Charissa Saverio (born 7 December 1969), and better known as DJ Rap, is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

drum and bass, house and

progressive electronic music Progressive music is music that attempts to expand existing stylistic boundaries associated with specific genres of music. The word comes from the basic concept of "progress", which refers to advancements through accumulation, and is often dep ...

producer and DJ. While the majority of her work is in the

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

style, her more successful work is in traditional

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

. DJ Rap owns, records for, runs and A&Rs two record labels Propa Talent and Impropa Talent. She is also a producer, model and actress.

Biography

DJ Rap was born in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, daughter of an Italian father and an Irish-

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n mother. The family moved to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, England, when Saverio was a teenager. She later lived in Walthamstow, East London before she became a DJ. She has worked as an engineer, often collaborating with other artists. After being the first artist on the scene to self-release her first CD, she signed to

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

along with Grooverider and

Leftfield Leftfield are a British electronic music duo formed in 1989 as the duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley (the latter formerly of the Rivals and A Man Called Adam). The duo was very influential in the evolution of electronic music in the 1990s, wi ...

. Her artist album, ''Learning Curve'', was released in 1999 to critical acclaim, and resulted in several stylized

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

s, including two versions of "Good to Be Alive" (one for the CD version and another for the radio remix) and "Bad Girl", a song about having to be a strong woman to survive. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' gave ''Learning Curve'' three and a half stars, stating "this is the record Madonna wanted to make". She also released compilation albums '' Journeys by DJ'', ''Propa Classics Vol. 1'' and ''2'', ''Brave New World'', ''Armani Exchange CHEMISTRY'' and ''Touching Bass'', ''Bulletproof'', and ''Up All Night''. DJ Rap has also done vocals for several artists, including BT (for "Giving Up the Ghost") and Art of Trance (for "Madagascar omi Nation Remix). In 2014, she played "Hologram Girl" in '' The Principle'', a documentary examining the Copernican Principle. In the short films ''Riddle of the Mask'' and ''Truth of the Mask'', she portrayed Helena Bertinelli aka the Huntress.

Discography

Albums

* ''Intelligence'' (1995) * ''Learning Curve'' (1999) * ''Synthesis'' (2010)

Mix albums

* ''Journeys Through the Land of Drum N Bass'' ( Journeys by DJ, 1995) * ''Propa Talent Classics, Volume 1'' (2001) * ''Touching Bass'' (2003) * ''Bulletproof'' (2005) * ''Up All Night'' (2006) * ''A Propa History, Volume 1'' (2008)

Singles

* "Divine Rhythm" (1992) (with Voyager) * "Spiritual Aura" (1994) * "Total Tangent / Tibetan Jungle" (1994) * "Digable Bass" (1994) * "Switch" (1995) (with Outlaw Candy) * "Intelligent Woman" (1995) (with Outlaw Candy) * "I'm So" (1997) (vs. Da Boss) * "Bad Girl" (1998) * "Everyday Girl" (1998) * "Good to Be Alive" (1998) (US Dance Chart #5) * "Give It All Away" (2010) * "Feel So Alive" (2010) (with Jo) * "Talking to Myself" (2012) (with

tyDi TyDi (; born Tyson Illingworth, 31 May 1987) is an Australian songwriter, record producer and DJ specializing in electronic dance music. Originally from Queensland, TyDi was signed by Armin van Buuren's Armada label at 17 and was ranked at N ...

) * "Back & Forth" (2021)

References

External links

* *
Interview with ''DJ Times'', 1999

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rap, Dj English drum and bass musicians Living people 1969 births English record producers English women DJs English women in electronic music English people of Malaysian descent English people of Italian descent English people of Irish descent British women record producers Electronic dance music DJs