Derek Boland
Derek Boland, also known as Derek B, was the UK's first hip hop rapper to reach popular acclaim in both the UK and USA, appearing on Top of the Pops and in the pages of Smash Hits Magazine.
Derek B Slide PhotographsBlack Cultural Archives
Derek was born in 1965 in Hammersmith, west London, and raised in Woodford, east London, by his mother Jenny Boland, a Trinidadian nurse.
Derek B Slide PhotographsBlack Cultural Archives
Derek began DJing at the age of 15, and spent his early career DJing on pirate radio stations. He released his first track, entitled 'Rock the Beat' in 1986.
Derek B Slide PhotographsBlack Cultural Archives
By 1988, Derek B had signed with music mogul Russell Simmons, leading him to work with the likes of Public Enemy on his rap album 'Bullet from a Gun'.
Derek B Slide PhotographsBlack Cultural Archives
Derek's singles 'Good Groove' and 'Bad Young Brother' made the UK singles chart top 20
Derek B Slide PhotographsBlack Cultural Archives
In 1988 Derek performed at the Nelson Mandela birthday concert at Wembley Stadium, watched by almost a billion people worldwide.
Derek later died of a heart attack in 2009, aged just 44.
The collection
The BCA's Derek B collection includes notebooks of manuscripts, photographs, articles, photographs and ephemera that trace his career and life as an artist.
Derek B Lyric BooksBlack Cultural Archives
you can trace his working process through drafts of lyrics and verse...
Derek B Lyric BooksBlack Cultural Archives
...through to sketches and revisions.
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