Stevie Hyper D (born Stephen Austin, 20 September 1966 – 5 July 1998) was a British

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

MC.

Early life

Stephen Austin was born in London, England on 20 September 1966, to a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

mother and Barbadian father.

Career

Austin was one of the pioneering MCs in the

jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

scene. He has been credited with inventing the "Double Time" MCing style, where he would double the speed of the generic MC flow but would still fit within the bars of the music. Austin was the first drum and bass MC to have a major release when ''The Next Step'' was released on Island Records in 1999. He also had an album, ''The Legend'', which was released on the independent drum and bass label

Dance Concept Dance Concept is a British drum and bass promotion and independent record label. Dance Concept has been running since 1999 promoting parties all over the UK as well as releasing music on all formats on the record label. It started back in 19 ...

and produced by

Benny V Benny or Bennie is a given name or a shortened version of the given name Benjamin or, less commonly, Benedict, Bennett, Benito, Benson, Bernice, Ebenezer, Benansio/Benancio or Bernard. People Bennie Given name * Bennie M. Bunn (1907–1943 ...

. Austin performed on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Radio 1 and

Kool FM Kool FM, also known as Kool London, is a former London pirate radio station that now broadcasts on DAB and online, playing jungle, drum and bass, and old skool. Kool is generally regarded as being instrumental in the development of the jung ...

radio shows (the latter usually with Nicky Blackmarket. His track "Buffalo Soldier" from the album was nominated for DNBA tune of the year in 2004. Austin is widely accepted as one of the true pioneering drum and bass MCs. It is also accepted that he was the innovator of the 'double time' MC style that is commonly used today. Appearing first on the 1991 track "Teknoragga", Austin went on to record tracks across various genres, from jungle, to hip hop and even to

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

. He was the first drum and bass MC to secure an album with a major label, Island Records. ''The Next Step'', with his producer Dfrnt Lvls, was released in 1999, a year after his death.

Death

Hyper D died on 5 July 1998 from a heart attack.

Discography

Albums

*''The Next Step'' (1999), Island Records

Singles

*"Teknoragga" (1991), Reverb Records *"Boomshakalack" with Ils (1995), Made in London Records *"Life Is Funny" (1999), Island Records *"All I Wanna Do / Move Your Body" (2003), Dance Concept *"Flexin Today / Junglist Soldier" (2006), Dance Concept *"Aint No Stoppin Us Now / Buffalo Soldier" (2007), Dance Concept

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:D, Stevie Hyper English drum and bass musicians English male rappers Rappers from London Black British male rappers 1967 births 1998 deaths 20th-century British musicians 20th-century British male musicians