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Us3

{{short description|British jazz rap band}}

{{About|the band|the highway route|U.S. Route 3}}

{{EngvarB|date=December 2017}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| background = group_or_band

| name = Us3

| image =

| caption =

| alias =

| origin = London, England

| genre =

| years_active = 1992–2025

| label = Blue Note
Us3

| website = {{url|Us3.com}}

| current_members =

| past_members = Geoff Wilkinson
Mel Simpson
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

}}

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.Hand on the Torch booklet remark by Bruce Lundvall, President of Blue Note Records Us3's debut album, Hand on the Torch, used samples from Blue Note songs produced by Lion.

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.{{cite book |title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music |date=1998 |publisher=Virgin Books |isbn=0-7535-0252-6 |editor=Colin Larkin |edition=First |page=357}}

Wilkinson established Us3 with production partner Mel Simpson. One of the resulting demos, recorded in March 1992, was "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)", featuring UK trumpeter Gerard Presencer. It sampled Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island". Us3 went on hiatus 2014, during which Wilkinson went on to specialise in producing film and library music.{{cite web |url=https://www.mediatracks.co.uk/composers/profile/electronic-dance/geoff-wilkinson |title=Composer - Geoff Wilkinson |publisher=MediaTracks |access-date=18 April 2024}}

In 2025, Us3 returned with a new studio album titled Soundtrack focused on instrumental works.

Discography

=Albums=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ List of albums, with selected chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year

! scope="col" colspan="9"| Peak chart positions

scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UK

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUS
{{cite Ryan|page=290}}

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUT

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| GER

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| NLD

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| NZ

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| SWI

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US
{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1994-03-12/|title=Billboard 200: Week of March 12, 1994|magazine=Billboard|access-date=25 October 2022}}

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US
R&B/HH
Peaks on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart:

  • Hand on the Torch: {{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/r-b-hip-hop-albums/1994-03-12/|title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Week of March 12, 1994|magazine=Billboard|access-date=25 October 2022}}
  • Broadway & 52nd: {{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/r-b-hip-hop-albums/1997-04-26/|title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Week of April 26, 1997|magazine=Billboard|access-date=25 October 2022}}
scope="row"| Hand on the Torch

| 1993

| 40 || 51 || 11 || 29 || 81 || 28 || 21 || 31 || 21

scope="row"| Broadway & 52nd

| 1997

| 93 || 90 || 28 || 80 || 91 || 39 || 48 || — || 90

scope="row"| An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place

| 2001

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| Questions

| 2004

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| Schizophonic

| 2006

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| Say What!?

| 2007

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| Stop. Think. Run.

| 2009

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| Lie, Cheat & Steal

| 2011

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| The Third Way

| 2013

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| Soundtrack

| 2025

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

=Singles=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions

! rowspan="2" style="width:24em;"| Title

! rowspan="2"| Year

! colspan="10"| Peak positions

! rowspan="2"| Album

width="35"| UK
{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/28337/us3/|title=Official Charts Company: Us3 |publisher=Official Charts Company |access-date=25 October 2022}}

! width="35"| AUS
{{cite web|url=https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=US+3&titel=Cantaloop&cat=s|title=US 3 – Cantaloop|website=australian-charts.com|access-date=25 October 2022}}

! width="35"| AUT
{{cite web|url=https://austriancharts.at/showinterpret.asp?interpret=US+3|title=Discographie US 3|website=austriancharts.at|language=de|access-date=25 October 2022}}

! width="35"| BEL
(FL)

! width="35"| GER
{{cite web|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-2562 |title=Us3 – German Chart |website=offiziellecharts.de |language=de |access-date=25 October 2022}}

! width="35"| NLD
{{cite web|url=https://dutchcharts.nl/showinterpret.asp?interpret=US+3|title=Discografie US 3|website=dutchcharts.nl|language=nl|access-date=25 October 2022}}

! width="35"| NZ
{{cite web|url=https://charts.nz/showinterpret.asp?interpret=US+3|title=Discography US 3|website=charts.nz|access-date=25 October 2022}}

! width="35"| SWI
{{cite web|url=https://hitparade.ch/song/US-3/Cantaloop-2562|title=US 3 – Cantaloop|website=hitparade.ch|language=de|access-date=25 October 2022}}

! width="35"| US
{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/430705/us3/chart?f=379 |title=Us3 – US Hot 100 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=18 May 2014}}

! width="35"| US
R&B
{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/430705/us3/chart?f=367 |title=Us3 – Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs |magazine=Billboard |access-date=18 May 2014}}

scope="row"| "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)"

| 1992

| 76 || 32 || 3 || 24 || 22 || 18 || 16 || 7 || 9 || 21

| align="left" rowspan="5"| Hand on the Torch

scope="row"| "Tukka Yoot's Riddim"

| rowspan="2"|1993

| 34 || — || 24 || — || 97 || — || 28 || 26 || — || —

scope="row"| "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" (UK reissue)

| 23 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| "I Got It Goin' On"

| rowspan="2"|1994

| 52 || — || — || — || — || — || 39 || — || — || —

scope="row"| "Eleven Long Years"

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| "Come on Everybody (Get Down)"

| rowspan="2"|1997

| 38 || — || — || — || — || — || — || 49 || — || —

| align="left" rowspan="2"| Broadway & 52nd

scope="row"| "I'm Thinking About Your Body"

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| "You Can't Hold Me Down"

| 2001

| 94 || — || — || — || — || 98 || — || — || — || —

| align="left" rowspan="2"| An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place

scope="row"| "Get Out"

| 2002

| 174 || — || — || — || — || 97 || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| "Say You Belong to Me"

| 2007

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

| align="left"| Say What!?

align="center" colspan="14" style="font-size:85%"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

References

{{Reflist}}

Other sources

  • Radio interview with Us3 founder Geoff Wilkinson on Kiss FM February 1992 [https://www.numberonemusic.com/born2b/song/637490-Us3-Founder-Geoff-Wilkinson-and-Born-2-B-Kiss-FM-London-1992 Us3 Founder Geoff Wilkinson and Born 2 B, Kiss FM London 1992 - Play on N1M]
  • [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/ninja-tune-two-decades-of-mixes-and-mash-ups-2081331.html Ninja Tune - Two decades of mixes and mash-ups]

External links

  • {{official|Us3.com}}
  • [https://www.youtube.com/user/Us3videos The Us3 YouTube channel]
  • [https://www.instagram.com/us3official1/ Us3 on Instagram]
  • [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_YBAPmsxzI Innerviews' 2025 audio interview with Geoff Wilkinson]
  • [http://www.innerviews.org/inner/us3.html Innerviews' 2009 interview with Geoff Wilkinson]
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20080912222200/http://www.jazz.com/jazz-blog/2008/8/26/jazz-and-hip-hop-one "Jazz and Hip-Hop: Can They Really Mix?"] by Jared Pauley, ([http://www.jazz.com Jazz.com])

{{Us3}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:English hip-hop groups

Category:Jazz rap groups

Category:Alternative hip-hop groups

Category:Musical groups from London

Category:Musical groups established in 1992

Category:Blue Note Records artists

Category:EmArcy Records artists