MC Skibadee

Bearing the mantle of ‘the most innovative personality in Drum & Bass’, MC Skibadee has never been one to rest on his laurels; constantly pushing creative boundaries, his high-energy technique has safeguarded his dominance of the MC scene for over ten years, continually surging from strength to strength due to a consistent desire to incorporate fresh ideas in his work. His work on the mic began in 1994, once again indebted to the mighty Kool FM for early exposure thanks to a show co-hosted with DJ Wildchild. A novel presence on the airwaves, unprecedented phone-line response materialised for his shows and paved the way for ascendancy to the club arena, soon featuring regularly at events including Thunder & Joy, Spirit Of The Jungle and eventually City Sound Radio. By the end of 1995 he could list residencies for Kool FM, Fever, Thunder & Joy, Malachite, Electrybe, NJC, designer label Ball and Innersense amongst his repertoire.

Famed for his collaborative efforts over the years, Skiba’s first union of note formed in 1997 alongside MC Det; a freestyle project born of somewhat fortuitous circumstances, it was effectively the product of two Hip-Hop fanatics applying their Drum & Bass flow over Hip-Hop beats to achieve a double-time effect. Their single and subsequent video was a huge success, having been playlisted on both MTV and The Box and reaching number 3 in the latter’s chart for a number of weeks. Elsewhere Skibadee gained notoriety for his lethal partnership with MC Shabba under the ‘SAS’ moniker, a pairing widely acknowledged to transform the vibe of any rave when stepping up. Forming MC Convention in 2000 gave them a platform to push the vocal side of Drum & Bass to a more dedicated audience, choosing seminal venue Stratford Rex as the spot where it would all kick off and eventually gain notoriety.

In 1999, he notched up the first of what would eventually number three Knowledge Magazine awards for Best MC; the years have also seen him pick up three Accelerated Culture awards, a breadth of achievement totally unparalleled in his field. Fast forwarding into the new millennium, three more awards found their way onto Skibadee’s mantelpiece including the Muzik 4 You Best MC, 1Xtra Best MC and South West Drum & Bass awards respectively, leaving the man with a total of nine top level honours by 2007. Ever aware of a self-imposed pressure to keep innovating, the impetus was there for fresh influence and so the ‘Uncontrolabelz’ (UNCZ) clique was born under Skiba’s careful stewardship. With members comprising DJ Ruffstuff alongside MC’s Fun, Harry Shotta and Skiba himself, the brand soared into the stratosphere and by 2008 their sound was ubiquitous on the scene, tearing up dances including Innovation, Slammin Vinyl, Breakin Science and more. This in turn gleaned further recognition with an unprecedented double award for Skibadee in the lyrical and hype MC categories at 2009's DNB Awards.