Event information

Expansions Festival presents ULTRAMAGNETIC MC'S + special guests.

Golden Era Hip Hop legends Ultramagnetic MC's are back!

Ultramagnetic MC's were founded by Kool Keith, Ced Gee, TR Love and Moe Love in 1984 in the Bronx, NYC. Emerging through hip hop's Golden Era, the band's debut single on Next Plateau Records, 'Ego Trippin'', is credited as the first song to sample 'Synthetic Substitution' by Melvin Bliss, which became one of the most sampled drum breaks of all time.

Critical Beatdown, the band's revolutionary 1988 debut LP, is a landmark of alternative hip hop music. Produced by Ced Gee (who also produced Boogie Down Productions' Criminal Minded), it featured classics including 'Ease Back', 'Give the Drummer Some', 'Travelling at the Speed of Thought' and 'Watch Me Now'. Its innovative use of James Brown samples and Ced Gee's pioneering production techniques helped reshape East Coast hip hop.

Their second album, Funk Your Head Up (1992), featured the underground favourite 'Poppa Large', followed by The Four Horsemen (1993). After a hiatus, Ultramagnetic MC's returned with The Best Kept Secret (2007), their first studio album in fourteen years, reaffirming their status as pioneers of experimental rap.

Kool Keith subsequently established a remarkable solo career under identities including Dr. Octagon, Dr. Dooom and Black Elvis, while Ced Gee became widely respected for his production and contribution to sample-based hip hop.

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