Credit To The Nation

A platform for the sensitive yet political lyrics of MC Fusion, chart rappers Credit to the Nation managed modest hits in Britain with 1993's "Call It What You Want" and 1994's "Teenage Sensation." The group comprised MC Fusion (born Matty Hanson in 1971, Wednesbury, West Midlands) along with a pair of dancers, T-Swing and Mista-G. Encouraged by agit-poppers Chumbawamba, Credit to the Nation signed to One Little Indian and debuted with a single that featured Chumbawamba, "Enough Is Enough." During mid-1993, "Call It What You Want" spent a few weeks on the charts, thanks in large part to its obvious hook — stolen from Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Debut album Take Dis followed by the end of the year, and an early 1994 single, "Teenage Sensation," reached number 24 on the charts. Doing little to dispel the notions of British rap as distinctly inferior to its American counterpart (at least, circa 1994), Fusion's lyrics were simplistic and his rapping style rather straightforward. Still, his lyrical themes were unabashedly important, and his tracks took on racism ("Rising Tide") and sexism ("Lady Needs Respect"), nearly every one a direct commentary on issues of the day. Credit to the Nation's second album, Daddy Always Wanted Me to Grow a Pair of Wings, fared badly with fans and record-buyers, and a brief 1998 comeback with a track ("Tacky Love Song") sampling Radiohead's "High and Dry" failed to keep the group from disappearing.