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So Solid Crew

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So Solid Crew
OriginBattersea, London, England
GenresUK garage, grime, hardcore hip hop
Years active1998–present
LabelsIndependiente Limited
Relentless Records Ltd.
MembersLisa Maffia
Romeo
Megaman[1]
Past membersAsher D
Carl Morgan
Oxide & Neutrino
Harvey

So Solid Crew are an English UK garage, grime and hip hop group originating from Battersea, whose hits include "Oh No (Sentimental Things)" and "21 Seconds", the latter reaching number one in the UK Singles Chart in August 2001. Another hit, "They Don't Know", reached number three in November 2001 and "Haters" got to number eight in January 2002. "Ride Wid Us" was less successful (UK number 19 in April 2002). They released a single, "Broken Silence" which spoke out about government prejudice which they felt they had faced.[2] The group are today generally credited with having paved the way for the current generation of crossover UK hip hop stars.[3]

Introduction and history

Before breaking into the mainstream market, SSC had been involved with many pirate radio stations in London, such as Supreme FM and Delight FM (103.0 MHz). It was at Delight where they made their name, occupying most of the Sunday schedule, the so-called "So Solid Sundays". From around lunchtime until 10pm, there were shows from different members, where the various SSC DJs would play 2-step garage tracks. At times the SSC emcees would rap on top of the tracks for up to two hours each session. On Christmas Day in 2001, SSC performed their last Sunday show on the station.[4]

The SSC's first album They Don't Know was released in October 2001, followed by a remix album entitled Fuck It in December 2001. SSC had tracks on the UK garage CD series Pure Garage.

In 2002 they were the subject of the Channel 4 television documentary This Is So Solid directed and narrated by David Upshal.[5] This was later released on DVD by Universal along with a live performance.

Oxide & Neutrino released singles but before joining SSC. They released an album entitled Execute and the singles "Only Wanna Know U Cos Ure Famous / Dem Girlz", "Up Middle Finger" and "Bound 4 Da Reload (Casualty)" (which samples the theme music from the BBC hospital drama television series Casualty).

Members Michael Harvey, Romeo, and Lisa Maffia have all appeared on Channel 4 celebrity reality show The Games. Harvey has gone solo and is producing tracks such as "We Ride" with Doom Man, Swiss, JME & Skepta. SSC MC Asher D has gone on to have an acting career appearing in 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin', Bullet Boy and Life and Lyrics, while still making independent mixtapes and albums in the Grime and UK hiphop scene. Member Swiss released "Cry" featuring Sharifa. Trigger is now working with UK based producer Clyde Ward on his solo project JAX and features in UK based band The Fallen's debut album track "Maybe".

An associate of the band, Carl Morgan, was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in October 2005.[6] Subsequently, group member Megaman was found not guilty at the Old Bailey on 28 September 2006 after a retrial.[7]

In 2010, the group released a new song, titled "Since You Went Away".[8] They performed it on the UK Celebrity Big Brother's Big Mouth, and the track was officially released on 18 January 2010. It peaked at 82 in its first week of release in the UK charts.

So Solid also recorded a Radio 1 Live Lounge session which was aired early February 2010 as part of BBC's 1Xtra homegrown season. The album was released in early summer 2010.

Members

So Solid Crew is a large group which has expanded from 19 initial members to 30. One of the drivers for their first big single, "21 Seconds", was to ensure each of the members's faces were shown to stop impersonation.[9] Below is a list of confirmed members of the band.

Confirmed members

Discography

Studio

Year Album UK Albums Chart[14]
2001 They Don't Know 6
2003 2nd Verse 70

Compilation, Mixtape, Remix

  • 2000 MC Harvey and DJ Swiss of So Solid Crew Present UK Garage Mafia
  • 2001 Fuck It
  • 2006 The Time Is Now
  • 2006 Roll Deep Presents Grimey Vol. 1
  • 2011 So Solid Lost Tapes (Garage) Vol. 1
  • 2011 So Solid Lost Tapes (RNB) Vol. 2

Singles

Year Song UK
[14] 		Album
2000 "Oh No (Sentimental Things)/Dilemma" - They Don't Know
2001 "21 Seconds" 1
"They Don't Know" 3
"Haters" 8
2002 "Ride Wid Us" 19
2003 "Broken Silence" 1 2nd Verse
2004 "So Grimey" 62
2010 "Since You Went Away" 82

References

  1. ^ "SOLID GOLD; LISA MAFFIA IS BACK WITH SO SOLID CREW AND SAYS THEY ARE ALL OLDER AND WISER". Daily Mirror. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  2. ^ "So Solid: 'England needs us back". BBC. 20 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  3. ^ Ashley Walters interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' December 2012
  4. ^ Jamie Jackson. "A history of So Solid Crew | Music | Observer Music Monthly". Guardian. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
  5. ^ Alexis Petridis. "So Solid Crew: the official version | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
  6. ^ "News.bbc.co.uk". News.bbc.co.uk. 2005-10-28. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  7. ^ "NME.com". NME.com. 2006-09-29. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  8. ^ Angus Batey. "So Solid Crew: "What we're doing is bigger than music' | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Barnes, Jake (19 October 2001). "Triple MOBO winners So Solid Crew are determined to make sure their fame lasts longer than 21 Seconds". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  10. ^ "Rap producer jailed for shooting". BBC News. 28 October 2005. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  11. ^ "So Solid Crew: MC Harvey". BBC News. 27 January 2003. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  12. ^ a b "So Solid star jailed over gun". BBC News. 19 June 2003. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  13. ^ a b c d Lyle, Peter (27 July 2003). "MAFFIA HIT". The Independent. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  14. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 513. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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