''Bullet from a Gun'' is the only album by British rapper and producer

Derek B Derek Boland (15 January 1965 – 15 November 2009), better known by his stage name Derek B, was a British rapper. His most commercially successful releases were "Goodgroove" and "Bad Young Brother" in 1988. Biography Born in Hammersmith, Lon ...

, released in 1988 on

Tuff City Records Tuff City Records is a New York-based record label founded by journalist Aaron Fuchs in 1981.Verna, Paul (1994)Tuff City Records Moves Forward and Looks Back" ''Billboard'', July 16, 1994, retrieved 2010-08-29 Initially concentrating on hip hop m ...

. It reached number nine on the

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. US rap mogul

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. Simmons' ...

later signed Derek to Rush Artist Management and the album was re-released on

Profile Records Profile Records was one of the earliest hip hop labels. As well as hip-hop they released disco, dance, and electro records. History In 1980, Cory Robbins, who was 23 at the time and had worked briefly for MCA, wanted to start a record label. ...

later in the year. Thanks to the tie-up with Simmons, Derek B toured the world with

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

and

Run-DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

that year to promote the album. The album was one of the first successful hip hop albums by a British artist, and has been cited as an influence by later stars of British urban music. Former BBC Radio 1 DJ

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

has said ''Bullet from a Gun'' "was a massive album for me" and London rapper Ty recalls "he was absolutely groundbreaking. He definitely broke the door down."

Track listing

All songs written by

oland, except where noted. UK and Europe track listing # "Bullet from a Gun" – 5:41 # "Bad Young Brother" – 3:58 # "Power Move" – 4:05 # "Human Time Bomb" – 5:21 # "All City" (Boland, Timothy Woodbridge, Steven Lintott, Chris Morgans) – 4:21 # "Rock the Beat" – 5:30 (bonus track on cassette and CD only) # "Get Down" – 5:36 # "We've Got the Juice" (Boland, Cockfield) – 4:37 # "Alright Now" (Boland, Scott) – 5:00 # "Good Groove" (Boland, The Corporation) – 5:52 # "Success" – 4:49 # "Derek B's Got...! – 4:01 (bonus track on CD only) # "Bad Young Brother" (Billy Beat Mix) – 4:48 (bonus track on CD only) *Note: the two sides of the vinyl LP and cassette versions of the album were labelled "East End" and "West End", respectively, referring to the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

and West End of London. US track listing # "Bullet from a Gun" – 5:39 # "Goodgroove" (Boland, The Corporation) – 6:31 # "Power Move" – 4:05 # "Bad Young Brother" – 4:04 # "We Got the Juice" (Boland, Cockfield) – 5:44 # "Def Beat Boy" – 3:46 # "All City" (Boland, Timothy Woodbridge, Steven Lintott, Chris Morgans) – 4:21 # "Rock the Beat" – 4:42 # "Human Time Bomb" – 5:22 # "Get Down" – 5:40 # "Success" – 4:50 # "It's Alright Now" (Boland, Alan Scott) – 5:02

Production

* Producer/vocalist: Derek B * Producer:

Simon Harris Simon Harris (born 17 October 1986) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael since 2024. A TD for the Wicklow constituency since 2011, he has served as a minister in the government of Ireland since 2016 and f ...

* Producer: "Chief Engineer" Scott

References

1988 debut albums Tuff City Records albums {{1980s-hiphop-album-stub