Urban Dance Squad was a Dutch

rap rock Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, resp ...

band formed after what was originally intended as a one-time jam-session at a festival in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

on December 20, 1986. The band consisted of a guitarist, bassist, drummer, rapper, and DJ. Urban Dance Squad was one of the most successful Dutch bands of the nineties, releasing five studio albums.

Career

Urban Dance Squad first got together in 1986, at a jam session in De Vrije Vloer, a club in Utrecht, a jam which resulted in the first Dutch rock band with a rapper (they borrowed the name from

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive fu ...

's ''

Urban Dancefloor Guerillas ''Urban Dancefloor Guerillas'' is the debut album of funk band the P-Funk All-Stars, released in 1983 on Uncle Jam Records. The album features an amalgamation of various alumni from the bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both of which were disband ...

''); a song, "Struggle for Jive"; and the blending of white and black music in the Netherlands, at the same time that

Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1979, that plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late ' ...

Living Colour Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish (who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992). S ...

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

Faith No More Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...

, and the

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

were doing the same in the United States. The band recorded its first album, ''

Mental Floss for the Globe ''Mental Floss for the Globe'' is the debut album by Dutch rap rock band Urban Dance Squad. Released in 1989 (in the US, 1990) and produced by Belgian guitarist Jean-Marie Aerts, the album features a crossover of several music genres, such as roc ...

'', in Brussels in 1989 (produced by

Jean-Marie Aerts Jean-Marie Aerts (Zeebrugge (Bruges), 25 May 1951) is a Belgian guitarist and producer, best known as the guitar player for TC Matic. Aerts was a session musician who had worked with Kaz Lux, Raymond van het Groenewoud, and Plastic Bertrand when ...

, of TC Matic), and came to instant success. It won an

Edison Award The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed by ...

, and the single " Deeper Shade of Soul" was a hit in Europe, and in the United States, where it charted at number 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Two more singles were released from the album, and Urban Dance Squad toured the US in 1991, opening for Living Colour--''

The Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'' (formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'') was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1884 to 1992. At one time, the ''Press'' was the second larg ...

'' described their music as "refried

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

riffs and neo-

Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

guitar solos complete with sound effects and old soul records to produce an exceedingly loud, densely packed, dissonant garage-rock stew." The UDS had always been a volatile unit with the band members frequently arguing, and this came to a head while touring as the opening act for U2, after the release of ''

Life 'n Perspectives of a Genuine Crossover ''Life 'n Perspectives of a Genuine Crossover'' is the second album by Dutch rap rock band Urban Dance Squad. The album showcases an even more diverse mix of music genres than their debut album, genres including hard rock, hip-hop, funk, blues, ...

'', when DJ DNA quit abruptly. In the middle of the band's career, to capitalize on the success of

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

and

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 Popular culture, mainstre ...

, Urban Dance Squad released ''

Persona Non Grata In diplomacy, a ' (Latin: "person not welcome", plural: ') is a status applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection of diplomatic immunity from arrest and other types of prosecution. Diplomacy Under Article 9 of the ...

'' in January 1994. All of the tracks feature heavy use of distortion and guitar. The singles "No Honestly" and "Candy Strip Exp." were released, the latter single being released as a radio edit that cuts most of the pre-song noise. ''

Artantica ''Artantica'' is the fifth and last album by Dutch rap rock band Urban Dance Squad. The album marked the return of DJ DNA Arjen de Vreede (born 26 April 1962 in Utrecht, The Netherlands), known by his stage name DJ DNA, is a Dutch DJ and prod ...

'' saw release in 1999, and was a return to the band's hip-hop roots, and received critical acclaim. Urban Dance Squad disbanded the following year, though they did perform together again as late as 2006.

Music

Urban Dance Squad's music encompassed

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

, heavy metal, hip hop,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

. The band's music has been classified as

rap metal Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables. History Origins and early ...

, hip hop and

funk metal Funk metal (also known as thrash-funk or punk-funk) is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music (often thrash metal) with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, ...

Band members

* Rudeboy Remington (

Patrick Tilon Patrick "Rudeboy" Tilon (born 1964, Suriname) (also Rudeboy Remington, Silver Surfering Rudeboy, Microphone Nazi, Sir Antagonist) is a Dutch musician, best known as the singer of the rap rock band Urban Dance Squad, which he led from 1986 to 2000 ...

) - vocals * Tres Manos (René van Barneveld) - guitar * Silly Sil (Silvano Matadin) - bass guitar * Magic Stick (Michel Schoots) - drums *

DJ DNA Arjen de Vreede (born 26 April 1962 in Utrecht, The Netherlands), known by his stage name DJ DNA, is a Dutch DJ and producer. At age seventeen, he started as a DJ, and became a pioneer in the Dutch music scene playing hip hop, house, acid house a ...

(Arjen de Vreede) - turntables (1987-1993, 1997-2000, 2006) * U-Gene - keyboards (1996-1997)

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (1989) * ''

'' (1991) * ''

'' (1994) * '' Planet Ultra'' (1996) * ''Beograd Live'' (1997) * ''

'' (1999) * ''The Singles Collection'' (2006)

Extended plays

* ''Mental Relapse'' (1991) – US only

Singles

Other media

Film

* "Fast Lane" appears in the 1990 film '' Pump Up the Volume'' but does not appear on the soundtrack album. * The song "Good Grief" appears on the soundtrack of the 1995 film ''

Hackers A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...

'', and the band has a cameo appearance in the film with the same song. * The song "Demagogue" appears on the soundtrack of the 2001 film '' Crazy/Beautiful'' and in 2003 on ''

Gigli ''Gigli'' ( ) is a 2003 American romantic comedy crime film written and directed by Martin Brest and starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bartha, Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Lainie Kazan. Despite popular media giving attention a ...

''.

Documentary

* ''5 jaar wanorde'' (''5 years of mayhem'') is a two-part documentary about Urban Dance Squad by director Bram van Splunteren for

VPRO The VPRO (stylized vpro; originally an acronym for , ) is a Dutch public broadcaster, which forms a part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. Founded in 1926 as a liberal Protestant broadcasting organization, it gradually became more ...

's ''Onrust'', originally broadcast in 1992.

References

* Frans Steensma (ed), "OOR's Eerste Nederlandse Pop-encyclopedie" (12th edition, Amsterdam, 2000) {{Authority control Dutch rock music groups Dutch hip hop groups Rap rock groups Rap metal musical groups Funk metal musical groups Virgin Records artists Arista Records artists Musical groups established in 1986 1986 establishments in the Netherlands Musical groups from Utrecht (city)