The brainchild of production duo Mark Rae and Rhys Adams, Yes King fuse a melée of styles from hip hop, dancehall, ragga and ska into their own unique brand...
Mark Rae has long been a figurehead of the UK music scene following the success of his first production outfit Rae & Christian, the establishment of the former Grand Central Records and Manchester’s Fat City record shop. Rhys Adams remixed Mark Rae’s ‘Candystripe’ under the name of Frankie Valley subsequently lent his production and writing skills to Mark’s follow-up LP ‘Into The Depths’ and a natural collaborative partnership was cemented.
Rhys and Mark later joined forces while producing the album ‘Two Culture Clash’ for Wall of Sound in 2004 and the pair went to Jamaica to record in situ with local vocalists - the level of activity that followed resulted in a hard-drive full of half-finished rhythms which inspired them to create an album project.
The name Yes King originates from a Jamaican greeting which was bestowed by the Jamaican artists they worked with over the course of making the album - the term was used so often that it captured the essence of the project. The title of the album came from reggae legend Dawn Penn’s track ‘Rock This World’ which sets the tone for the album.
Although conceived in Jamaica Yes King has a strong London feel. There is a rich history of Jamaican music in Ladbroke Grove, the bulk of the album was recorded close by, many London based artists make guest appearances on the album and collaborators Mystro and Sweetie Irie were raised in the area. Ladbroke Grove’s Trellick Tower was chosen for the artwork as it captures the spirit of Yes King and is the most prominent landmark in the area.
The album production consists of a blend of the old and new, bringing the best of both worlds together through live instrumentation with the crunchy beats associated with hip hop and R&B, and also by authenticity to its reggae roots through the instrumentation and melody epitomised by the brass. Such diversity has created a truly unique album offering something to young hip hop fans right through to old school reggae lovers.
The album features guest vocalists as eclectic as the production styles and includes performances from Ayak - a 22 year old female singer/rapper who won 2004’s Prince’s Trust Urban Music Awards; Dawn Penn - immortalised by her dancehall classic ‘No, No, No’; Veba - one of the UK’s finest female vocalists who appeared on both Rae & Christian albums; Tor - an East London based female rapper described by Ras Kwame as "One of the sickest lyricists the UK has to offer"; Mystro - arguably the UK’s finest lyricist with a critically acclaimed debut album under his belt; Kenny Knots - a UK based dancehall artist with a string of top ten hits to his name; Sweetie Irie - who has been at the forefront of the UK Ragga scene since the eighties collaborating with artists such as Ian Brown and Gorillaz; Baby Chann - the only female member of legendary UK bashment crew Suncycle; Prezident Brown - original Jamaican reggae deejay of Hi Power Soundsystem and Pete Simpson - a vocalist from Sheffield who has worked with artists such as Joey Negro and Jon Cutler.
hi mark long time,,,, see your coming home soon to do a gig 1 shame im outa town that saturday im in shefield but me and andy smith are playing friday night if yor about come down for a beer be good to see you again. if not have a good gig reggae festival looks great sly and robbie should be amazing!would of been nice to see yesking too.bumma smoove
hey mr. rae...gonna copy my very precious yesking downloads tomorrow and give to gig booker on monday, have you got gigs in ireland yet...sorry for late reply x
Hey Mark, Enjoyed the YKSS show @Sandwiches. Hola back ur feedback when u get time 2check those 7's. Hope you're catching some decent fish in Waiheke..ha ha! Peace.
"40 Long Days"
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