The Heartless Crew is a sound system consisting of three members MC’s Bushkin, Mighty Moe and DJ Fonti. Mighty Moe started out as a Hip Hop DJ. His parents are from the Middle-East. Bushkin and Fonti have West-Indian backgrounds.
It was established in 1992 when the trio met at Holloway Boys School. Their inspiration was taken from the likes of Buju Banton, R Kelly, Shabba, Det and Brockie. They started off playing house parties and small clubs, moving through to a residency at Chimes night club in Hackney in 1996.
By ’98 they joined pirate station Mission 90.6 FM pioneering a mix of R&B, hip-hop, jungle and dancehall-derived sounds, taking its cues straight from the Jamaican sound system tradition while adding fresh and modern elements from UK garage. In 2002 they signed to BBC 1Xtra, where they presented their Sunday evening 2-hour slot. They also released a debut compilation album Heartless Crew presents Crisp Biscuit, closely followed by debut single The Heartless Theme aka the Superglue Riddim. They left 1Xtra in 2006
Listen to their live tapes and you’ll see why they’re so popular. DJ Fonti effortlessly drops one sexy bassline tune after another a ragga track, a classic jump-up jungle tune, or Bushkin’s favorite hip-hop jam of the moment. The outfit is fronted by Bushkin, who comes on like a growly North London version of No Limit rapper Mystikal, and Mighty Moe, whose more high-pitched voice alternates between a fast forward chat and tuneful R&B-derived singing.
