MC Mello

Who is MC Mello?

MC Mell'O' comes from Battersea in south London, and was originally known for his bodypopping skills rather than his rapping, going under the tag Moomin. He was a member of various crews such as The 52 Flash Kru, the SAS and Truly Unique, before getting caught up in the fledgling rap scene emerging in the late 1980s.

His first release was the single "Free Style / Proud", which he recorded under the name "MC Mellow" as part of the Jus Bad crew, which featured Monie Love, Sparki and DJ Pogo. This was quickly followed by a guest spot on D2 The K's "Slow Jam", changing his name to the more familiar spelling that he has used ever since.

Mell'O' signed to Republic Records in the late 1980s, where he continued to work with DJ Pogo. The first fruit of this collaboration was the "Comin' Correct/Wize/Bizzie Rhymin' EP", which was followed by his only solo album Thoughts Released. This album is now considered to be one of the true classics of the British hip hop scene's early years, and is widely sought after amongst fans of the genre.

Unfortunately, following the release of this album and its single "Open Up Your Mind", Mell'O' and his record company had a dispute over the terms of his contract, which kept a follow-up album from being released. Eventually, Mell'O' left Republic, and moved to Funky Dred for the 1992 single "Mello's Gone Crazy". In the following years, Mell'O' had trouble settling with any one record company - in 1994 he released an EP with BMG and an EP with the Stereo MCs' company Natural Response. He later worked with producer Mark B on "Melloizdaman", but didn't get the success that the producer achieved with other UK legend Blade. After a long period of being away from solo work, where he continued to collaborate with a wide variety of other artists, Mell'O' released "Give Them What They Want".