Congo Natty

The '80s popster turned proto-jungle revolutionary was born Michael West in 1965 in London. He formed "Double Trouble" in the early '80s with Michael Menson and Leigh Guest, releasing the ska-pop hits like "Street Tuff" and "Just Keep Rocking". By 1991 he had released "Black Meaning Good", an album that presented the "hardcore" breakbeat style fashionable at the time married to dub basslines with reggae luminaries such as Barrington Levy, Dennis Brown, Supercat & Tenor Fly as well as himself chanting over the top.

By 1991 he had released "Black Meaning Good", an album that presented the "hardcore" breakbeat style fashionable at the time married to dub basslines with reggae luminaries such as Barrington Levy, Dennis Brown, Supercat & Tenor Fly as well as himself chanting over the top. Tribal Bass, a track from this album, was a huge smash and was one of the tracks that blazed the new sound, or "Jungle" as it was first derogatively known (Jungle Bunny music...), across the public consciousness at the beginning of the '90s.

Since then, Congo Natty has gone from strength to strength releasing innumerable 12"s as well as several albums such as Black Star and Tribute to Haile Selassie I but has managed to maintain its underground credibility; Jungle 4 Ever and No Sell Out are two releases that spell out their modus operandi better than I can!