Formation and early years Credit to the Nation were formed in the early 1990s by Matthew (Matty) David Hanson (b.
Wednesbury, West Midlands, England) with his friends Tyrone and Kelvin while all three were still teenagers. Under the name of MC Fusion, Hanson became the group's frontman and main creative force, while Tyrone and Kelvin took on the role of dancers (and occasional vocalists) under the names of T-Swing and Mista-G. Although they took strong inspiration from American acts such as
Public Enemy, Credit to the Nation made no attempt to disguise their origins as second/third generation black Britons from the English Midlands: they rapped and sang in their own native accents (
Brummie and West Indian
patois), frequently dealt with British lyrical concerns and integrated pop and
ragga aspects into their music. The band had also developed their own brand of conscious hip hop drawing on British life and experience (including, but not restricted to, the black British experience) and espousing a strong opposition to sexism and homophobia. Their political leanings brought them into contact with the veteran British agit-pop band
Chumbawamba, with whom they toured on the eight-date "Fuck Me Jesus" tour. Hanson would later cite Chumbawamba's iconoclastic attitude and fervent disrespect for authority as being inspirational for his own band's development and confidence. The two bands would maintain a close relationship, with Credit to the Nation releasing their first single ("Pay the Price") through Chumbawamba's Agit Prop record label in September 1991.
1992–93 – On the rise ("Call It What You Want" and "Enough is Enough") In 1992 Credit to the Nation recorded what would become their best-known song, "Call It What You Want", which
sampled the iconic opening guitar
riff from
Nirvana's "
Smells Like Teen Spirit". The band released the single via Rugger Bugger, a London
punk label, pressing an initial run of 1000 7" singles. The single came to the attention of
BBC Radio 1 DJ
John Peel, who played it on his John Peel Session on Radio 1. Within a week, the band had a three-album deal with
One Little Indian (the label of
Björk and
The Shamen) who had heard the show and promptly bought the rights to and re-released the single. Despite the attention and the added marketing abilities of One Little Indian, "Call It What You Want" eventually charted outside the Top 40 (at number 57). However, the single had brought Credit to the Nation closer to the attention of the British indie-rock music press (
Melody Maker and
NME), and would also make an appearance on the soundtrack to the
Jude Law movie
Shopping. While the band's use of a Nirvana sample was widely discussed in the music press, it was less well-publicised that the song also sampled "Welcome to the Terrordrome" by one of the band's more significant influences,
Public Enemy. During 1993, Credit to the Nation spent much of their time touring with
Manic Street Preachers,
The Levellers,
Therapy? and
The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. Most of these were acts with a strong political element and all of them appealed to a white indie-rock/college fanbase. This provided Credit to the Nation with access to a solid commercial audience which was not available to those of their peers who operated only within the British hip hop scene. Listed at number 1 in John Peel's Festive Fifty list for the year, The album generated three subsequent singles: "Teenage Sensation" (the band's biggest hit and only
Top 40 placing, reaching number 23 on the
UK Singles Chart in March 1994), Due to these factors, the completion of the band's second album,
Daddy Always Wanted Me To Grow A Pair of Wings was delayed by a year. On 12 August 2010, they performed the song at
Endorse It At Dorset. The song received strong radio support from
BBC 6 Music, with playlisting from
BBC 6 Music presenters Chris Hawkins, Gideon Coe, Nemone, Don Letts, Lauren Laverne and
Steve Lamacq. The song was featured on
Steve Lamacq's Roundtable, on 7 October 2010, where it received positive reviews. Eddy Temple Morris of
XFM London, gave the song a positive review on 29 October 2010, stating
"I really like that". A review from music news journal
Up To Date Music, quoted
"A much needed lift for UK hip hop in terms of content, and subject matter." "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" In March of 2023, Credit to the Nation released their first album since their reformation, entitled "Mad Dogs and Englishmen." ==Selected discography==