So Solid Crew Explained

So Solid Crew
Origin:Battersea, London, England
Years Active:1998–present
Label:Independiente Limited, Relentless
Associated Acts:Beenie Man, Oxide & Neutrino
Past Members:

So Solid Crew are a British UK garage and hip hop collective originating from Battersea, London, which achieved wide success in the early 2000s. The group consisted of many members, the most notable being Asher D (Ashley Walters), Lisa Maffia, Harvey and Romeo. So Solid have been credited for being pioneers in the UK music scene.[1] [2] By turning UK garage from a dancey-genre to one that was darker and more MC-oriented, and gaining mainstream success, they inspired London youth to experiment with their own darker sounds, leading to what would become known as grime music.[3] [4]

Members

So Solid Crew is a large group which has expanded from 19 initial members to 30.[5]

Confirmed members

There was also a sub-group of So Solid called So Solid Kids, which contained members Samantha, Skip, Frost, and Thrust.[18] Skip and Frost hosted a 'So Solid Kids' show on Delight FM.[19]

Background

Before breaking into the mainstream market, So Solid Crew were involved with many pirate radio stations in London, such as Supreme FM and Delight FM. 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 10 pm, there were shows from different members, where the various So Solid Crew DJs would play 2-step garage tracks. At times, the So Solid Crew emcees would rap on top of tracks for up to two hours each session. On Christmas Day in 2001, So Solid Crew performed their last Sunday show on the station.[20] [21]

History

So Solid Crew's first album, They Don't Know, was released in October 2001, followed by a remix album entitled Fuck It in December 2001. Their hit singles include "Oh No (Sentimental Things)" and "21 Seconds", the latter reaching number one on 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 the single "Broken Silence" in 2003 which was their fourth and final top 10 hit. The song spoke out about government prejudice which they felt they had faced.[22]

In 2002, they were the subject of the Channel 4 television documentary This Is So Solid directed and narrated by David Upshal,[23] [24] later released on DVD by Universal along with a live performance.[25] [26] Members Harvey, Romeo and Lisa Maffia have all appeared on the Channel 4 celebrity reality show The Games. In 2012, Romeo and Harvey each appeared in a separate series of Celebrity Big Brother, in the 9th and 10th series respectively; they both finished in sixth place in their respective series. The band's former producer, Carl Morgan, was convicted of murder in October 2005.[27] Group member Dwayne Vincent (Megaman) was also accused but was cleared after a retrial.[28]

Harvey has gone solo and has produced tracks such as "We Ride" with Doom Man, Swiss, JME and Skepta. So Solid Crew MC Asher D went on to have an acting career appearing in 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' and in the British films Bullet Boy and Life and Lyrics, while still making independent mixtapes and albums in the grime and UK hip hop scene.

So Solid member Swiss released "Cry" featuring Sharifa.

Trigger is now working with UK/US based producer Clyde Ward on his solo project JAX and featured on UK-based band The Fallen's debut album track, "Maybe".

In February 2013, the group announced its 2013 tour.[29]

Also in 2013, Harvey and Asher D appeared alongside many other garage pioneers in a documentary exploring the legacy of UK garage, Rewind 4Ever: The History of UK Garage.[30]

Discography

Studio albums

YearAlbumUK Albums Chart[31]
2001They Don't Know6
20032nd Verse70
2013The Greatest Hitsstyle="text-align:center;"-

Compilations and mixtapes

Singles

Title! scope="col" rowspan="2"
YearPeak chart positionsAlbum
UK
AUS
[32]
"Oh No (Sentimental Things) / Dilemma"2000— —They Don't Know
"21 Seconds"20011 59
"They Don't Know"3 —
"Haters"8 —
"Ride wid Us"200219 —
"Broken Silence"20039 —2nd Verse
"So Grimey"200462 —
"Since You Went Away"201082 —
"UK Hot wid It"2013— —The Greatest Hits

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Complicated Legacy of So Solid Crew. Garcia. Francisco. 2017-05-31. Vice. en. 2019-09-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20190916231630/https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/vb45xm/the-complicated-legacy-of-so-solid-crew. 16 September 2019. live.
  2. Web site: So Solid Crew. Jones. Lucy. NME.
  3. Book: This Is Grime. Collins. Hattie. Rose. Olivia. 2016-09-08. Hodder & Stoughton. 9781473639294. en.
  4. Book: Bramwell, Richard. UK Hip-Hop, Grime and the City: The Aesthetics and Ethics of London's Rap Scenes. 2015-05-22. Routledge. 9781135085988. en.
  5. News: Barnes. Jake. Triple MOBO winners So Solid Crew are determined to make sure their fame lasts longer than 21 Seconds.. 17 August 2012. Daily Mirror. 19 October 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20140222150559/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/cd+releases%3A+music+Success+in+Solid-arity%3B+Triple+MOBO+winners+So...-a079265757. 22 February 2014. live.
  6. Panayides, Theo. 'A new kind of punk rocker', Cyprus Mail, 24 July 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  7. Book: 1,000 UK Number One Hits. Kutner. Jon. Leigh. Spencer. 2010-05-26. Omnibus Press. 9780857123602. en.
  8. News: Rap producer jailed for shooting. 17 August 2012. BBC News. 28 October 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20170831183952/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4355766.stm. 31 August 2017. live.
  9. Web site: Easter is packed with Dance Anthems' Dave Pearce, So Solid Crew, a Waster Reunion and more in Sam Cherry's Club Scene. www.portsmouth.co.uk. en. 2019-11-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20191105193624/https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/whats-on/nightlife/easter-is-packed-with-dance-anthems-dave-pearce-so-solid-crew-a-waster-reunion-and-more-in-sam-cherry-s-club-scene-1-8895703. 5 November 2019. dead.
  10. Web site: Exclusive: Big Mikee & Dub Plate Mex trash talk ahead of LOTM DJ Clash RWD. rwdmag.com. 2019-11-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20191116032359/https://rwdmag.com/exclusive-big-mikee-dub-plate-mex-trash-talk-ahead-of-lotm-dj-clash/. 16 November 2019. live.
  11. Book: Vibe. Vibe Media Group. en. June 2003.
  12. News: A history of So Solid Crew. Jackson. Jamie. 2005-04-24. The Guardian. 2019-11-05. en-GB. 0261-3077. https://web.archive.org/web/20170220094112/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/apr/24/urban. 20 February 2017. live.
  13. Web site: Spotlight: So Solid 2WENTY 1ONE Tour with full live band. Formosa. El. 2020-03-19. UK Bass Music. en-GB. 2020-05-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20200503110713/https://ukbassmusic.com/spotlight-so-solid-presents-the-2wenty-1one-tour-with-full-live-band/. 3 May 2020. live.
  14. News: So Solid star jailed over gun. 17 August 2012. BBC News. 19 June 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20090215150308/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3004656.stm. 15 February 2009. live.
  15. News: So Solid: 'The UK needs us back' . BBC News. 20 January 2010.
  16. News: So Solid Crew: MC Harvey. 17 August 2012. BBC News. 27 January 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20120826055240/http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/southwest/series2/so_solid_crew_mc_harvey.shtml. 26 August 2012. live.
  17. Web site: So Solid way to promote race relations. Daily Echo. 10 November 2004 . en. 2019-11-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20191116031113/https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/5563252.so-solid-way-to-promote-race-relations/. 16 November 2019. live.
  18. News: Jackson. Jamie. A history of So Solid Crew. 2005-04-24. The Guardian. 2020-04-02. en-GB. 0261-3077. https://web.archive.org/web/20170220094112/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/apr/24/urban. 20 February 2017. live.
  19. Book: The Fader. 2004. Fader, Incorporated. en.
  20. News: Jamie Jackson . A history of So Solid Crew | Observer Music Monthly . The Guardian . 26 October 2006 . 12 February 2013 . London . https://web.archive.org/web/20140219061939/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/apr/24/urban . 19 February 2014 . live .
  21. Book: Smith, Sean. Alesha. 2012-08-16. Simon and Schuster. 978-1-4711-0217-2. en.
  22. News: So Solid: 'England needs us back . 20 January 2010 . BBC . 20 January 2010.
  23. Web site: Crew's control. Paphides. Pete. 2002-10-05. the Guardian. en. 2018-09-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20161230004123/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/oct/05/artsfeatures.popandrock. 30 December 2016. live.
  24. News: Alexis Petridis . So Solid Crew: the official version . The Guardian . 14 October 2002 . 12 February 2013 . London . https://web.archive.org/web/20140909224405/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/oct/08/artsfeatures.popandrock . 9 September 2014 . live .
  25. Web site: ASM Talent » So Solid Crew. https://web.archive.org/web/20150531042113/http://asmanagement.co.uk/music/so-solid-crew/. dead. 2015-05-31. 2015-05-31. 2018-09-27.
  26. Web site: So Solid Crew - This Is So Solid, N/A - 2003 - music DVD Dance, Pop. www.musicafilm.it. EN. 2018-09-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20151123085951/http://www.musicafilm.it/music-dvds/this-is-so-solid.html. 23 November 2015. live.
  27. News: News.bbc.co.uk . BBC . 28 October 2005 . 10 December 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070321052839/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4355766.stm . 21 March 2007 . live .
  28. Web site: Megaman cleared of murder. 29 September 2006. NME. 10 December 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111022122759/http://www.nme.com/news/so-solid-crew/24501. 22 October 2011. live.
  29. News: So Solid Crew Tickets . 26 February 2013 . NME . https://web.archive.org/web/20130605011000/http://www.nme.com/artists/so-solid-crew . 5 June 2013 . live .
  30. Web site: Todd Edwards, Wookie and more to appear in documentary exploring the legacy of UK garage – FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music . Factmag.com . 2013-06-27 . 2014-01-10.
  31. Book: Roberts , David . 2006. British Hit Singles & Albums. 19th. Guinness World Records Limited . London. 1-904994-10-5. 513.
  32. 259.

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