August 1964 in Islington, London, England), better known as Rebel MC and Congo Natty, is a British jungle producer, spiritual chanter and toaster. He has also gone by aliases including Conquering Lion, Blackst ...

. The group released two more singles, "Dett" and "Glimity Glamity". "Dett" featured two mixes: Feeder Mix (produced by DJ Pogo) and Jungle Mix (produced by Rebel MC). "Glimity Glamity" was a collaboration of Mike J, DJ Def K, and Cutmaster Swift. This single remained number one in the hip hop charts for more than four weeks. Their second album, ''Original Guidance (The Second Chapter)'' (Tribal Bass, 1992), soon followed. The album was well received within the scene, but shortly afterward the group disbanded. Mike J guested on the single "High Grade" (Knowledge and Wisdom Records, 2001) by Knowledge and Wisdom. He then collaborated with the

Freestylers The Freestylers are a British electronic music group, consisting of producers Matt Cantor and Aston Harvey. They have released five studio albums and a number of mix compilations for, among others, Fabric and BBC Radio. The group took their ...

on the singles "No Replica" (Against the Grain, 2003), "Boom Blast", and "Dogz and Sledgez"; all of which appear on the album ''

Raw as F**k ''Raw as Fuck'' is an album by the British electronic music group Freestylers. Released in July 2004, it was the group's third album. It is also the first full-length album release from the Against the Grain label. The remix album was released ...

''. Mike continued to record an album entitled ''Spektrum,'' which was released in May 2008 under the name Million Dan on his own label Million Dappa Records. Demon Boyz and Million Dan both have songs featured on the Herbalizer's 2006 ''Fabriclive 26'' mix CD, with "Glimmity Glammity" and "Dogz n Sledgez" respectively.

Discography

Demon Boyz * ''Recognition'' (Music of Life, 1989) * ''Original Guidance (The Second Chapter)'' (Tribal Bass, 1992)

Compilation appearances

*''Hustlers Convention'' (1989) Million Dan * ''Spektrum'' (2008)

References

Bibliography

External links

The original UK Hip Hop HistoryMillion Dan (Mike J)’s websiteInterview with Million Dan (Mike J)
{{Authority control English hip-hop groups English musical trios Musical groups from London