DJ Rap, previously nicknamed ‘The Queen of the Jungle’ was responsible for some of the biggest DJ sets of the time around 1994. The release of ‘Spiritual Aura’ alongside Pete Parsons on her label Proper Talent in 1994 increased her credibility as a producer and paved the way for an almost unique sound. Many would say that the sub-genre hardstep went hand in hand with DJ Rap and this is certainly evident in the track titled ‘Hardstep’ released in 1996.
Proper Talent’s last good quality release came in the form of ‘Presenting the DJ’ featuring none other than MC Fearless. This was a quirky intro tune supported mainly by DJ Rap, although from memory I believe certain VIP dubplates were pressed in the same style as the Super Sharp Shooter remix by Zinc. This wasn’t the first time Rap had used an MC’s vocal samples on a track, Proper Talent 8 features MC Hooligan, an MC who was heavily supported by the Psychosis events at The Sanctuary in the mid 90’s.
Going past Proper Talent 17 you will find some represses and a few remixes but nothing of any substance, this isn’t to say however that the label isn’t of good quality, the change of direction just isn’t for everyone.
In 2012, DJ Rap returned to the UK for a ‘bring back DJ Rap’ tour organised somewhat by DJ Maddness from Kool FM, where she featured at events such as Raindance, Raveology and Jungle Fever. Although the Jungle Fever set stuck to her roots you may have been disappointed hearing the likes of Dillinja’s ‘Twist Em Out’ (groan) being played in the same set at Krust’s ‘Set Speed’. Although it was good to see Rap back in the UK it must have been a tough choice for her selecting the tunes to cater for the multitude of ages that now attend these big events. Personally I would have liked to see a true DJ Rap set, one that you would associate with the real ‘Queen of the Jungle’…
DJ Rap’s best tune, in my opinion was without a doubt ‘I’m So’, released in 1995 on Urban Gorilla Recordings.
This tune could well have been a follow up to Spiritual Aura in terms of its silky smooth introduction and devastating drop. Aside from the legendary Urban Shakedown remix of ‘Wishing On A Star’ by 88.3 Featuring Lisa May this was probably the best tune released on Urban Gorilla Recordings.
A real DJ friendly introduction featuring warm pads and snippets of Blu’s sassy vocals followed by a short silence really is the calm before the storm as after that brief pause mayhem is released on the dancefloor with DJ Rap’s trademark bassline and rolling drum programming. The track doesn’t switch up in terms of it’s bassline but it’s very well produced and rolls in and out of it’s peaks and breaks extremely well.
Labello Blanco repressed ‘I’m So’ in 2003 on a single sided white label as part of their now defunct repress project.
The vocals used on ‘I’m So’ were also sampled on a UK Garage tune titled ‘I’m So In Love With You’ which was released in 1996 on the label Public Demand.
The original press still goes for a few pounds on Discogs, snap it up while you can.
