Raggadeath


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Raggadeath was a Canadian rap metal band that enjoyed moderate success in the mid-1990s. The band fused heavy metal with dancehall reggae-style rhythms and vocals.

The band's core members and founders were producer/dj/drummer Stephen Kendall and producer/engineer/bassist/keyboardist Walter Sobczak.

Steve Major played all the guitars on the records. Dean Bentley on drums and Darren Quinn on guitar of Monster Voodoo Machine were added for the live shows. The band utilized a variety of vocalists, most notably rapper Michie Mee. Rapper Koze Kozma was also an early band member, but was deported to the United Kingdom after disappearing for six weeks and then turning up weeks later as a Hare Krishna. All of the band's recordings were produced by Walter Sobczak and Stephen Kendall, and engineered by Walter Sobczak.

The band's biggest Canadian hit was One Life in 1995, achieving high rotation on MuchMusic, and being voted Favourite Song in Chart magazine's year-end reader's poll. The 1995 album Why Ask Why, containing the singles One Life and Why Ask Why, was also released by Virgin in several European markets. Due to the band members' other commitments and Kozma's disappearance the album was not supported by a concert tour, with an appearance on the MuchMusic Video Awards in 1995 being the band's only major live performance to support the album.

Raggadeath also achieved moderate international success with its self-titled 1997 album, which featured Dance with the Devil and a cover of Eddy Grant's Electric Avenue. At this time the band undertook its first significant tour. The self-titled 1997 album was licensed by Attic Records to Edel AG in Germany, Roadrunner Records in the Netherlands, and TWA in Australia. None of the band’s work was released in the USA.

With their popularity faltering due to popular culture's shift from alternative rock toward electronica in the late 1990s, the band broke up following the 1997 album. Sobczak continued with record engineering/production, later becoming chief engineer at The Studio at Puck's Farm, and Kendall returned to his career as a DJ later DJing at the Swan in England. Major returned to studio work with Toronto's Wellesley Sound studio, while Quinn and Mee continued to collaborate under the band name The Day After.

APPEARANCES +


Base Line Syndicate Featuring Simone Denny, Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock* And DRM
Could Be Good
1996
Various
Zoo Magazine CD Sampler 08
1997, CD, Comp, Promo, Zoo Magazine, ,
Alternative Rock/Folk Rock/Pop Rock/Stoner Rock/New Wave/Synth-pop
Various
CDPRO Vol No 20 July 1995
1995, CD, Comp, Promo, EMI Music Canada, ,
Downtempo/RnB/Swing/Pop Rap/Chanson/Hard Rock/Alternative Rock/Ragga HipHop/Death Metal/Indie Rock/Britpop
Various
Attic Records 25th Anniversary CD Box Set
1998, 4xCD, Comp + Box, Promo, Attic, ,
Dance-pop/Classic Rock/Parody/Blues Rock/Grunge
Various
Indie 2000 Volume 2
1998, 2xCD, Comp, Columbia, ,
Indie Rock
Various
Techno & Dance 9
1998, 2x CD, ,
House/Euro House
Various
Edelstück > 2 - 1997
1997, 2xCD, Comp, Promo + CD-ROM + Box, Edel, ,
Alternative Rock/Pop Rock/Hip Hop/Disco
Various
Edelstück > 3 - 1997 Popkomm Edition
1997, CD, Comp, Promo, Edel
Various
Snag This! Vol. 1
1997, CD, Comp, Promo, Universal Music,
Various
A Compact Compilation
1997, CD, Comp, Promo, Smplr, Roadrunner Records, ,
Heavy Metal
Various
Loaded
1997, CD, Comp, Festival Records, ,
Trance
Various
Emph-Attic 02-February 1997
1997, CD, Comp, Promo, Attic, ,
Dance-pop/Alternative Rock/Eurodance/Garage Rock/Punk/Country Rock/Blues Rock/Funk Metal/Synth-pop/House/Downtempo
Various
CTBG 96.8 / Too Black Guys - Universal Style - Volume 3
1997, CD, Mixed, Promo, Universal Music, ,
Contemporary R&B/Conscious/Gangsta/Neo Soul
Various
EMPH-Attic 03 - March 1997
1997, CD, Comp, Promo, Attic, ,
Death Metal/Hardcore Hip-Hop/Eurodance/Europop/Pop Rap/Downtempo/Gangsta/House/Cool Jazz/Indie Rock/Hardcore/Thrash/Garage Rock/Polka
Various
EMPH-Attic 06 - June 1997
1997, CD, Comp, Promo, Attic, ,
Folk/Soft Rock/Chanson/Funk Metal/Gangsta/Contemporary R&B/Industrial/Radioplay/Contemporary Jazz/New Age
Various
EMPH-Attic 07 - July 1997
1997, CD, Comp, Promo, Attic, ,
Progressive House/Ragga/Funk Metal/Dixieland/Trance/G-Funk/Indie Rock/Soundtrack/Gothic Metal/Industrial/Hardcore/Nu Metal/Alternative Rock/Southern Rock/Country/Contemporary Jazz/Ethereal
Various
EMPH-Attic 9 - September 1997
1997, CD, Comp, Promo, Attic
Various
La Compilation Globe Musique Salon Pepsi Jeunesse
1997, CD, Comp, Promo, Universal Music,
Various
EMI Worldwide Promo Boxset
1996, 24xCD, Comp, Promo, EMI, ,
Pop Rock/Classical
Various
Sitges '95 - EMI International
1995, 23xCD, Comp, Promo, Lea, EMI International, ,
Euro House/Eurodance/Happy Hardcore
Various
More Aural Sex - A Virgin Music Sampler
1995, CD, Smplr, Virgin Music Canada, ,
Alternative Rock/Indie Rock
Various
CDPRO Vol #14 (May 1995)
1995, CD, Comp, Promo, EMI Music Canada, ,
Alternative Rock/Blues Rock/Funk Metal/Ragga HipHop/Progressive House/Indie Rock/Prog Rock/G-Funk/Soundtrack/Country/Soft Rock/Smooth Jazz/Soul-Jazz/Contemporary Jazz/Synth-pop/Latin Jazz
Various
Aural Sex Volume One - Virgin Music Sampler
1995, CD, Comp, Smplr, Virgin Music,
Various
Triple Scoop
1995, CD, ,
Alternative Rock/Power Pop/Indie Rock/Industrial/Punk/Ragga HipHop/Funk Metal/Post Bop/Jazz-Funk/Britpop
Various
Techno & Dance 9
1998, ,
House/Euro House
Bryan Gee
Strictly Jungle - Only For The Hardcore Junglists
1995, Cass, Mixed, Unofficial, Strictly Jungle (2)