Jim Dawg

Jim Dawg was the pseudonymn used by a teenage "thug" rapper, presumed to be from Leicester, England, sometime between 1990 and 1994.
Details are sketchy but there's no doubt that for a little while in the early 1990's, Jim Dawg was very close to genuine media infamy; His name appeared in national press, on television and was well known on the pirate radio stations in the East Midlands. You might be forgiven for thinking, at this point, that Jim Dawg was a credible, if west coast rap carbon-copy, rapper, but you would be very wrong; he was much more than that.

Jim Dawg was to some degree a novelty rapper, but quite possibly the most foul-mouthed in the history of Hip-Hop, an issue compounded by his age; First recordings of Jim Dawg date back to 1990, when he was the hyperactive half of rap duo "Shining Wit". Subject matter for Shining Wit (who made one album, "Straight Outta Northfields" and one E.P, "Daddy Broke") consisted largely of disrespecting their classroom peers and leftfield references to petty crime. It's rumoured that Jim Dawg (originally known as "Jay Mee Dee Lee D") and his unknown partner in rhyme (best research comes up only with the name "Eddie LMC" - it is not know what the acronymn might be) were coerced into this pantomime rap by a relative of one of the group. Later, Omar "Atomik" Filali, a previous rival of theirs, was to join the group, ironic given that the early Shining Wit material consisted largely of disrespecting him. Eddie LMC left shortly afterwards, a sign perhaps that all was not well.

After Shining Wit disbanded, Jim Dawg was born after a rival local emcee, rumoured to be Deany-D, took offence to Jay Mee using his name. in 1991, the album "Planet Northfieldz" appeared from nowhere with an unusual Hip-Hop/Electro/Rave sound. The title track was to be the precursor to Jim's future controversy, given that one song contained 156 expletives alone. As with the material mentioned earlier, no known copies of this music are known to exist. These forays into d.i.y rap music did not go unnoticed, however, with respected Hip-Hop magazine "Hip Hop Connection" first recognising his "talents" in 1992.

If the early Shining Wit/Jim Dawg music was lacking in focus, style, production values or, perhaps most importantly, recognisable hooks, 1993's double-album (available on cassette only) "Who Wantz Tha' Dawg?" was to destroy that myth; Where the previous material had been thoughtless, mindless, purile filth, suddenly there were beats, music, and most importantly, lyrics, the like of which nobody had ever managed before and it is unlikely they will be bettered in the future. The fusion of musical styles, dating back to the 60's along with some cutting edge 90's beats meant that Jim Dawg's newly inspired lyricism had a platform from which he could rise...and rise he did. Hardcore rap tracks such as the eponymous “Who Wantz Tha Dawg?”, "Bottom Smellz" and "Leap Around" had the killer hooks and lyrical flow required to make heads turn. The lyrics were still borderline absurd but the delivery was inspired, an off-the-beat flow that broke all conventions. From nowhere, Jim Dawg was brought to the forefront of unsigned British Rap talent, even making his name known with pro DJ's of the time. Quick to capitalise on this success, a further 3 albums hit the streets in under 18 months, the snarling, cynical "B-Monster" (a bold statement against paedophiles, apparently) which spawned the now legendary "How's Life In Leicester?" and “Mooving & Grooving”, the sublime irony of "Wasn't 3 Enough" which brought more adult themes into the mix and the final album, "Dead Wicked At Making Rapping Songs" which included what is widely regarded as the most infamous rhyme ever spoken in Hip-Hop, rumoured to have been penned shortly after his girlfriend was involved in a car accident; It is so explicit it cannot possibly be so much as hinted at here.

Whatever genius (we assume there was only one) was behind the music, soon got behind the camera as "Jim Dawg: Tha' Video" hit the streets and we saw the man in action in his neighbourhood. For a year or so, this became essential viewing in music and sports shops in the Midlands and brought people flocking in to see it, so much so Jim could not so much as catch a bus without someone spotting him and mimicking his "Crazy Star Jump" dance moves. With regular features in Hip-Hop Connection, BBC2, local radio and a huge amount of street-level support, Jim was, it seemed, ready to take on the world. There can hardly have been a well known MC he hadn't disrespected at some point and with everything in place Jim went......nowhere. In 1994 he quipped, "i'm hanging up my mic, even though i know you like, the dawg dawggy style, but i'm off to take a hike..." and was never heard of again.
Furthermore, local comic-book artist Paul Smith, an award winning young writer, created 4 “Shining Wit” comics, the first official comics concerning any rapper/rap group, ever made.

In 1995, a remix E.P hit the streets with studio-quality production; it is not known how this came about but featured a previously unheard of track, "go with da flow" which fused Status Quo, Blue Note Jazz and G-Funk. In 2002 this E.P was re-released on Douglas Avenue Recordings, a limited edition run that remains Jim Dawg’s biggest seller to date. This E.P and several other tracks are available from:-
www.schweefter.multiply.com

In 2002 a Greatest Hits CD was released and what remains of his back catalogue is available from the link above.

For proof of his existence and musical back catalogue, please visit:-

http://schweefter.multiply.com/music/item/27/JIM_DAWG_-_The_Greatest_Rapper_That_Ever_Lived

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