Drum & Bass Icon MC Conrad Dead at 52

The EDM community has lost another legend MC Conrad, a pioneer in the DNB scene. 

Known to be a driving force behind the Drum & Bass movement, MC Conrad has been pronounced dead at age 52. The news of his death has been confirmed by close friends and family who turned to social media to make a tribute and mourn the loss of Conrad Thompson. 

MC Conrad was famously known to be a pioneer in the evolution of Drum & Bass in the early 90’s. He is described to be one of the genre’s most influential vocalists and has shared the stage with legends Carl Cox and Snoop Dogg. He has even appeared at some of the biggest venues in the world including London’s Ministry of Sound, Ibiza’s Space, as well as Coachella. 

Coming up in the 1990s rave scene, MC Conrad took his unique sound from Northhampton to London, infusing his Black Caribbean heritage with electro sounds and hip hop. Thompson was a regular in the UK club circuit and had a 1994 residency at London’s Mars Bar, where he provided vocals over sets by icons LTJ Bukem and Fabio. 

This residency not only boosted the venue’s popularity but also positioned MC Conrad as a leading voice in the Drum & Bass genre coining him as one of the most famous UK MCs. MC Conrad’s imprint helped popularize the genre and even worked to elevate DNB as a label head for Good Looking Records. 

For decades, MC Conrad had been paving the way for Drum & Bass artists and MCs, and his legacy is widely respected throughout the dance community. In 2020, he created the first digital-first Drum & Bass record label Resonance, whose mission statement is to advance forward-thinking DNB music. 

Thanks to his cutting-edge impact, MC Conrad has opened doors for MCs in the Drum & Bass scene who continuously disrupt the music industry. This includes UK MC Flowdan, who just this year made history as the first UK MC to receive a Grammy.

Kathryn Allyn

My favorite thing in the whole world is music and after hearing “One” by Swedish House Mafia for the first time in 2014, I was hooked on EDM. Dance music has been a large part of who I am and will always be searching for new ways to incorporate it in my life. The pure bliss that I feel from live shows is a feeling I never want to stop chasing (iykyk). Some of my favorite artists are Flume, Rüfüs Du Sol, Mindchatter, Disclosure, Dom Dolla and Fred Again.. 🙂

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