Doc Brown (rapper)

Doc Brown
Brown in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Ben Bailey Smith[1]
Born	December 1977 Kilburn, London
Origin	Jamaican, White British
Genres	Comedy, hip hop
Occupation(s)	Actor, comedian, screenwriter, songwriter, voiceover artist, rapper[2]
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2002–present
Associated acts	Mikis Michaelides, Mark Ronson, Example, De La Soul, Poisonous Poets, Lowkey, Natalie Williams, Kevin Mark Trail, David Brent, Haggis Horns[3]
Website	docbrown.co.uk

Ben Bailey Smith, usually known as Doc Brown, is an English rapper, comedian, actor, screenwriter and voiceover artist.^[2] He currently plays DS Joe Hawkins in Law & Order: UK.

Early and personal life

Doc Brown was born Ben Harvey Smith, son of a Jamaican immigrant, Yvonne Bailey, and an English, Harvey Smith, 30 years his wife's senior. Raised in the Willesden area of North West London, Smith is the younger brother of novelist and essayist Zadie Smith.^[1] Smith attended Hampstead School along with his sister, but was often seen in his sister's shadow. Upon leaving school, Smith decided he would become a rapper and follow a musical career.

Music

Early work

Doc Brown began his musical career in 2000 as a battle rapper, competing in live events such as the now defunct Mudlumz, an infamously tough gig based at the Dingwalls nightclub in Camden Lock where amongst others he battled before losing to fellow UK rapper Sway. Smith became a recurring battle champion at the fledgling competition "Jump Off" in 2003, when the now international event was housed underneath Yo! Sushi on Poland Street in London's Soho, moving to the Swiss Centre in Leicester Square. The following year, Smith's growing reputation as a personality of the underground scene made him the host of a monthly event at his friend's record shop Deal Real on Great Marlborough Court off Carnaby Street in the West End.^[4]

Deal Real Records

The night was loosely named “Friday Night Live” and initially acted as a platform for aspiring young artists from the UK to perform at an open mic, hosted by Smith. In an interview from 2006, Smith stated he provided “light relief mixed with an authority necessary to marshal what was always a pretty raucous night.” The night was also notable for being the venue where Smith discovered a sixteen-year-old Lowkey, whom he promptly featured on his first break-out single "Donnie's Lament", and who went on to be one of the most respected political rappers in the UK and internationally.^[4]

The popularity of the monthly event soared and soon, Deal Real was attracting Hip Hop celebrities from the US, performing in the store to promote their own European tours. The first to perform were the Jungle Brothers. Others included Pete Rock and CL Smooth, Slick Rick, Gza, the Black Eyed Peas, Rhymefest, Pharoahe Monch, Canibus and Cee Lo, as well as a host of DJs including Mark Ronson.^[4]

It was in the shop that Smith met Ronson for the first time, caught in an impromptu rap battle with Chicago rapper Rhymefest, whom Smith admitted “beat him on his home turf”. However, Ronson recalled Smith’s ability to please a crowd with both good humour and a level of self-deprecation often unusual to the Rap genre, and invited him to join a live set up that would form the basis of Ronson’s second studio album Version.^[4]

The first gig Smith performed with Ronson was at the Fabric nightclub in the Barbican area of east central London. The line up consisted of Ronson on guitar, Daniel Merriweather, Amy Winehouse and Beverly Tawiah on vocals, former Jamiroquai bassist Stuart Zender and the Scottish brass section The Haggis Horns.^[4]

Smith continued to tour with the band until spring 2007, rapping on stage alongside Lily Allen on the Kaiser Chiefs cover "Oh My God", providing the Ghostface Killah vocals for the song "Ooh Wee" and performing his own lyrics on the instrumental cover of Kasabian's "LSF".^[4]

Studio releases

The first breakthrough record and Smith’s biggest hit to date was a track entitled “Donnie’s Lament”, better known as the “Mad World Remix” due to its extensive sampling of that year’s Christmas number one “Mad World, performed by Gary Jules, originally by Tears for Fears.^[4]

Smith’s version is notable for a number of reasons. Firstly, its sample led to legal issues with the label Sanctuary, who did not sanction the remix, despite Smith’s appeal to them. Smith was therefore unable to recoup any money whatsoever despite the popularity of his version. Secondly, the song had a level of mainstream airplay unusual for UK Rap at the time, being championed by Jo Wiley and Jonathon Ross among others. Some commentators have argued that the song helped raise awareness of the genre as a whole and earmarked a new wave of British rap artists. Thirdly, the song provided a cameo to a sixteen year old rapper named Lowkey, who today is cited as one of the most politically influential rappers in the UK, Europe and particularly the Middle East, where his tireless campaigning for Palestinian rights amongst others has been lauded by many.^[4]

On the back of the tracks small success, Smith released three full length offerings: Citizen Smith Volume One, The Document and Citizen Smith Volume Two. It was during his work with the producer Mark Ronson that he was inspired to create the album Another Way, which features no samples and mostly live studio music. Having moved into stand up, then television and film, the album is as yet unreleased and has built a cult status among fans, many of whom have dubbed Another Way ”the farewell album”.^[4]

In July 2011, a short film was released to accompany the song “Blighty”, a song from the unreleased album. The film features an interview with Smith at the end credits, in which he describes the film as an open project for young people to interpret his lyrics visually. The film was directed by photographer Kwame Lestrade and shot with the aid of various young people as part of a lottery funded youth project.^[4]

Comedy

Late in 2007, a chance phonecall from former BBC Radio 1 host and comedy writer Danny Robins, for whom Smith had previously written some spoof music, led to Smith working as a script consultant on Robins’ BBC Radio 4 sitcom “Rudy’s Rare Records,” a vehicle for veteran UK comedian Lenny Henry. This eventually led to walk on roles and more editing and writing work on other Radio 4 comedy shows, including "Music Therapy" and "Look Away Now".^[4]

Encouraged by producers at the BBC, Smith attended an BBC industry gig in January 2008 at a small venue in London’s Great Portland Street name The Albany, where he performed a comic song and told an anecdote regarding being the first rapper to work for Radio 4. By his own admissions in an interview from 2009, Smith claimed he “ran out of things to say” and called for the audience to offer words, names and places, with which he improvised a comic rap. According to Smith, the venue managers were impressed and invited him to perform a short set at a late night variety show named “Spank!”^[4]

Smith then entered a national talent competition for comedians called “So You Think You’re Funny?” and his third ever stand up gig was in the first round of the competition in spring 2008 at the Hobgoblin Pub in Forest Hill, South East London. Smith eventually made the last eight at the grand final in Edinburgh that August, an event in which by his own admission he “froze up,” delivering what he saw as a disappointing performance.^[4]

Regardless, the performance led to interest from bookers, and Smith began a new incarnation as a professional comedian in October 2008. Since then, he has performed at the prestigious Tartan Ribbon event at the Edinburgh Festival, debuted his own one man show “Unfamous” which sold out its run at both the Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh and London’s Soho Theatre. He also gave a one off performance of Unfamous at the Elgar rooms in the Royal Albert Hall in March 2011. In April 2011, Smith was invited to take the show to the Melbourne International Festival for one month.^[4]

Film and television

As an actor, he has played roles in the acclaimed BBC series "Rev” and “Miranda”, as well as Channel 4’s ”The Inbetweeners”. Smith also provided voices for the characters Budge and Koggs on the cult CBBC series “Big Babies” for which he also sang the theme tune.^[4]

In film, he has played a role in Ben Miller’s “Huge” as well as a co-starring role in the thriller “Other Side of the Game”. Smith is also credited as a songwriter on the Joe Cornish-directed film Attack the Block. The character "Hi Hatz" is often seen and heard playing songs he has recorded. These were written and recorded by Smith and re-voiced by the actor Jumayn Hunter.^[4]

Smith created a 13 part teen comedy-drama for the BBC called “The Four O’Clock Club”, on which he is also the co writer, and co-musical director. Smith runs his own production company named Bust-A-Gut Ltd, which – whilst focussing on television and film – has also re-released the back catalogue of his music.^[4]

Most recently, he has delved deeper into dramatic acting, starring in the Frank Spotnitz television show "Hunted", a thriller for Cinemax. Smith then went on to shoot an episode of Midsomer Murders and is currently the new co-star of ITV1′s Law & Order, which aired on spring 2014.^[4]

Production

As of May 2014, Brown was the producer of "The Football Ramble Live." Brown supports Crystal Palace Football Club.

Discography

Year	Title	Label
2003	Poisonous Poetry (with Poisonous Poets)	QBM/BMG
2004	Citizen Smith: Volume One	Bust-A-Gut Productions
2005	The Document	Bust-A-Gut Productions
2006	Citizen Smith: Volume Two	Bust-A-Gut Productions
2008	Another Way (unreleased)	Bust-A-Gut Productions

Filmography

Year	Show	Role	Notes
2007	Never Mind the Full Stops	Panel	Game show
2009	Miranda		Credited as Ben Bailey Smith
2010	Big Babies	Budge	13 episodes
2010	Rev	Ikon	1 episode
2010	The Inbetweeners	Steve	1 episode
2011	Little Howard's Big Question	Plithy Nondeploom	1 episode
2012–2014	4 O'Clock Club	Nathan	19 episodes
2012	Hunted	Tyrone	7 episodes
2013	Derek	Deon	1 episode
2013–	Strange Hill High	Mitchell	Also provides voices for the ensemble
2013	Imagine		Credited as Ben Bailey Smith
2014	Midsummer Murders	Zach	1 episode
2014–	Law and Order: UK	Joe	Second main role
2014	The Football's On	Himself	Panellist
2014	Give Out Girls	Andy	6 episodes

References

External links

• Official website
• Doc Brown at the Internet Movie Database
• Doc Brown at AllMusic