Big Dada - History

History

Big Dada's first release was Alpha Prhyme's 12-inch single Misanthropic, a collaboration between Luke Vibert and Juice Aleem in 1997. Over the following years, the label has released over one hundred and fifty records and garnered considerable critical acclaim, being described by Observer Music Monthly as "the very best underground hip hop label."

In 2007, Big Dada released the compilation Well Deep to celebrate their tenth anniversary. NME said the label was "not only a platform for the British urban underground but also attracts some of the most progressive wordsmiths and beat-scientists in the whole world... Big Dada are still pushing things forward." As the quote suggests, Big Dada is not exclusively a label for British acts. Their roster has also featured contributions from American hip hop artists including Bigg Jus, Busdriver, Mike Ladd and French hip hop group TTC. They also released debut albums by both Diplo and Spank Rock, as well as the comeback album from grime legend Wiley, who was so pleased with the record deal they offered that he recorded "50/50" in tribute.

On the 8th September 2009, Big Dada artist Speech Debelle won the 2009 Barclaycard Mercury Prize for her debut album Speech Therapy produced by Wayne Lotek. It was the label's third nomination, after Roots Manuva's Run Come Save Me in 2002 and Ty's Upwards in 2003. Less than two months later, Speech Debelle claimed to have split from the label, allegedly because sales of Speech Therapy "suffered because of poor distribution by Big Dada." While the label haven't commented on these allegations, much press reaction has suggested that the situation was not so clear cut, with Alexis Petridis of The Guardian stating that "She was a bit hasty, wasn't she? Don't we think? Made a bit of an error... I think it's just particularly unfortunate in the case of a label like Big Dada because whatever else you make of it, and obviously it probably doesn't have the ability to promote your records in the way a major label would, it's clearly a label that's been run for all the right reasons."

Roots Manuva, perhaps the label's best known artist, signed a new deal with the label in 2011. In the 2007 documentary for the label Well Deep, he said, "It's been a lovely relationship over the years... Big Dada's unique and it will always be unique because it's a philosophy, y'know? It's unique because it dares to stick its neck out and it's run by people who genuinely love music. It's not just a record label, it's a movement."