the Spaceape
{{short description|British musician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = The Spaceape
| image = Kode9-spaceape (cropped 2).jpg
| caption = The Spaceape performing with Kode9 at Mutek in 2007
| birth_name = Stephen Samuel Gordon
| alias = Daddy Gee
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1970|6|17}}
| birth_place = United Kingdom
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2014|10|2|1970|6|17}}
| instrument =
| genre = Electronic, dubstep, spoken word
| occupation = Musician, vocalist, poet
| years_active =
| label = Hyperdub
| website = {{url|hyperdub.com}}
}}
Stephen Samuel Gordon (17 June 1970Melissa Bradshaw, [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/24/the-spaceape "The Spaceape obituary"], The Guardian, 24 October 2014. – 2 October 2014), known as The Spaceape, was a British poet and MC. He is known for his work on the electronic music label Hyperdub, and in particular for his frequent collaborations with labelmate Kode9. He was described by The Guardian as "a pioneering Hyperdub artist,"{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/03/jerry-dammers-pays-tribute-to-the-spaceape|title=Jerry Dammers pays tribute to late Hyperdub MC the Spaceape|date=3 October 2014|accessdate=4 October 2014|newspaper=The Guardian}} while Pitchfork Media stated that "if first-wave UK dubstep had a voice, it belonged to Stephen Gordon."[https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19929-kode9-the-spaceape-killing-season-ep/ Pitchfork – Kode9 & the Spaceape: Killing Season]
Gordon died on 2 October 2014 at the age of 44, following a battle with a rare form of cancer.
Career
Gordon was involved with much of the earliest music released by pioneering dubstep label Hyperdub, run by friend and frequent collaborator Steve Goodman a.k.a. Kode9. Throughout his career, he also collaborated with Burial, The Bug, Martyn, Redshape, Dub Gabriel, the Echologist, Jerry Dammers, Spatial AKA Orchestra, and Junior Boys.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6273834/hyperdub-the-spaceape-dead|title=Hyperdub's The Spaceape Has Died|date=2 October 2014|accessdate=4 October 2014|author=Joe Lynch|magazine=Billboard}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/80143|title=Hyperdub artist The Spaceape, aka Stephen Samuel Gordon, dies of rare form of cancer|date=3 October 2014|accessdate=4 October 2014|author=Dan Stubbs|magazine=NME}}{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/56945-hyperdub-vocalist-the-spaceape-has-died/|title=Hyperdub Vocalist the Spaceape Has Died|date=2 October 2014|accessdate=4 October 2014|author=Jeremy Gordon|website=Pitchfork}}
According to Pitchfork, "[the] Spaceape lent his ten-ton doomsayer croak to dozens of definitive works of music and was positioned as the Linton Kwesi Johnson of the post-7/7, surveillance-state UK."
Personal life
Discography
=Studio albums=
- Memories of the Future (with Kode9) (Hyperdub, 2006)
- Black Sun (with Kode9) (Hyperdub, 2011)
=Singles & EPs=
- Is This Insanity? (with Martyn) (Alpha Pup, 2009)
- Love & Machines (with Martyn) (Brainfeeder, 2011)
- Xorcism (Hyperdub, 2012)
- Killing Season (with Kode9) (Hyperdub, 2014)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.thespaceape.co.uk/}}
- {{Discogs artist|The Space Ape}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spaceape, The}}
Category:Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom
Category:Black British male rappers