Credit to the Nation

British hip hop group

Credit to the Nation are a British hip hop group, who had chart success in the 1990s and are best known for their Nirvana sampling single "Call It What You Want". The band is fronted by Matty Hanson (a. k. a. MC Fusion) and was initially noted for fusing a conscious hip hop style with political elements taken from the British left wing and anarchist movements. Following their initial split in 1998, the band reformed in 2011.

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.

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 No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart in March 1994), "Sowing the Seeds of Hatred" (UK #72) and "Hear No Bullshit, See No Bullshit, Say No Bullshit" (which was, in live performance, dedicated mockingly to acts like Kris Kross and East 17). During 1994, Credit to the Nation would also make high profile British festival appearances at The Glastonbury NME stage, the Reading Festival Melody Maker Stage and the Phoenix Festival (to which they would also return in 1995). 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."