Since his days in the seminal UK Hip Hop group London Posse, Rodney P is widely regarded as the Godfather of British Hip Hop. Inspiring a whole generation of British emcees and producers by being the first to rap in his authentic London accent and produce a home-grown Hip Hop reggae vibe that is distinctly rooted in the UK.
The atypical and hugely influential London Posse formed in 1987 this saw the beginning of Rodney P's formidable career in music. Then known as Roddy Rock, he and fellow London Posse members Bionic and Sipho were invited on tour by Don Letts and Mick Jones of the legendary Clash to support their band Big Audio Dynamite. This quickly cemented future success for London Posse who went on to secure there first recording contract, with Big Life records and recorded pioneering Hip Hop classic's like How's Life in London and Money Mad for their debut album Gangsta Chronicle. Recently Gangsta Chronicle was voted the Most Important UK Hip Hop Album of All Time in the 2007 poll of renowned music magazine Hip Hop Connection.
Following the international success of London Posse, Rodney P has enjoyed one of the most esteemed and perpetual careers in UK hip hop to date. Recognised as Britain's most eligible candidate for Hip-Hop ambassador; indeed for many his name is synonymous with UK Hip-Hop. One look at his discography illustrates a who's who of the UK music scene collaborating with fellow UK Hip Hop giants Rootz Manuva, Skinnyman, Black Twang, The Next Man to name but a few, featuring on various soul and R&B productions with artists such as Omar and the Brand New Heavies and on Dance and Electro tracks with The Dub Pistols, MJ Cole, Roni Size, The Stanton Warriors, Timo Maas, alongside more unusual affiliations with artists Bjork and Nitin Sawhey which demonstrates Rodney P's role as a genre defying emcee as well as reflecting his own diverse musical taste.
2000 saw Rodney P and leading UK Hip-Hop label Lowlife join forces to form the label imprint Riddim Killa Records. As label owner and Chief Executive of Riddim Killa Records Rodney P released a series of popular singles including Big Tings and the anthem RiddimKilla. Then in 2003 he released, to critical acclaim, his own long awaited and eagerly anticipated solo album The Future which, included the Hip-Hop reggae club banger The Nice Up. Continuing to build on the Riddim Killa Records brand in 2007 Rodney released the long awaited debut album Lionheart by the undisputed king of underground UK Hip-Hop Klashnekoff.
In 2006 Rodney P and a long time musical collaborator Corin (The Sea) Pennington formed the production company The Landscapers which has seen distinguished success across a variety of projects like the remix of poet Benjamin Zephaniah's ‘Naked’ album and later reissued, to great acclaim, by record label One Little Indian under the title ‘Benjamin Zephaniah V Rodney P: Naked & Mixed Up’. And more recently The Landscapers were invited by Tate Modern to compose a song for the 2007 Tate Tracks exhibition which ran as a ground-breaking twelve month project, where leading musicians such as Klaxons, Chemical Brothers and The Long Blondes contributed original recordings in response to Tate works.
Shortly after setting up Riddim Killa Records In 2002, Rodney P and long-time cohort DJ Skitz were invited by the BBC to host a Hip-Hop show called The Original Fever on the BBC's then, newly formed digital station 1Xtra. While DJing and emceeing on 1Xtra Rodney P was submerged into the world of radio. During his 5 year stint hosting the renowned and groundbreaking The Original Fever show, Rodney P took up secondments reporting on numerous radio documentaries which included South Africa Beats and Apartheid 10 Years On both were recorded in Johannesburg for Unique Productions. Then in 2004 he was nominated for a Sony Radio Award for his reporting on the DVD magazine F.E.D.S The Worlds Most Dangerous Magazine.
Rodney P return to Sierra Leone in 2005 to record another BBC documentary entitled The Beautiful Struggle about a musician's ability to effect social change. Later that year Rodney P returned to Johannesburg, this time with DJing comrade Daddy Skitz, to host a live radio broadcast as part of the Africa Lives season for the BBC.
During a series of thrilling interviews for the BBC 1Xtra Hip-Hop weekend in 2006 Rodney P successfully prised open the inner workings and human psyches of US Hip Hop and R&B greats Busta Rhymes, Jermaine JD Dupri and Sean P Diddy Combs for the radio show The Life & Times Of'. A series of hour long ‘one on one’ conversation with music's most successful artists, producers and entrepreneurs.
Constantly in demand as a live performer Rodney P has performed to audiences across the Globe. Fans in Europe, China, Japan, Australia, America, and numerous countries across Africa have enjoyed the distinctive live style and party inducing performances of one of the UK's finest.
As a host Rodney P has taken the helm of a wide range of events including the 2004 UN sponsored UNHabitat Charity Concert alongside artists Jazzy Jeff and Mos Def. Then more recently in 2007 for The N Word film premiere and directors Q&A at one of London's most exciting new art spaces Rich Mix Art Centre/Cinema in Bethnal Green. And again in 2007 Rodney P was asked to host the Nike Supersonic Final event that was broadcasted by Channel 4. Co-hosting the entire event alongside Kymberlee Jay and sharing the stage with artists such as Dizzie Rascal and The Enemy.
In 2006 Rodney P was the only BBC DJ offered the opportunity to curate his own artist showcase event for the BBC Electric Proms at the Round House in Camden. The bringing together of an eclectic mix of musical styles and performances such as Benjamin Zephaniah, Catch 22 and Eva Abraham the night called Word, Sound & Power was a hugely successful promotion receiving praise across the board.
Highly regarded as a spokesperson for the UK music scene Rodney P is often asked to contribute to televised discussions, sharing his knowledge and opinion on many related topics; this has lead to numerous appearances on shows like Trevor Nelsons The Low Down, Don Letts's 2007 3 part soul music anthology Soul Britannia' and The Mercury Prize Award Ceremony. Contributing to an ITV documentary called The Highbury Years and featuring in the 2006 award winning motion picture Rollin' With The Nines.
In his most recent TV appearance Rodney P has received a great deal of exposure on Channel 4's Dub Plate Drama featuring along side UK artists Shyste, Ms Dynamite, N Dubs and Westwood in the world's first viewer-led interactive television drama. This inner city Soup Opera sees Rodney P summarising the events of each series and enticing public opinion and decision.
Future projects for Rodney P include the musical Gangsta Rap for which he and poet/author Benjamin Zephaniah have been commissioned by the Theatre Royal Stratford East to adapt from Benjamin's original novel. Set around the London Music scene Gangsta Rap is scheduled for the summer 2008 and promises to be a new and exciting piece of theatre.
Rodney is also busy in the studio recording with the Dub Pistols for the follow up to there successful 2007 album Speakers and Tweeters on Rob Da Banks Sunday Best Label as well as recording his second solo album for his own Riddim Killa Records label.
ciao thanks have a great and wonderful day my new friend if you want come in my page and add yourself on my frapper map friends I’ve another new myspace page www.myspace.com/policedogblues
.. you seem to be on a tw@tter flex these days.. but I wanted to show some LOVE on here :) I hope you are smiling & well :) please send a private jet to come pick me up for Saturday,haha.. I sooooooo wanna be there P
Greetings bredren & sistren, new stuff out now! Get nu shirtz & hoodies fi dem cold days dem on www.jah-army.com. for more infos plz subscribe to I&I blog: http://lnk.ms/0NXCt or become a fan on facebook at http://lnk.ms/1w2wl 1love J.A.H.
