Heartless Crew

Heartless Crew

Heartless Crew is a UK sound system group made up of Bushkin and Mighty Moe. It forms in 1992, when the members meet at Holloway Boys School. The group draws on hip hop, R&B and dancehall, and its early inspiration comes from artists including Buju Banton, R Kelly, Shabba, Det and Brockie.

Background and style

Heartless Crew begins by playing house parties and small clubs before taking a residency at Chimes nightclub in Hackney in 1996. By 1998 it joins pirate station Mission 90.6 FM, where it develops a style that mixes R&B, hip hop, jungle and dancehall-derived sounds with the Jamaican sound system tradition. The group is also associated with UK garage.

Releases and broadcasting

In 2002 Heartless Crew signs to BBC 1Xtra and presents a Sunday evening two-hour slot. It releases the compilation album Heartless Crew presents Crisp Biscuit, followed by the single The Heartless Theme, also known as the Superglue Riddim. The group leaves 1Xtra in 2006 and continues to appear on phatbeats.net on Sundays from 9 to 11pm.

Members

Bushkin and Mighty Moe front the group. Mighty Moe begins as a hip hop DJ, and his parents are from the Middle East. Bushkin and Fonti have West Indian backgrounds.