When I started thinking about musical legends it was only a matter of time before Stevie Hyper D came to mind. The influence that he had as a vocalist on the Jungle and Drum & Bass scene was, and always will be massive. Steven Austin aka ‘Stevie Hyper D’ was born on 20th September 1967 and tragically died on 5th July 1998 at the age of 30 due to a heart attack. He set the standard for double time chats, improvised with ease in that timelessly distinctive style that is ‘Hyper D’.
As a youngster he started off his musical career with the Fulham based reggae sound system ‘Isha Sounds’ and then later was also working with the Lewisham based ‘King Chuckie Sound System’. By the middle of the 1980s Stevie was performing under the name Daddy Stevie and was working with another sound out of Fulham called ‘New Tech Sound’. The sound played a fusion of musical styles ranging from reggae to punk music.
With the birth and growth of UK dance music such as Acid House his style continued to grow. By the early 90’s Stevie had already had a few white label records released with the ‘New Tech Sound’ crew. The blend of Reggae and British dance music was in full growth. Releases like his 1991 Teknoragga with Apollo 440, which was released on ‘Reverb Records’. This opened doors for him to perform with them and introduced him to a wider audience. By around 1992 he was performing under the name of ‘Stevie Hyper D’. This was when Hardcore raves were blooming and the mix of Ragga Hardcore that later became known as Jungle was in full bloom. The more that the Jungle scene grew the more it separated from Hardcore and soon events were dedicated to Jungle. He became a resident MC at Jungle Mania and after this went on to become resident at ‘Telepathy’ in 1993.
The ravers embraced him to a level that meant even the DJ’s that might not have wanted MC’s on their sets had to accept that what he was contributing had now become an integral part of the scene. After meeting DJ Nicky Blackmarket in 1993 the two formed a working partnership that saw them travel the world performing at raves together. The positive message of his lyrics, his energy and his ability to control the crowd meant that by the mid 90’s he had firmly secured himself as one of the scenes most integral MC’s.
‘Stevie Hyper D’ continued to perform at raves all over the world, remaining a pinnacle MC. He also became a recording artist signed to Island Records, with his debut album The Next Step released in 1999, a year after he passed. In the 30 years that he was here for he certainly achieved a lot. Respect to the original junglist souljah and to all of Stevie’s family, friends and his fans.