Moorish Delta 7

Moorish Delta 7 (also known as MD7) are a hip hop/UK garage outfit from the Newtown area of Birmingham, England. The trio formed in 1995 and have sold over 50,000 records.[1]

Moorish Delta 7
From left to right: Cipher J.E.W.E.L.S, Jawar, and Malik
Background information
Also known asMD7
OriginBirmingham, England
GenresHip hop
Years active1995–present
LabelsSeven Entertainment
Associated actsMidlands Mafia
Underworld, Seth Lakeman
Websitewww.moorishdelta7.com
MembersCipher J.E.W.E.L.S
Jawar
Malik

History

Moorish Delta 7 are one of the most influential hip hop groups from the UK.[2] The group formed in 1995 as a growth of the then-large rap outfit Lyric Born Clique. Lyric Born Clique was an eight piece rap collective featuring among many Golden Child, DJ Kinstun, Shortnerve and Rawality. Initially, Moorish Delta 7 had four members with Shortnerve leaving shortly after the first EP. Their first release as 'Moorish Delta 7' was an EP on Quartz Records (another Birmingham record label) called Taking Four Wicked Heads on the Way to North Africa. The EP was a mixture of dark beats, insightful lyrics, street imagery, humour and political comment. The group quickly became known for their high energy performances and quickly became popular with audiences in the UK.

The crew became noticed by the diversity of the groups MCs with Malik providing thoughtful and clever wordplay, Cipher providing the eerie and dark soundtrack and culturally conscious / street impact and Jawar with humorous / street vibe.

Their next release was the 4 track single "The Art of Survival"/"Silent Screams"/"Number 1 Sound"/"Status" in 2001. The group had now evolved their music to include vivid cinematic soundscapes and continued to mix their subject matter switching from social commentary to humour with equal effect.

Their influence on the UK, Birmingham and Midlands hip hop scene had been the dark beats and deep, serious, street orientated subject matter. They also collaborated with a lot of local artists and emphasised their Birmingham heritage when doing shows around the country. They were also involved in a lot of local youth projects around music and art which broadened their grassroots support and were instrumental in breaking several Birmingham based artists onto the national music scene.

The album that followed, The Power & the Glory (2002) continued this theme further and was a great critical and sales success.

They have collaborated with other Midlands artists such as Shimm 1, Hoods Underground, Yogi, Big V, Law, Baby J, Shade 1 who among others formed the collective called Underworld. They have also collaborated with a number artists including: Judge Dredi, Seth Lakeman, Baby J, PJ, Yogi, Shade 1, Midlands Mafia, 25 to Life, Reggiimental, MSI Asylum and Shadowless Productions. Members of the group have now diverged into different areas with Cipher now producing for many different artists and Malik establishing a successful solo career collaborating with Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson and others.

They have performed alongside DMX, Africa Bambaataa, Guru (Gang Star), Fabulous, Rodney P, 57th Dynasty, Out Da Ville, Mobb Deep, Estelle, DJ 279, Tim Westwood, Brother Ben, Immortal Technique, So Solid Crew, MSI Asylum, Pentalk, Mike GLC, Skinny Man, De La Soul, Royalists, Chubby Kids, Lyric L, Shabbazz the Disciple, Poetic, Freestyle, The Gravediggazz, The A Alikes, Fallacy, Blind Alphabets, Big Daddy Kane, Marley Marl, Jurassic Five, Roc 1, Tiny presents, Graf, BS5, C.O.V, Tubby T, The Villains, Bassman, Heartless Crew, Benjamin Zephaniah, Nicky Blackmarket, Ras Kwame, DJ Semtex, Big P and Skeme, amongst others.

There have been further subsequent releases including Underworld Compilation (featured) and a further album entitled Life in the City (2006). Even though the group continue to record, it is their earlier work they are most renowned for.

In March 2008, the group collaborated with folk musician Seth Lakeman in a joint BBC and Arts Council England project. A programme named Made in England – Seth Lakeman, directed by Will Sergeant and broadcast on 23 April 2008 on BBC One, followed Seth and Moorish Delta 7 for 48 hours as they produced two records called "Find Your Way" and "Climate Change", which they performed live at The Concrete Bar in the Jewellery Quarter. The program which was made consequently won best regional documentary at the National TV Society awards in November 2008.[3] It also provided a background into the work of the two musical outfits.[2]

Members
  • Cipher J.E.W.E.L.S – also known as Knowledge Scientific (circa 1998)
  • Malik
  • Jawar

Discography

Albums
  • The Power & the Glory (2002)
  • Life in the City (2006)

EPs
  • Taking Four Wicked Heads on the Way to North Africa (1998)

Compilations
  • The Experiment Vol. 1 (1998)
  • Black Samurai Vol. 1 (1999)
  • Black Samurai Vol. 2 (1999)
  • UK Hip Hop Awards (Album) 2000
  • Tim Westwood Compilation (Trust the DJ) 2000
  • Underworld Compilation (2004)

Videos

Their first music video, "The Art of Survival", was one of the earliest MTV playlisted UK rap videos and set the tone for gritty, street related videos to come later.

  • "Silent Screams" (2002)
  • "Death Before Dishonour" (2002)
  • "Don't Leave Me Lonely" (2003)
  • "The Rain" (2005)
  • "My Girl" (2006)
  • "Levels" (2006)
  • "Bootlegger" (2006)
  • (Malik) "So Real" (2007)
  • (Malik) "Blues Ground" (2007)

References
  1. Luan Goldie. "The Hungry Mouths and Troubled Minds of Hip Hop". The Situation. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  2. "Unique music mix is Made in England". BBC Press Office. 4 April 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  3. "Folk star Seth Lakeman joins rappers Moorish Delta 7". Birmingham Post. 4 March 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
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