All about this artist
Biography:
Born Jack Allsop, 1981, London, England. Allsop grew up in north London listening to hip-hop, electro and house. After studying Furniture Design at Kingston University, he began to DJ and write music while paying the rent by holding down a number of mundane jobs.
A self-styled "urban poet" and rapper in a similar style to Mike Skinner aka the Streets, Allsop raps and sings about his own experiences of city life in a style reminiscent of Roots Manuva, Stereo MC's and even Billy Bragg.
His 2002 debut, The Outer Marker was a lyrical and melodic release, recorded in France over three months. It featured guitar, saxophone and piano rubbing shoulders with low-key hip-hop beats, while Allsop's understated, very English style of rap bore the hallmarks of Bristol's heroes of trip-hop, Massive Attack and Tricky.
Despite excellent reviews, Just Jack's debut album failed to make the expected breakthrough onto the charts, although a "mash-up" mix of the track "Snowflakes" enjoyed success on the club scene. A major label deal with Mercury Records provided extra incentive, and Allsop deservedly crossed over to the mainstream UK charts at the start of 2007 with the single "Starz In Their Eyes".
