Fun Lovin' Criminals are an American
rap rock band
[ from ]New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. They are best known for their hit "Scooby Snacks __NOTOC__
Scooby Snacks (occasionally spelled Scooby Snax) are a fictional snack food that appear in ''Scooby-Doo''. In the show, they are often used as an incentive by Fred, Daphne, and Velma to convince Scooby-Doo and Shaggy to participate i ...
", which features samples from films by Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...
, and the song "Love Unlimited", which recalls Barry White
Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...
's backing vocal group. Their songs often focus on life in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, as well as urban life in general. Their lyrics can be gritty or existentialist
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and value ...
in nature, touching on topics such as organized crime
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
and urban violence, but they are just as often humorous or satirical. The band gained a large following internationally, notably in Northwest Europe
Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The region can be defined both geographically and ethnographically.
Geographic definitions
Geographically, Northw ...
, around the release of their first two albums in the late 1990s.
Musical style and influences
The band's music encompasses alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
, rap rock, hip hop, alternative hip hop,[ ]jazz rap
Jazz rap (or jazz hip hop) is a fusion of jazz and hip hop music, as well as an alternative hip hop subgenre, that developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. AllMusic writes that the genre "was an attempt to fuse African-American music of the ...
, punk rock, funk, blues, mafioso rap
Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...
and R&B.
History
Formation and first albums: 1993–1999
The band was formed in 1993 by Huey Morgan
Hugh Thomas Diaz Morgan (born 8 August 1968) is an American musician best known as the former frontman of rock/hip hop band Fun Lovin' Criminals. Morgan performs both vocals and guitar and combines rock, hip hop, jazz, reggae, and funk influenc ...
, Brian "Fast" Leiser and Steve Borgovini after Leiser, who was already friends with Borgovini, met Morgan at the club where they both worked. They started playing together and would provide the entertainment for the club when a booked act failed to show up. It was during one of these stand-in gigs that they came to the attention of EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
and they were offered a record deal.
'' Come Find Yourself'', the band's first album, was released in the summer of 1996 by Chrysalis Records and followed their single "The Grave And The Constant" (UK No. 72), which was released a month earlier, into the UK charts. The album also featured the UK Top 40 hits, "Scooby Snacks __NOTOC__
Scooby Snacks (occasionally spelled Scooby Snax) are a fictional snack food that appear in ''Scooby-Doo''. In the show, they are often used as an incentive by Fred, Daphne, and Velma to convince Scooby-Doo and Shaggy to participate i ...
" (UK No. 22), "The Fun Lovin' Criminal" (UK No. 26) and "King Of New York" (UK No. 28). The subject of the latter touched on the imprisonment of Italian-American
Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...
mafioso John Gotti, the wannabe gangsters emulating his style, and his fans and followers in his community that maintained his innocence. The biggest hit, "Scooby Snacks __NOTOC__
Scooby Snacks (occasionally spelled Scooby Snax) are a fictional snack food that appear in ''Scooby-Doo''. In the show, they are often used as an incentive by Fred, Daphne, and Velma to convince Scooby-Doo and Shaggy to participate i ...
", features samples from films by Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...
and a guitar sample from Tones On Tail
Tones on Tail was a British post-punk band formed in 1982, originally as a musical side project of Daniel Ash of the gothic rock group Bauhaus. Their music was described by one critic as "doom-and-dance-pop."
History
While still a member of B ...
song "Movement of Fear", interspersed with rap verses and a sung, anthemic, chorus. '' Come Find Yourself'' had a slow rise up the UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
, finally peaking at No. 7 and spending well over a year in the chart, however it failed to make any impact in the US, despite the band appearing as musical guests on MTV's The Jenny McCarthy Show Jenny McCarthy
Jennifer McCarthy Wahlberg (' Jennifer Ann McCarthy; born November 1, 1972) is an American actress, model, and television personality. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for ''Playboy'' magazine and was later named the ...
. The success of the album prompted the re-release of "Scooby Snacks" as a single, alongside a cover of the 10cc classic " I'm Not In Love", which this time reached UK No. 12.
'' 100% Colombian'', released in August 1998 by Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...
, had a far grittier sound to it tempered by three upbeat songs, and several downtempo tracks, including "Love Unlimited", a tribute to Barry White
Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...
. "Korean Bodega
"Korean Bodega" is a single released in 1999, and was the final single taken from Fun Lovin' Criminals's second album '' 100% Colombian''.
The release of the single was cross-promoted by an electronica version of the song arranged by Garbage, ...
", one of the aforementioned upbeat songs, was the biggest hit from the album, reaching No. 15, their second-highest placing single so far after the re-release of "Scooby Snacks".
In June 1999 the band played at Glastonbury Festival on the Pyramid Stage. Their December 1999 album ''Mimosa'', released by EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
was a compilation album consisting mostly of laid back lounge
Lounge may refer to:
Architecture
* Lounge, the living room of a dwelling
* Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby
* Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar
* Airport lounge, or train lounge (e.g., AMTRAK's Acela Lounge), a premium ...
style covers and different versions of earlier released tracks. While making reasonable sales, the album was their weakest selling album yet and remained so for some years. It was around this time, in 1999, that Steve Borgovini left the band. He was replaced by Maxwell "Mackie" Jayson. A permanent replacement was found in 2003 in the form of Mark Reid (aka Frank Benbini
Frank Benbini (born Mark Francis Reid, 21 September 1976 in Leicester, England) is the British drummer and one third of Fun Lovin' Criminals (FLC). He is also known as Uncle Frank and TRM which stands for "The Rhythm Man". Benbini is a singer, r ...
) from Leicester, United Kingdom, who had previously worked with the band as Jayson's technician.
Mainstream success: 2000–2008
The band's third studio album, ''Loco
Loco or El Loco may refer to:
Places United States
* Loco, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Loco, Oklahoma, a village
* Loco, Texas, an unincorporated community
* Loco Mountain (Labinero, Montana), a mountain peak of the Crazy Mountains ...
'', was released in early 2001. Back under EMI, the album had all new songs including the eponymous single, which became their biggest hit yet, reaching No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. It was the only single release from the album to reach the UK Top 40, and its success helped ''Loco'' to reach No. 5 in the UK Albums Chart.
Their final album under EMI was a "best of" compilation called ''Bag of Hits'' released in 2002. It was released in both one and two disc versions, with the second disc featuring remixes of Fun Lovin' Criminals songs by other artists. EMI released this album against the wishes of the band, who were not happy with the two disc version. However, despite their objections it reached No. 11 in the UK Albums Chart.
After parting company with EMI the band was picked up by Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...
in the UK, under which they released their fourth studio album ''Welcome to Poppy's
''Welcome to Poppy's'' is the fourth studio album by American rap rock band Fun Lovin' Criminals. It was released on September 9, 2003 through Sanctuary Records. Recording sessions took place at The Magic Shop in New York. Production was handled ...
'' (2003). While it received strong, but not fantastic, music reviews it failed to live up to the commercial success of any of the previous albums, peaking at No. 20 in the UK Albums Chart. The best-selling single from the album reached No. 61.
EMI continued to release the band's back catalog, as well as unreleased songs on two more albums. The Fun Lovin' Criminals made no further releases until 2005 album ''Livin' in the City
''Livin' in the City'' is the fifth studio album by the Fun Lovin' Criminals
Fun Lovin' Criminals are an American rap rock band from New York City. They are best known for their hit "Scooby Snacks", which features samples from films by Quentin ...
'', still under Sanctuary Records. This was considered a love letter to New York with many songs extolling the virtues of the city.
In June 2008 they made their second appearance at the Glastonbury Festival, this time on the Jazz World Stage.
Releases, touring & Huey Morgan's departure: 2009–2021
In April 2010 ''Classic Fantastic
''Classic Fantastic'' is the sixth and most recent studio album by the Fun Lovin' Criminals, released in 2010. Barring the ''Another Mimosa'' compilation, Classic Fantastic is frontman Huey Morgan's final studio album with the band, before his ...
'' was released, kicking off a European tour which began in Manchester. Legal wranglings with their previous manager meant that this album was their first official output in five years, although they had played live during this period. Leiser and Benbini had produced much of the album in London, while Morgan recorded his parts in New York.
''Classic Fantastic'' was the first album on Kilohertz, the band's own label, and signaled a new business model for the Fun Lovin' Criminals based on touring their live shows rather than relying on record sales alone. Singles from the album were the title track "Classic Fantastic" followed by "Mr Sun". The official video for "Mr Sun" was cancelled due to volcanic ash, and a montage of old home movies was used in its place.
The third single was the double A-side "We The Three" and "Keep On Yellin" featuring South London's Roots Manuva
Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva (born 9 September 1972), is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial succ ...
, released August 16, 2010. In July 2010, the band recorded a special series of songs with Roots Manuva. The project, dubbed "Criminal Manuvas", was recorded at Maida Vale
Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is ...
studios for BBC Radio 6 Music; songs included a reggae version of "Scooby Snacks" and an alternative version of "Witness".
In September 2010, the band were touring, and they announced a live album: ''Fun, Live and Criminal
''Fun, Live and Criminal'' is an album by the band Fun Lovin' Criminals released in 2011. It is released by their former label ''Kilohertz''.
Track listing Disc one
# Jimi Choo – 3:04
# Classic Fantastic – 3:37
# Big Night Out – 4:21
# K ...
'' via Pledge Music.
In March 2014, they released ''The Bong Remains The Same'', a live concert video.
In February 2016, they released a deluxe, expanded edition of debut album " Come Find Yourself" to mark its 20th anniversary, and the band toured the album by performing it in full alongside some of their other tracks, throughout the UK and Europe, and at a number of festivals that Summer and into 2017.
In January 2019, The band released the follow-up to their "Mimosa" compilation, titled "Another Mimosa", which features covers of some of their favourite songs.
On 12 November 2021, it was confirmed on their official Facebook page, that frontman Huey Morgan had left the band. The announcement was made after the band had cancelled their planned UK tour for October 2021. And on 25 March 2022, in a live instagram video between Leiser and Benbini, Leiser confirmed that relations between the band and Huey Morgan had become "strained", and with Morgan deciding that he didn't want to tour with the band, but instead continue presenting and DJing, which led to his decision to quit the band. Leiser later told The Star in August 2022, that Morgan wouldn't play much of the band's back catalogue live and that the band had "spent almost 10 years playing the same set to our fans", before revealing that "We got bored and some fans got bored too. It was one of the reasons cracks began to appear in our relationship". Leiser also revealed that he is now the group's lead singer, and that Naim Cortazzi would be the band's new guitarist. Leiser then announced a tour for September 2022, as well as new material for a forthcoming album. Brian "Fast" Leiser is now the only founding member left in the group. Morgan has not given any official statement regarding his departure.
New line-up and releases and activities: 2022 - present
On 3rd September 2022, a new song called "Shake It Loose" was given a debut play on Dean Jackson's show The Beat, the song comes from their Roosevelt Sessions EP, which was released digitally on 9 September 2022. The band toured the UK in September, with gigs in St Albans, Oxford, Leicester, London, Sheffield, Liverpool and Birmingham and then begun a tour of Europe, including dates in Greece, the Netherlands and Belgium before a tour of the US in November.
Side projects
Huey Morgan is a radio personality on BBC. Morgan has appeared on Jack Osbourne
Jack Joseph Osbourne (born 8 November 1985) is an English media personality with dual American and British citizenship. The son of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, he starred on MTV's reality series '' The Osbournes'' (2002–2005), along w ...
's '' Adrenaline Junkie'', a boy racer
Boy racer is a term given to a young person who drives in a fast and aggressive manner; it has become a broader term (often pejorative) for participants in modern custom car culture who tune and modify cars with street racing-style afterma ...
show ''Slips'', sat in for Jonathan Ross and Dermot O'Leary
Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary Jr. (born 24 May 1973) is an English broadcaster who currently works for ITV and BBC Radio 2. His radio career began when he worked as a disc jockey at Essex Radio, but he is best known for being the presenter of ' ...
on BBC Radio 2, appeared in ''Soulboy
Soulboys (sometimes spelled soul boys) were a working class English youth subculture of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and fans of American soul and funk music. The subculture emerged in North-West England as northern soul event attendees began ...
'' as a Dick Van Dyke accented London record shop owner, voiced a character in the '' Scarface: The World Is Yours'' video game, and most bizarrely appeared with Liza Tarbuck on ''Liza & Huey's Pet Nation
''Liza & Huey's Pet Nation'' is a show which shows different celebrities bringing in their pets. It is hosted by Liza Tarbuck and Huey Morgan, with their dog co-host, Wilf.
The ten-part series is an animal celebration that combines home videos ...
'' on prime-time Sky TV. Morgan now presents regular shows on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music
BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...
.
All three band members have released side projects. Benbini's band Uncle Frank has released an album, as has Leiser, albeit with some of his previous unreleased work. Both Leiser and Benbini have collaborated on myriad remixes as well as a full remix album in a reggae-dub style under the moniker Radio Riddler
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
. Morgan has released an album, ''Say It to My Face'', and toured with several acquaintances, including Benbini, as Huey and the New Yorkers Huey, used as a given name, is a variant of Hughie. It may refer to:
People
* Huey (rapper) (1987–2020), American rapper
* Huey Dunbar, Puerto Rican salsa singer
* Huey Johnson (1933–2020), American environmentalist and politician
* Huey Lew ...
, raising money for veterans in the process.
Members
Current
* Brian Leiser
Brian Andrew Leiser (better known as Fast, born 29 March 1972), is a member of the New York band Fun Lovin' Criminals
Fun Lovin' Criminals are an American rap rock band from New York City. They are best known for their hit "Scooby Snacks", whic ...
- bass, keyboards, trumpet, harmonica, backing vocals (1993-present), lead vocals (2021-present)
* Frank Benbini
Frank Benbini (born Mark Francis Reid, 21 September 1976 in Leicester, England) is the British drummer and one third of Fun Lovin' Criminals (FLC). He is also known as Uncle Frank and TRM which stands for "The Rhythm Man". Benbini is a singer, r ...
- drums, backing vocals (2003-present)
* Naim Cortazzi - guitar, backing vocals (2022-present)
Former
* Huey Morgan
Hugh Thomas Diaz Morgan (born 8 August 1968) is an American musician best known as the former frontman of rock/hip hop band Fun Lovin' Criminals. Morgan performs both vocals and guitar and combines rock, hip hop, jazz, reggae, and funk influenc ...
- guitar, lead vocals (1993-2021)
* Steve Borgovini - drums (1993-1999)
* Maxwell Jayson - drums (1999-2003)
Timeline
Discography
;Studio albums
* '' Come Find Yourself'' (1996)
* '' 100% Colombian'' (1998)
* ''Loco
Loco or El Loco may refer to:
Places United States
* Loco, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Loco, Oklahoma, a village
* Loco, Texas, an unincorporated community
* Loco Mountain (Labinero, Montana), a mountain peak of the Crazy Mountains ...
'' (2001)
* ''Welcome to Poppy's
''Welcome to Poppy's'' is the fourth studio album by American rap rock band Fun Lovin' Criminals. It was released on September 9, 2003 through Sanctuary Records. Recording sessions took place at The Magic Shop in New York. Production was handled ...
'' (2003)
* ''Livin' in the City
''Livin' in the City'' is the fifth studio album by the Fun Lovin' Criminals
Fun Lovin' Criminals are an American rap rock band from New York City. They are best known for their hit "Scooby Snacks", which features samples from films by Quentin ...
'' (2005)
* ''Classic Fantastic
''Classic Fantastic'' is the sixth and most recent studio album by the Fun Lovin' Criminals, released in 2010. Barring the ''Another Mimosa'' compilation, Classic Fantastic is frontman Huey Morgan's final studio album with the band, before his ...
'' (2010)
;Compilation albums
* ''Mimosa
''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 590 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word (''mimos''), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -''osa'', "resemb ...
'' (1999)
* '' Bag of Hits'' (2002)
* '' Scooby Snacks: The Collection'' (2003)
* ''A's, B's and Rarities
''A's, B's and Rarities'' is an album by the band Fun Lovin' Criminals. It was released by their former label EMI Chrysalis, and collects a large number of rarities from their time with the label, although not all of them (it is notably missing t ...
'' (2004)
* '' The Ultra Selection'' (2005)
* '' Essential'' (2012)
* ''Another Mimosa
The discography of Fun Lovin' Criminals encompasses six studio albums, a live album, seven compilation albums, an EP, sixteen singles and three video albums.
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Extended plays
Singles
Notes
...
'' (2019)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
American blues musical groups
American rock music groups
Rap rock groups
Musical groups from New York (state)
American expatriates in England
American hip hop groups
Chrysalis Records artists