Ragga Twins

The Ragga Twins
Origin	Hackney, England
Genres	Ragga, jungle, dancehall, hip hop
Years active	1989–present
Labels	Shut Up & Dance, EMI, Soul Jazz
Members	Deman Rocker Flinty Badman

The Ragga Twins or "RTC" are an English ragga and jungle group from Hackney, England, composed of London UNITY sound system veteran MCs Deman Rocker and Flinty Badman (real names David and Trevor Destouche). They are regarded as pioneers of jungle. AllMusic called them "crucial cogs in the development of U.K. dance music."

In 2008, Soul Jazz Records issued a compilation album of their early 1990s recordings entitled Ragga Twins Step Out.

David is the father of Essex-based grime MCs RD (Renae Destouche) and Mr X.

History

The Ragga Twins originated as part of London's Unity sound system, operating under the name in 1989. They issued a number of singles in the early 1990s as well as the album Reggae Owes Me Money (1991) with production by Shut Up & Dance. AllMusic described these releases "fiercely energetic mutations of dancehall, hip-hop, and jungle." They resurfaced in 1995 on EMI, and continued to release tracks intermittently into the 2000s.

The Ragga Twins' longest musical relationship is with Aquasky, a partnership that was first cemented in 2001 when the tracks "All in Check ft. CoGee" and "Loko" were written for Botchit & Scarper. Four months later the tracks "Coffee" and "Dem No No We" were recorded for drum and bass label Moving Shadow, and in 2002, the drum and bass track "Dirty Entertainers" was recorded with Aquasky on their now defunct Sonix label. The following year a remix was created and white labels distributed but the single was never released due to Aquasky leaving their distribution deal with ST Holdings and moving to SRD.

A series of 12" singles have been released with Aquasky on their Passenger label since 2002, including new tracks for the 601 album "We Do Bass" and a forthcoming Ragga Twins 2002–2013 compilation album. In 2004, Aquasky were approached by HBO for the usage of the tracks 'Loko' or 'Dem No No We' to be used in the Ali G series "Ali G in Da USA". HBO finally settled on "Dem No No We" which took the Ragga Twins' new breakbeat output to America. A video was shot for the "Superbad" single in 2011 by bboy and film-maker Charlie Marbles, a friend of Aquasky also from Bournemouth.

In 2008, the Twins lent their vocals to the Backdraft single, "Rock the Mic". In 2010, they were featured on Mason and the Fraudster's track "U Appear". Flinty Badman & Deman Rocker appeared in the Plan B crime film Ill Manors in 2012. In 2014, they featured on "All is Fair in Love and Brostep" and "Ragga Bomb" from Skrillex's debut album Recess., and "Zipper" from MUST DIE!'s album Death & Magic. In 2008, Soul Jazz Records issued a compilation album of their early 1990s recordings (notably their collaborations with production team/label Shut Up and Dance) entitled Ragga Twins Step Out.

Ragga Twins play regularly on Kool FM, now Kool London.

Discography

Albums

• Reggae Owes Me Money (1991) – UK No. 26
• Rinsin' Lyrics (1995)
• Ragga Twins Step Out (2008, Soul Jazz Records)
• Keep On Chant (2003) Solid Vinyl Music

Singles

• "Blaze It Up" – WE CHIEF ft. Ragga Twins and Captain Planet (2014)
• "Illegal Gunshot" / "Spliffhead" (1990) – UK No. 51
• "Wipe the Needle" / "Juggling" (1991) – UK No. 71
• "Hooligan 69" (1991) – UK No. 56
• "Mixed Truth" / "Bring Up The Mic Some More" (1992) – UK No. 65
• "Shine Eye" (1992) – UK 63 †
• "Freedom Train" (1995) RT 4 track 12"
• "All in Check ft CoGee" / "Loko" (2002) – Aquasky vs Masterblaster – (from Aquasky's "Beat The System" album on Botchit & Scarper)
• "Coffee" / "Dem No No We" (2003) – Aquasky vs Masterblaster – (from Aquasky's "Stayfresh" album on Moving Shadow – "Dem No No We" was used for the theme music for the second series of "Ali G in the USA")

• "Jerlipy lipy" (2003) – Mr.Quest – released on Solid Vinyl (Mr.Quest's d&b label)

• "e legal gunshot" (2003) – Mr.Quest – released on Solid Vinyl (Mr.Quest's d&b label)

• "shut em down" (2003) – TC Izlam & Ed Solo – released on Solid Vinyl (Mr.Quest's d&b label)

• "Dirty Entertainers" (2003) – Aquasky – released on Sonix Records (Aquasky's d&b label)
• "Ready For This" (2005) – Aquasky vs Masterblaster – 777 Records – (also included on Aquasky's 2006 album 'Teamplayers' on Passenger Records)
• "Everybody Hype ft. DJ Go (from the Mixologists" / "Let It Burn") (2006) – Aquasky – 777 Records
• "Let Me See Your Hands" / "Let Me See Your Hands (The Bodysnatchers Mix)" (2007) – Aquasky – 777 Records
• "Rock The Mic" (2007) – Backdraft – Passenger Records
• "Bring Forth Ya Booty" (2008) – 10 Sui & La Resistance – (featured in Hollywood Hit Epic Movie)
• "Give It Up (Old Skool Style)" / "Give It Up (Old Skool Style) – Aquasky Clunk Clik Mix" / "Give It Up (Old School Style) – Trevor Loveys Fidgerty Dub Mix" / "Give It Up (Old School Style) – Trevor Loveys Vocal Mix" / "Give It Up (Old School Style) – Michael Morph Legit Mix" (2008) – Aquasky – Passenger Records
• "Living Legends" / "Raggatron" (2010) – Aquasky – Passenger Records
• "Superbad ft. Pedro Slimer, M-TEK & Mr. Thing" / "Humble ft Tenor Fly" (2011) – (from Aquasky's "Raise The Devil" album on Passenger Records)
• "Heatwave ft. MC Spyda, CoGee, Pedro Slimer & M-TEK" (2012) – (also on the "Bring The Ruckus" (2013) album on Passenger Records)
• Ragga Twins featuring Junior Reid

2014

• "All Is Far in Love and Brostep" (Skrillex featuring Ragga Twins) from Recess by Skrillex.
• "Ragga Bomb" (Skrillex featuring Ragga Twins) from Recess by Skrillex.

2015

• "Bad Man (Skrillex Remix)" from OWSLA Spring Compilation 2015 by OWSLA.
• Charlotte Devaney "Get Ready 4 Tha Drop" feat. Ragga Twins
• Barely Alive - "Windpipe" feat. Ragga Twins

2016

• Metrik - "Worldwide" feat. Ragga Twins

2017

• Dirtyphonics and Bassnectar "Watch Out" feat. Ragga Twins

See also

• List of Peel sessions