Biography
Although his Ganja Records imprint and releases issued under his own name or alongside the Ganja Kru played a supporting role, the prefix “DJ” attached to Hype’s moniker has been the decisive factor in elevating his stature alongside that of Grooverider, Goldie, and LTJ Bukem within drum’n'bass. A battle DJ of renown who represented England at the 1989 DMCs, Hype already possessed a reputation for electrifying turntable performances when he abandoned his reggae and hip-hop foundations in the late ’80s and embraced house and hardcore. He emerged early as a pivotal presence on London’s influential pirate station Fantasy FM and has since maintained a commanding position on the worldwide DJ circuit, securing the Best Male DJ and Best Radio DJ honors at the U.K.’s Hardcore Awards in 1994 and 1995. Hype also ranks among the leading draws on London’s popular Kiss FM and originated Suburban Base’s multi-volume mixed compilation series Drum and Bass Selection. An unwavering advocate for jungle’s dancefloor essence, he has repeatedly opposed the genre’s fragmentation into contrived categories such as ambient/intelligent and hip-hop/ragga, even though his own sets have drawn almost exclusively from the latter strand, thereby weakening the stance.
Hype entered production work in 1990, handling engineering and co-production duties—including the chart-topping “Exorcist” and “The Bee”—for the hardcore labels Kickin’, Strictly Underground, and Sub Base. Retaining a firm connection to his breakbeat heritage, he occasionally layered hip-hop instrumentals over house tracks to inject rhythmic emphasis, yet it was the 1994 launch of his own Ganja label, inaugurated with “Cops,” that marked his serious exploration of sampled breaks in the post-rave era. The imprint’s swift ascent, driven by floor-fillers such as DJ Krome & Time’s “Ganja Man” and DJ Zinc’s 1995 anthem “Super Sharp Shooter,” reached its zenith in late 1995 with Still Smokin’, a joint Ganja and Frontline release compiled with Pascal that became one of the best-selling independent jungle collections. Re-pressed in 1997, that achievement secured a major-label agreement with MCA’s Parousia sublabel and prompted the formation of True Playaz Music, the DJ-and-production collective fronted by Hype and also comprising Zinc, Pascal, and Rude Bwoy Monty. True Playaz the label has since established itself as a steady source of inventive hardstep, a sound largely eclipsed during the jump-up- and techstep-dominated mid-’90s.
Hype entered production work in 1990, handling engineering and co-production duties—including the chart-topping “Exorcist” and “The Bee”—for the hardcore labels Kickin’, Strictly Underground, and Sub Base. Retaining a firm connection to his breakbeat heritage, he occasionally layered hip-hop instrumentals over house tracks to inject rhythmic emphasis, yet it was the 1994 launch of his own Ganja label, inaugurated with “Cops,” that marked his serious exploration of sampled breaks in the post-rave era. The imprint’s swift ascent, driven by floor-fillers such as DJ Krome & Time’s “Ganja Man” and DJ Zinc’s 1995 anthem “Super Sharp Shooter,” reached its zenith in late 1995 with Still Smokin’, a joint Ganja and Frontline release compiled with Pascal that became one of the best-selling independent jungle collections. Re-pressed in 1997, that achievement secured a major-label agreement with MCA’s Parousia sublabel and prompted the formation of True Playaz Music, the DJ-and-production collective fronted by Hype and also comprising Zinc, Pascal, and Rude Bwoy Monty. True Playaz the label has since established itself as a steady source of inventive hardstep, a sound largely eclipsed during the jump-up- and techstep-dominated mid-’90s.
Albums
