Alphonso Castro K. Bondzie (1 February 1975 – 27 February 2022), better known as MC Skibadee, was a British recording artist and

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

MC.

Career

Bondzie started on City Sound Radio in 1993 featuring on the Live & Direct show, with DJs Pro-D and Cyrus, and by early 1995 he regularly featured at

jungle music Jungle is a genre of dance music that developed out of the UK rave scene and sound system culture in the 1990s. Emerging from breakbeat hardcore, the style is characterised by rapid breakbeats, heavily syncopated percussive loops, samples, and ...

events such as Thunder & Joy and Spirit of the Jungle, as well as his regular spot on radio. By the end of 1995, he was resident for the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...

station

Kool FM Kool London, also known as Kool FM, is a former London pirate radio station that now broadcasts as an internet radio station, playing jungle, drum and bass, and old skool. Kool is generally regarded as being instrumental in the development ...

, and regularly featured at events such as Jungle Fever, New Jack City, and Innersense. Along with MC Det of Kool FM, he launched a new project called 2Xfreestyle in late 1997, which involved putting a

tempo over a hip-hop beat, therefore creating a "double time" effect. He would often perform this style with its innovator Stevie Hyper D. The single and subsequent video "Inside Me" was a success and after being accepted on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and The Box. In 1999, he received the first of three the Knowledge Awards for best MC, and three Accelerated culture awards. Since 2000, he began collaborating with MC Shabba D (also known as Shabba) which became the partnership commonly known as "S.A.S." and became synonymous with the

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

s Telepathy and One Nation. In 2003, he provided the vocals for

Dillinja Karl Francis, also known as Dillinja, is a British jungle/drum and bass DJ and record producer. Biography Dillinja is a prolific producer and artist within the jungle and drum and bass scene. Since 1991, Dillinja has produced a number of track ...

's UK chart-breaking "Twist Em Out". In 2006 he won the 1Xtra award for best MC and in 2007 he won best MC southwest Drum n Bass award. In 2008 and 2009, Skibadee won best Lyrical MC and best Hype MC in the national Drum and bass awards and 2010 is the third year in a row as the best Crowd Hyper MC as well as the Stevie Hyper D Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2010, he won best MC at the Drum & Bass Arena Awards.

Personal life and death

Bondzie was born in

Waterloo, London Waterloo () is a district in Central London, and part of the Bishops ward of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated east of Charing Cross. The area is part of a business improvement district known as Waterloo Quarter, which includes The ...

on 1 February 1975. He died on 27 February 2022, at the age of 47.

References

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control 1967 births 2022 deaths Black British male rappers English drum and bass musicians People from the London Borough of Lambeth Rappers from London