| Background | group_or_band |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Years active | 1992–2025 |
| Label | Blue Note Us3 |
| Website | Us3.com |
| Past members | Geoff Wilkinson Mel Simpson (deceased) 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.[1] Us3's debut album, Hand on the Torch, used samples from Blue Note songs produced by Lion.[2]
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.[3]
Wilkinson established Us3 with production partner Mel Simpson.[3] One of the resulting demos, recorded in March 1992, was "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)", featuring UK trumpeter Gerard Presencer.[3] It sampled Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island".[3] Us3 went on a hiatus in 2014, during which Wilkinson went on to specialise in producing film and library music.[4]
In 2025, Us3 released Soundtrack, a studio album consisting of a cinematic mix of trap rhythms with big band orchestration, including tracks inspired by Gil Evans and Don Ellis.[2]
Discography
Albums
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [5] | AUS [6] | AUT [7] | GER [8] | NLD [9] | NZ [10] | SWI [11] | US [12] | US R&B/HH [13] | ||
| Hand on the Torch | 1993 | 40 | 51 | 11 | 29 | 81 | 28 | 21 | 31 | 21 |
| Broadway & 52nd | 1997 | 93 | 90 | 28 | 80 | 91 | 39 | 48 | — | 90 |
| An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place | 2001 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Questions | 2004 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Schizophonic | 2006 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Say What!? | 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stop. Think. Run. | 2009 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lie, Cheat & Steal | 2011 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| The Third Way | 2013 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Soundtrack | 2025 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [5] | AUS [14] | AUT [7] | BEL (FL) [14] | GER [8] | NLD [9] | NZ [10] | SWI [11] | US [15] | US R&B [16] | ||||
| "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" | 1992 | 76 | 32 | 3 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 21 | Hand on the Torch | |
| "Tukka Yoot's Riddim" | 1993 | 34 | — | 24 | — | 97 | — | 28 | 26 | — | — | ||
| "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" (UK reissue) | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "I Got It Goin' On" | 1994 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | 39 | — | — | — | ||
| "Eleven Long Years" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Come on Everybody (Get Down)" | 1997 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 49 | — | — | Broadway & 52nd | |
| "I'm Thinking About Your Body" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "You Can't Hold Me Down" | 2001 | 94 | — | — | — | — | 98 | — | — | — | — | An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place | |
| "Get Out" | 2002 | 174 | — | — | — | — | 97 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Say You Belong to Me" | 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Say What!? | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||
References
- ^ Hand on the Torch booklet remark by Bruce Lundvall, President of Blue Note Records
- ^ Amorosi, A.D. (13 August 2025). "In Preview: Geoff Wilkinson, Us3 and the Righteous Rebirth of the Crossover Cool". JazzTimes
- ^ Colin Larkin (ed.) (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music. First ed. Virgin Books. p. 357. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.
- ^ "Composer - Geoff Wilkinson". MediaTracks. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "Official Charts Company: Us3". Official Charts Company. Archived 24 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ p. 290.
- ^ "Discographie US 3" (in German). austriancharts.at. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Us3 – German Chart" (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Archived 24 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Discografie US 3" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Discography US 3". charts.nz. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "US 3 – Cantaloop" (in German). hitparade.ch. Archived 24 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Billboard 200: Week of March 12, 1994". Billboard. Archived 24 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ Peaks on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart: * Hand on the Torch: "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Week of March 12, 1994". Billboard. Archived 25 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 October 2022. * Broadway & 52nd: "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Week of April 26, 1997". Billboard. Archived 24 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "US 3 – Cantaloop". australian-charts.com. Archived 24 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Us3 – US Hot 100". Billboard. Archived 4 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ^ "Us3 – Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Archived 27 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
Other sources
- Radio interview with Us3 founder Geoff Wilkinson on Kiss FM February 1992 Us3 Founder Geoff Wilkinson and Born 2 B, Kiss FM London 1992 - Play on N1M
- Ninja Tune - Two decades of mixes and mash-ups