18th July 2003
Spooks are Mr. Booka-T, Hypno, Joe Davis and Ming-Xia.
In 2001, they emerged with their unforgettable, hugely successful debut ‘S.I.O.S.O.S.‘ Now, Spooks return with their brilliant sophomore album, ‘Faster Than You Know...‘.
Mr. Booka-T and Joe Davis grew up together as members of a hip-hop group known as Rated-X in North Philadelphia, and gained experience recording and performing between Philly and New York. Ming-Xia and Mr. Booka-T met at an art college in NYC, where they bonded over shared passions in both art and music. Hypno was sporadically pursuing his own music career. After a mutual friend introduced the male MCs, they immediately connected and hit Philadelphia‘s club and freestyle circuit in 1995. When Ming was brought in to sing on a track in 1996, it was clear that her distinctive voice was the missing link. Over the next three years, Spooks crafted a unique sound and recorded a ten song demo entitled ‘Hi-Jacking The Planet‘, which eventually landed them a recording deal in 1999 with Anthra Music Group.
Acclaimed actor Laurence Fishburne was so impressed when he heard ‘S.I.O.S.O.S‘ that he insisted that ‘Things I‘ve Seen‘ was used as the title song on the soundtrack to his directorial debut, ‘Once In The Life‘. The track went on to become the number one most played song in Europe in 2001, and its video was nominated for a Billboard award. What‘s more, ‘S.I.O.S.O.S.‘ went gold in the UK, and Spooks found themselves in the Top 10 in nearly a dozen countries from Germany and The Netherlands to Turkey and Israel.
‘S.I.O.S.O.S.‘ was only the beginning of the Spooks‘ quest to push the boundaries of hip-hop. Now with their second album, Spooks continue to paint vivid pictures of life‘s highs and lows. "We don‘t run from the dark sides of issues that present themselves," says Hypno, "On a Spook song, you may hear one verse dealing with the pleasant side and another dealing with the harsher side. We tell the whole story."
If the glaring realities on ‘Faster Than You Know...‘ don‘t wake you up, the beats definitely will. The album‘s title track (and the first single to be released) features a guest appearance by Chali 2na of Jurassic 5. Ming‘s hypnotic declarations of the power of love soar above the delicate acoustic guitar licks and percussive bass lines. Meanwhile, party-rocker ‘In On It‘ features renowned Black Lily vocalist Lady Alma. Then there are more poignant songs, such as ‘Deadbeat‘, addressing the issue of deadbeat fathers. "This is a personal song," says Ming-Xia. "I wrote it because it was definitely something that had to be talked about." And talking about ‘Change‘, written a few days after the September 11th tragedy, Mr. Booka-T says "This is a song of inspiration. We wanted to keep the basic themes of inspiration, hope, growth and advancement alive."
Spooks continue down the path charted by ‘S.I.O.S.O.S.‘ yet ‘Faster Than You Know...‘ makes the road clearer and their message more potent. Says Mr. Booka-T, "We‘re determined to keep our integrity, and still say things we feel should be heard and said in music. We‘re determined to win and to do it our way."
To contact the Spooks click here
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
