Us3

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British jazz rap band

title: "Us3" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["english-hip-hop-groups", "jazz-rap-groups", "alternative-hip-hop-groups", "musical-groups-from-london", "musical-groups-established-in-1992", "blue-note-records-artists", "emarcy-records-artists"] description: "British jazz rap band" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Us3" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary British jazz rap band ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

Field	Value
background	group_or_band
name	Us3
origin	London, England
years_active	1992–2025
label	Blue Note
Us3
website
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
::

::callout[type=note] the band ::

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. Us3's debut album, Hand on the Torch, used samples from Blue Note songs produced by Lion.

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.

Wilkinson established Us3 with production partner Mel Simpson. One of the resulting demos, recorded in March 1992, was "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)", featuring UK trumpeter Gerard Presencer. It sampled Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island". Us3 went on a hiatus in 2014, during which Wilkinson went on to specialise in producing film and library music.

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.

Discography

Albums

::data[format=table title="List of albums, with selected chart positions"] | Title | Year | Peak chart positions | UK | AUS | AUT | GER | NLD | NZ | SWI | US | US R&B/HH Peaks on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart: | Hand on the Torch | Broadway & 52nd | An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place | Questions | Schizophonic | Say What!? | Stop. Think. Run. | Lie, Cheat & Steal | The Third Way | Soundtrack | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1993 | 40 | 51 | 11 | 29 | 81 | 28 | 21 | 31 | 21 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1997 | 93 | 90 | 28 | 80 | 91 | 39 | 48 | — | 90 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2001 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2004 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2006 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2009 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2011 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2013 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2025 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

Singles

::data[format=table title="List of singles, with selected chart positions"] | Title | Year | Peak positions | Album | UK | AUS | AUT | BEL (FL) | GER | NLD | NZ | SWI | US | US R&B | "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" | "Tukka Yoot's Riddim" | "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" (UK reissue) | "I Got It Goin' On" | "Eleven Long Years" | "Come on Everybody (Get Down)" | "I'm Thinking About Your Body" | "You Can't Hold Me Down" | "Get Out" | "Say You Belong to Me" | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1992 | 76 | 32 | 3 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 21 | Hand on the Torch | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1993 | 34 | — | 24 | — | 97 | — | 28 | 26 | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1994 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | 39 | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1997 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 49 | — | — | Broadway & 52nd | | | | | | | | | | | | | | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2001 | 94 | — | — | — | — | 98 | — | — | — | — | An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2002 | 174 | — | — | — | — | 97 | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Say What!? | | | | | | | | | | | | | | "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

References

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

References

[[Hand on the Torch]] booklet remark by Bruce Lundvall, President of Blue Note Records
(1998). "[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music". [[Virgin Books]].
"Composer - Geoff Wilkinson". MediaTracks.
Amorosi, A.D.. (13 August 2025). "In Preview: Geoff Wilkinson, Us3 and the Righteous Rebirth of the Crossover Cool".
{{cite Ryan
"Billboard 200: Week of March 12, 1994".
"Official Charts Company: Us3". [[Official Charts Company]].
"US 3 – Cantaloop".
"Discographie US 3".
"Us3 – German Chart".
"Discografie US 3".
"Discography US 3".
"US 3 – Cantaloop".
"Us3 – US Hot 100".
"Us3 – Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::