Tag Archives: Jack The Ripper (JTR)

DJ Roughcut

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DJ Roughcut was inspired to explore the emerging artform of scratching and mixing vinyl records during the early 1980s after watching the movie Breakdance. By the late 1980s DJ Roughcut managed to obtain his first pair of turntables and in 1989 at age 15 he entered a DJ competition hosted by the ITV children’s TV program Motor Mouth. The TV appearance led to an opportunity to compete in the 1989 UK DMC Junior mixing championships in which DJ Roughcut was awarded the runner up position.

DJ Roughcut (Right) – Early 1990s.

The following year DJ Roughcut became one of several resident DJs at The Point Club located in central Milton Keynes. Performing at the Point Club led to collaborations with like minded individuals such as The W.I.Z.E Crew, Death Before Dishonour, Klass Dismissed and solo rapper Danny Cooli. By 1991 DJ Roughcut had incorporated musical production to his skill set and eventually established a home studio known as Rough Productions. Continue reading →

Jack The Ripper (J.T.R)

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Jack The Ripper (J.T.R) discovered Hip Hop music and culture during the early 1980s and became inspired to rap after watching Ice T perform in the movie Break dance. As a young teenager JTR started to perform at local house parties in his home city of Milton Keynes with friend and beatboxer The Omen. In 1991 JTR and The Omen formed Hip Hop collective Death Before Dishonour (DBD) with rappers Highway man, The Atom and Paraffin MC.

Jack The Ripper (right) – Milton Keynes, early 1990s.

Death Before Dishonour formed shortly after the five rappers performed live at an event called Connection 16 that was held at The Point club during the early 1990s. During the same period DJ Roughcut was one of the resident DJs at The Point and helped the crew  formulate\produce their first demo recordings. DBD regularly performed in and around Milton Keynes during the early 1990s eventually incorporating live musicians in to there stage show. Continue reading →

Death Before Dishonour (DBD)

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Death Before Dishonour (DBD) were a Hip Hop crew that consisted of rappers The Atom, The Omen, Paraffin MC, The Hi-way Man, and Jack The Ripper (JTR). The crew formed in 1991 after performing at an open mic event with DJ Roughcut held in the point, Milton Keynes. Shortly after formation DJ Roughcut helped formulate the groups first demo recordings. During the early 1990s DBD regularly performed in and around Milton Keynes.

Death Before Dishonour “Drop the bass” – Demo recording, Early 1990s.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s DJ Roughcut worked as a lighting engineer and as a resident DJ at the point club which is how he became involved with several of the cities Hip Hop artists. In the early part of the 1990s DJ Roughcut helped formulate early recordings for Milton Keynes based Hip Hop crews W.I.Z.E, Death Before Dishonour,  Klass Dismissed, and rapper Danny Cooly. In a previous Break to the beat interview DJ Roughcut recalls:

“Judge Wizely (Samuel Welbeck) the lead rapper and his mates used to go to The Club at The Point where I started my DJ career as lighting operator and warm-up DJ from 1989 to the closure of the club in 2004. This is where I met all of the groups that I produced, DBD, Klass Dismissed and Wize”.

(DJ Roughcut Interview, Break to the beat, 2012).

DJ Rougcut (Right) – Early 1990s. Continue reading →