That Night on Toronto Jungle Radio

That Night on Toronto Jungle Radio
When Shy FX, Skibadee & Fearless Broadcast the Culture to the City and Beyond

16 Apr 2024

stories

On a Sunday night in mid-to-late 90s Toronto and surrounding areas whether coming down from a weekend partying or keeping the party going with the latest jungle/dnb beats, tuning into The Prophecy radio show was a ritual. A presence on the local college radio dial from 1994 with its main base of operations being the University of Toronto community station, CIUT-FM, The Prophecy hosted by DJs Marcus & Prime mixing their latest selections of jungle/drum & bass made for essential listening and a way to connect with the scene & music when not at parties. With limited ways to hear the music outside of parties other than a few rave-related radio shows in the area, and inspired by those predecessors and the independent, pirate radio spirit of the UK scene, The Prophecy tracked with the steady growth of the rave scene and matched its jungle focus to the sound’s strong local popularity in Toronto and spread across the continent.

One Sunday night in April of 1998, three DJ & MC stars of the UK scene, DJ/producer Shy FX and MCs Skibadee and Fearless made an appearance on the show playing a live set to match the live experience of their rave performance in the city the night prior. The impromptu session was a surprise to local listeners and was broadcast all over exposing ears and hearts to an exciting set that captured the music and scene locally & globally at the time. It was a memorable set, both because it was preserved in posterity on hundreds of bedroom-recorded cassette tapes around the area, and because it gave a glimpse of a next level radio experience, harking to the legendary quality of the pirate radio stations in the music’s UK origins, to the local dial of Toronto’s rapidly expanding homegrown scene. A lot of things came together rather perfectly in the show to make for a significant moment in the long-running history of The Prophecy and a notable part of Toronto drum & bass history.

Stars broadcasting the culture #

One of the aspects that made the show so special was because it was superstars on the radio presenting the music and the MCs together in an encompassing representation of the culture. Of course these were stars– international talent that had been brought over to play at a rave the night before. Shy FX was long known for translating his roots in soundsystem culture to innovating and taking jungle music to new heights over the years. This appears right from the start in the form of a custom made intro sequence featuring a mock CNN “breaking news” broadcast with a reporter speaking about the arrival of the DJ and MC stars outside a rave. This kind of thing added a touch of personality and a way to elevate the DJ sets in a unique way matching the dubplate culture of DJs having exclusive, fresh tunes to play (which we’ll discuss further down). MC Skibadee holds it down right from the start as well. Not only acting as radio show host, incorporating phone line shoutouts (that number 595-5063, minus the Toronto 416 area code not yet required on local phonelines!), station frequency 89.5 FM mentions and shoutouts but also ebbing and flowing lyrically with the tracks, a professional job. He made his name on pirate radio like the famous Kool FM in London and as the sound and pace of the scene changed his speed and energy on the mic helped establish him as a leader for the next wave of MCs. His level of quality was one of the strongest examples at the time for the power of MCs and the associated culture born of reggae soundsystems and intertwined with the sound evolution of hardcore rave, jungle and drum & bass. MC Fearless joins the fun shortly into the set equaling Skibadee with strong flow and lyrical style as well. Together their skill acts as a complimentary part of the DJ's musical selections as both hosts and the toasting artform. With a full-on interplay of beats, MCing and live energy the three superstars were broadcasting the culture.

Selections #

It goes without saying that the musical selection a key ingredient of the show with Shy FX spinning an energetic set of tunes that is a nice snapshot of the rich, varied scene at the time and his place in it. While maybe known for his years of successes with jump-up jungle styles, this set was about Shy FX showing upfront, current sounds. The scene’s trend towards dark, two-step drum & bass styles had perhaps left him looking for a place in the evolving sounds and he came in ‘98 ready to show the scene he was finding that place and adapting with his own take. The first tune out the gate is what we’re talking about: Bambaata. A tune that caught the scene’s attention for its staunch tribal, jungle feel, a fresh reminder of the musical history of drum & bass. Sending a message that Shy FX was strong as ever it was an unbeatable tune that would become a huge hit over the rest of the year. Alongside some more of his own productions that were new & unheard there’s a lot of representation of different sides of drum & bass from jump-up to jazzy to burgeoning techy neurofunk sounds. The culture of dubplate exclusivity playing a role also with numerous unreleased numbers appearing and making local DJs drool. One tune by Gang Related, aka DJ Krust, J.A.M, features at a prominent moment in Skibadee & Fearless’ performance, but was only available on dub at the time and didn’t get released for 15 years! Popular tunes from the likes of Ed Rush & Optical, while not maybe the style Shy FX was known for, also appear as he clearly understood their rising value. The duo’s sound would be part of a massively popular movement in the next few years. The retro-tinged jazz’n’bass styles of Peshay and Roni Size/Reprazent feature as well, an example of the strong creative spectrum at the time, and is matched by the MCs flowing over top all of it with ease, a testament to their skill as well as the different musical styles drum & bass could incorporate into its template. With the rich pool of tunes to select from including fresh dubs ultimately Shy FX’s talent as an entertaining DJ experienced in moving dancefloors shines through.

Grainy film photograph of Shy FX and MCs Fearless and Skibadee taken in April 1998. Shy and Skibadee in foreground red and blue coloured Stussy college style jackets. Shy with cool expression. Skibadee smiling, hand outstretched in front of Shy with fingers pointing and palming a lighter. Fearless in glasses and a black hoodie behind them hand in air posing cooly. The base of Toronto's CN Tower faintly visible in the background. Photo by Skibadee posted to his twitter account in 2018. — (L-R) Shy FX, Fearless, and Skibadee in Toronto the day after the show. (twitter/therealskibz)

Connecting with the local scene #

What made the show special, beyond the stars absolutely smashing it, was how it fit into what was happening on the ground with the scene at the time. While jungle had already established itself as a force in Toronto’s underground it was becoming even stronger representing as a centre for the music outside the UK with an ever growing schedule of events and its own producers. The excitement was bubbling as the rave scene exploded and evolved further. The party that Shy FX and friends had been brought in for was the first event to use the famous London jungle promotions brand AWOL on home soil as promoters pushed drum & bass higher in the city. The Prophecy radio show itself offered a way for the scene to connect in its weekly showcase of the music and as guests came in from outside a chance for them to connect with the scene. Marcus & Prime’s weekly efforts went a long way. The taping culture of radio with people recording shows encouraged regular listening and also meant exceptional sessions like this one would be shared with friends. These were watershed moments for a burgeoning wave of jungle ravers as more got involved with the scene at the time. Later as mp3 trading and internet streaming became more common this very set would pop up on forums and later YouTube with many in the UK and globally coming to recognize the set as a top quality example of Skibadee’s MCing and the scene in general, reinforcing the notion of Toronto as an exciting scene and attractor of talent. The show was a snapshot of the music and culture that the local and global scenes were connected through, and made that night in Toronto jungle radio a much-loved piece of history.

Listen #

The Prophecy continues airing to this day on CIUT and is one of the longest-running drum & bass radio shows in the world. They even rebroadcast this special show to mark its 26th anniversary this year! With all this talk about the classic session have a listen to get the experience!

Tracklist #

(Intro) 
Shy FX - Bambaata
Mask - Splurt
Undercover Agent - Full Metal Jacket
Shimon & Andy C - Live Line
45 Roller - Stomp!
Roni Size/Reprazent - Hi-Potent
Optical - To Shape The Future (Remix)
Mask - Mad Professor
Peshay - Miles From Home
Gang Related - J.A.M
Peshay - Switch
Mampi Swift - 2nd Strike
Trace - Sonar
Ed Rush & Optical - Satellites
Undercover Agent - Cosmic
3 Way - Replay
Shy FX - Pandora's Box
Roni Size/Reprazent - Jazz
Shy FX - Funksta
(Shy FX - This Style VIP)
Nuyorican Soul - It's Alright, I Feel It! (Roni Size remix)

On our daily blind test game, Trainspottle, a number of recent rounds have featured tunes from this tracklist! Check out our recap videos for more insights into the music. Some recent selections in late February were also in honour of the main man, the reason this show gets referenced so much and holds a place in our hearts, MC Skibadee, who we sadly lost a few years ago. He’ll always be remembered for contributions to the culture like this. RIP Skiba.