Urban Dance Squad

Formed in 1986, the Amsterdam rock/rap collective Urban Dance Squad first assembled for casual playing and jamming sessions. A performance at the Utrecht Festival generated such strong enthusiasm that the members decided to treat the project with greater seriousness. Two years of steady live work followed, and the earnings from those shows financed the 1990 release of Mental Floss for the Globe. The album’s fusion of rock, rap, funk, ska, folk, hip-hop, and soul reflected the broader shift toward genre-blending that defined much of the decade’s music. Among its tracks was the single “Deeper Shade of Soul,” which climbed to number 21 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in the U.S.

An intensive year of touring preceded the arrival of the group’s second album, Life 'n Perspective of a Genuine Crossover, in 1991. That record, like the 1994 follow-up Persona Non Grata, fell short of matching the critical and commercial impact of the debut. In 1999 Urban Dance Squad delivered their fourth album, Planet Ultra, while also arranging reissues of earlier material on the Triple X label.