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Pay As U Go CartelFrom Grime Wikipedia(Redirected from Pay As U Go)
Members
BiographyOne of the largest garage crews, Pay As U Go Cartel are notable as being the starting place for MCs Wiley, Gods Gift, Breeze and Flow dan, producer Target, and also UK underground music figureheads DJ Slimzee and Geeneus. Along with Heartless Crew and the So Solid Crew, Pay As You Go are recognised as pioneering influences on the grime sound. Pay As You Go eventually rose to be one of the premier UK Garage acts, headlining huge raves like Milton Keynes Sidewinder and London's Garage Nation. They had two major club hits, the first 'Know We' and the second 'Champagne Dance', which was signed by Sony and reached #12 in the UK Singles' Chart. Shortly after Pay As You Go were soon dropped from their label, and the group broke up soon afterwards. In 2008/2009 some of the former members re-formed the crew. Often the original crew perform at Pay As U Go reunions. History
Pay As You Go formed in 1999 grow from the 'Brown Brothers', which comprised Plague, his brother D.U.B and DJ Guvnor. Guvnor moved away from garage, allowing Slimzee and Geeneus to join the crew. Wiley occasionally DJ'ed for Brown Brothers. D.U.B stopped emceeing, so Plague formed a collective with Slimzee and Paco, an MC and producer who he had brought in. The crew was named after the members's initials, 'SPP'. Paco dropped out and was replaced by Major Ace, who was a friend of Plague. The three did radio shows together but had no name for them. 'Pay As You Go' was a new term at the time for mobile tariffs, and listeners could call in for free when Plague, Slimzee and Major Ace were on radio. The show eventually became known as the 'Pay As You Go' show. Around this time a second crew called 'Ladies Hit Squad', consisting of school friends Target, Wiley and Maxwell D, was also getting a big reputation. Both crews decided to combine under the name 'Pay As You Go Cartel'. Around this time God's Gift also became a member of the group, in addition to MCs who joined later such as Flow Dan, Breeze, Riko and Dogzilla. Disintegration of Pay As You GoOn the Risky Roadz 2 DVD various former members including Wiley, Major Ace, and Maxwell D say the crew broke down because of the power of individual members, stating that there were too many leaders and members had different ideas on the direction Pay As You Go should take. Maxwell D and Dom P particularly attribute the crew's fall-out to Wiley's departure, in that a member leaving opened the door for others to do the same. Maxwell D claims he left when he saw the crew falling apart around him, and Plague said he wanted to see his second child grow up after being on tour and working hard with Pay As You Go commitments. LegacyIndividually, the members of Pay As You Go went on to shape the grime scene. Wiley formed the Roll Deep crew, along with Breeze and Flow Dan and was later joined by Target and Riko. Maxwell D, God's Gift, and Major Ace went on to create East Connection. God's Gift later formed his own crew, Mucky Wolfpack. Both Slimzee and Geeneus continued working on Rinse FM, their own pirate radio station and currently the largest pirate in London. Dogzilla went on to form OT Crew where he brought Devlin through. As DJ Target said "I wonder how the grime scene would have turned out without there being a payasugo or roll deep? Fair to say we started this...". Current MembersCurrently the crew consists of Maxwell D, Plague Alero, Slimzee and DJ Wildfire. ReleasesPay As You Go released released numerous vinyls and a double-disc CD. The first CD comprises a vocal-less garage mix, and the second features Slimzee and Geeneus with Wiley and God's Gift. VinylBe Real Champagne Dance - VideoKnow WeFeaturesLinks |
