DJ Dextrous - His Labels

His Labels

He then decided that he wanted to be in more control of his creative output so started his own label King of the Jungle Records with Rude Boy Keith (real name Keith Lawrence), who was working for Shut Up and Dance at the time, and who also attended Brooke House School during the time Dextrous, DJ Hype, Smiley and PJ were there. Dex and Rude Boy Keith also became a DJ and MC double act that travelled widely, spreading their sound through Dubplate Specials and PA-ing their latest recordings. During this time the pair signed to Suburban Base to release Da Kings of the Jungle trilogy. At this time Dextrous was one of the leading lights within the ever growing Jungle scene, and could also be heard on Sunday mornings playing on Kool FM, one of the main pirate radio stations in London.

Never one to keep still, Dex parted company with the radio station and then subsequently King of the Jungle Records in 1995. By then he had already launched two further record labels, Subversive Recordings (formerly Subliminal Recordings) and State of the Art Recordings alongside partners Paul Brown and Jon Stewart. These labels allowed Dex further creative freedom, the latter being his platform to express his jazz roots. As a trio Paul, Jon and Dex recorded under the moniker Solid State. Collectively they have been credited as one of the pioneers of the Liquid Funk scene. Together they created the sound they branded Urban Fusion to cover all of the creative influences evident in their music, including jazz, dub, Detroit techno, garage, funk and reggae. During this time Solid State recorded for Fabio's Creative Source label as well as Renegade Recordings and Alan McGee's Eruption Records (Creation Records' sister label).