Eric Martin, known professionally as MC Eric and Me One, is set to be given the Welsh Music Inspiration award.
He will be honoured alongside Jason Farrell, aka DJ Jaffa, both of whom are widely credited for pioneering the Welsh hip-hop scene in the 80s.
Martin is credited twice on ‘Pump Up The Jam’, the 1989 debut by the Belgian hip-house act Technotronic, having contributed vocals to two of its hit singles: ‘Tough’ and ‘The Beat Is Technotronic’. The iconic title track from that album went to No.2 on both the UK Singles Chart and the US Hot 100, while the album also reached No.2 in the UK.
“Jason (DJ Jaffa) Farrell and I had a single goal in the 80’s. It wasn’t to be famous necessarily. It was to let the people of London know that Wales had a Hip-Hop scene and that we were battle ready. It was to do what they were doing just as well as them. It took balls. We had them for days,” Martin wrote on Instagram last Friday (13th September).
In an interview with the BBC, Martin said he felt “blessed to have been part of a young, vibrant, hip-hop scene in Wales. To be seen as a point from which these current, musical breadcrumbs emanate is an honour.”
He continued: “This is such an honour, I would never have thought back in the ’80s that I’d still be as passionate as I am about DJing, hip-hop and black music in general, especially music coming out of Wales.”
Welsh folk singer Dafydd Iwan is among the previous recipients of the Welsh Music Inspiration Award.
The ceremony is scheduled to take place on 8th October at the Wales Millennium Centre and will be hosted by Radio 1 DJ Sian Eleri.
Remind yourself of ‘Tough’ and ‘The Beat Is Technotronic’ below.
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