In the late 80's and early 90's, Sing-A-Song Records was the prominent Hip Hop record label in Nottingham (UK). At that time, the Nottingham scene was second only to London, and Sing-A-Song Records were representing many of Nottingham's major artists.
Dominic Owen has uploaded a selection of the best Sing-A-Song tunes from that time called 'Nottingham's Finest 88-92' (although it probably should have been called 'Sing-A-Song's Finest' as there were many other decent Nottingham acts that are not included here because they weren't on this label).
Look out for the tracks by Twice the Trouble which features the K.I.D. (best known for his hit Hey, Hey, Can You Relate - possibly my all time favourite UK Hip Hop track). Also check MSD's - It's Too Late, another classic from that era.
Over the coming months I'll be uploading some of the original 12"s along with many of the artists missed from this compilation, but for now this has got to be one of the best collections of Nottingham Hip Hop from this era.
UPDATE - December 2012
When I wrote this post 2 years ago, I thought I was providing something that was pretty niche and only a handful of readers would properly appreciate. I never thought it would become one of the most consistently popular posts or that this album would be downloaded hundreds of times.
Since then, I've also had conversations with Dominic Owen/DJ Quick, who has now uploaded a better copy of this album to his website. I've therefore updated the download link so that you get the better version.
But Dominic hasn't stopped there. He's also uploaded a number of classic photos from his personal archive that include many of the acts that feature on this album. This is a rare insight into a significant part of UK hip hop history.
If you're feeling this album then I'd really recommend that you take a look and enjoy the nostalgia - http://dominicowen.net/nottinghams-finest.
Download the LP here (320 mp3).
Check out my follow up post on Sing-A-Song here:
http://www.fearofawackplanetblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/sing-song-part-ii.html
thanks for the re-up, didn't know this existed till i browsed you blog a few days ago (i've been meaning to for a while now). really didn't think i'd hear some of this unreleased stuff again. definitely a project for the DWG boys if you ask me.
ReplyDeletejust listened to a few, i had demos of 'like a soldier', 'serious' and hard to swallow' which i actually got, (in a roundabout way) from dj mink. he doesn't know but i guess it's ok now. top stuff, everyone should hear it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Moyinka. I hadn't thought about DWG but that'd be a great project for them.
ReplyDeleteI found this compilation yonks ago on Dominic Owens site but the link was long dead. Top work unearthing this gem, there's some serious Nottz tracks going down. I used to have a Sing-a-song jacket, dunno where it went though. Wish I still had it. Aaaah, memories.
ReplyDeleteYo Warz. You'll probably remember the Hip Hop Connection article on Sing-A-Song from the late 80's. I've update this post to include a link to it, check it out for old times sake, and remind yourself of that jacket :)
ReplyDelete