Us3
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Us3 | |
|---|---|
| Born | Script error: No such module "person date". |
| Origin | London, England |
| Died | Script error: No such module "person date". |
| Years active | 1992–2025 |
| LabelTemplate:Pluralize from text | Blue Note Us3 |
| Past members | Geoff Wilkinson Mel Simpson (deceased) Rahsaan Kelly Kobie Powell Tukka Yoot KCB Shabaam Sahdeeq Michelob Alison Crockett Reggi Wyns Mpho Skeef Akil Dasan Gaston Adeline Brook Yung Sene Oveous Maximus Akala |
| Website | us3 |
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Us3 is a British jazz rap group founded by London-based producer Geoff Wilkinson in 1992.
The name was inspired by Us Three, a Horace Parlan album produced in 1960 by Alfred Lion, the founder of Blue Note Records.[1] Us3's debut album, Hand on the Torch, used samples from Blue Note songs produced by Lion.[2]
History
In the early 1990s, London-based producer Geoff Wilkinson produced two recordings under the name Us3. The first was 1990's "Where Will We Be in the 21st Century", a limited-edition white label 12" release. It drew the attention of independent label Ninja Tune, resulting in NW1's 1991 12-inch single "The Band Played The Boogie", featuring UK rapper Born 2 B.[3]
Wilkinson established Us3 with production partner Mel Simpson.[3] One of the resulting demos, recorded in March 1992, was "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)", featuring UK trumpeter Gerard Presencer.[3] It sampled Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island".[3] Us3 went on a hiatus in 2014, during which Wilkinson went on to specialise in producing film and library music.[4]
In 2025, Us3 released Soundtrack, a studio album consisting of a cinematic mix of trap rhythms with big band orchestration, including tracks inspired by Gil Evans and Don Ellis.[2]
Discography
Albums
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [5] |
AUS [6] |
AUT [7] |
GER [8] |
NLD [9] |
NZ [10] |
SWI [11] |
US [12] |
US R&B/HH [13] | ||
| Hand on the Torch | 1993 | 40 | 51 | 11 | 29 | 81 | 28 | 21 | 31 | 21 |
| Broadway & 52nd | 1997 | 93 | 90 | 28 | 80 | 91 | 39 | 48 | — | 90 |
| An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place | 2001 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Questions | 2004 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Schizophonic | 2006 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Say What!? | 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stop. Think. Run. | 2009 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lie, Cheat & Steal | 2011 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| The Third Way | 2013 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Soundtrack | 2025 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [5] |
AUS [14] |
AUT [7] |
BEL (FL) [14] |
GER [8] |
NLD [9] |
NZ [10] |
SWI [11] |
US [15] |
US R&B [16] | ||||
| "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" | 1992 | 76 | 32 | 3 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 21 | Hand on the Torch | |
| "Tukka Yoot's Riddim" | 1993 | 34 | — | 24 | — | 97 | — | 28 | 26 | — | — | ||
| "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" (UK reissue) | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "I Got It Goin' On" | 1994 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | 39 | — | — | — | ||
| "Eleven Long Years" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Come on Everybody (Get Down)" | 1997 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 49 | — | — | Broadway & 52nd | |
| "I'm Thinking About Your Body" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "You Can't Hold Me Down" | 2001 | 94 | — | — | — | — | 98 | — | — | — | — | An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place | |
| "Get Out" | 2002 | 174 | — | — | — | — | 97 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Say You Belong to Me" | 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Say What!? | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||
References
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- ^ Hand on the Torch booklet remark by Bruce Lundvall, President of Blue Note Records
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Amorosi, A.D. (13 August 2025). "In Preview: Geoff Wilkinson, Us3 and the Righteous Rebirth of the Crossover Cool". JazzTimes.
- ^ a b c d Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 357. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Composer - Geoff Wilkinson". MediaTracks. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Official Charts Company: Us3". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ Template:Cite Ryan
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Discographie US 3". austriancharts.at (in Deutsch). Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Us3 – German Chart". offiziellecharts.de (in Deutsch). Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Discografie US 3". dutchcharts.nl (in Nederlands). Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Discography US 3". charts.nz. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."US 3 – Cantaloop". hitparade.ch (in Deutsch). Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Billboard 200: Week of March 12, 1994". Billboard. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ Peaks on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart:
- Hand on the Torch: Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Week of March 12, 1994". Billboard. Archived from the original on 25 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- Broadway & 52nd: Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Week of April 26, 1997". Billboard. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."US 3 – Cantaloop". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Us3 – US Hot 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on 4 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Us3 – Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
Other sources
- Radio interview with Us3 founder Geoff Wilkinson on Kiss FM February 1992 Us3 Founder Geoff Wilkinson and Born 2 B, Kiss FM London 1992 - Play on N1M
- Ninja Tune - Two decades of mixes and mash-ups
External links
- Official website
- The Us3 YouTube channel
- Us3 on Instagram
- Innerviews' 2025 audio interview with Geoff Wilkinson
- Innerviews' 2009 interview with Geoff Wilkinson
- "Jazz and Hip-Hop: Can They Really Mix?" by Jared Pauley, (Jazz.com)
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