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By Mark Browne

"You lovin it, lovin it, lovin it, you lovin it like this", is the catchy line of the garage track by 'Masters of Ceremony' that established 'MC DT' as one of garage's mainstream commercial artists. Reaching NO.1 in the national chart in June 2001, MC DT had nightclub crowds jumping to his catchy line and distinctive voice. One year on, the smooth talking MC is back, this time with a follow up single entitled, 'Jump Up' featuring 'Just 4 Jokes'.

MC DT: "Jump Up was a track written by myself, MC RB and DJ Butterfly. When it was written it was just a vibe thing, we were all in the studio and came up with the track, which was intended to capture that summer vibe. The original was written about a year before, but the record label that we gave it to was really sitting on it, so a year down the line we reworked it and came up with the version you hear today."

DT is unfazed by the latest releases chart positioning in comparison to the first track's success at reaching No.1 Speaking from a studio in Fulham, South London, DT discusses his past, present and the future of UK garage.

"It went in at Number 67, but that's with no major TV or Radio play. The main difficulty we had with this track was the fact that it never got on the 'Radio One' playlist. 'Radio One' is the main radio station that gives national coverage as opposed to regional. I mean getting played on local stations in London is good, but you really need wider coverage to get your music out there and to be heard. As it stands there were only a limited amount of people who would have got to hear the track and known when it was coming out. We did need the radio play, especially in the daytime, to let people know about it. At least then people would have had a choice. If you like it, you buy it, if you don't, you don't."

Since the age of seven, DT took an interest in the microphone. Attending London's, Nottinghill Carnival and various weddings and Christenings with his mother, DT put stage fright behind him at an early age and would take to the stage at every given opportunity.

"Its something that's always attracted me from an early age. I would never hesitate to ask whoever holding the mic, at an event, whether I could say a few lines. If it was appropriate of course. For me, I love MCing, the feeling that you get when you make people vibe off you is phenomenal. If you feel confident, it's just a case of approaching people and asking. The most they can say is no. If you know you're good and they don't want to give you a chance, then that's their loss. Eventually you'll get heard. It's just a matter of time before you'll get your time to shine. I mean, it's taken me around six to seven years to properly establish myself to the point where I would be getting calls from Jungle and Garage promoters to MC at their events. You just have to work hard and stick at it."

"The feeling that you get when you MC and make people vibe off you is phenomenal."

During the early 90's, when Jungle music was becoming prominent on the underground dance music scene, DT, earned himself a slot on the main pirate radio station of the time, 'Eruption 101.3 F.M', which played strictly Jungle music. It was there where he met Jungle legends, Shabba; MC MC, Bryan Gee, Jumpin Jack Frost, Skibadee, Moose and Five O.

MC DT: "To me, Drum and Bass days were obviously better, cause that was my time. For the youngsters now, this will be their best times. Music changes, you get older. Different people enter the scene, everyone brings their own skills to the table. Nothing drastic has changed. The music is still good. The vibe is still good, and there's still good MC's out there."

In the early Summer of 1995, after attending a birthday party in East London, DT and his friends decided to party on at an event named 'Horny' at a club named, 'Legends' in the heart of London's West End, in Mayfair. Horny, played UK garage music, which was relatively underground, but growing in popularity, amongst the urban music scene. That night was to change the direction of DT's career.

MC DT: "My friend said to me, let's go to this club and I was like naah I've had enough, I wanna go home but then he persuaded me to go along and I'm glad he did now. When we got there [Legends], it was nice everyone was on a good vibe, dancing, but they had no one on the Mic. I mean at that time, garage music didn't really have people chatting over it like Jungle did, because it used more vocals. People may have said a few lyrics on the mic, but it wasn't a predominant thing. It was just a spontaneous thing for me. The night was good, everyone was bubbling, and as I said, something just made me ask the promoters whether I could go on the mic. They said yes, and I did my thing. The crowd seemed to love it, which led to the promoters asking me to come back. I did and continued to do it for the next four years. I was only young and had gained residency in a club in the heart of Mayfair, what more could I ask for?"

A year later, Garage promoters, 'Twice As Nice' approached MC DT and asked him to join their Sunday night rota, on a new night they were about to launch at the successful 'Club Coliseum', which he continues to do up to date.

MC DT: "To get a name for yourself, you have to make sure you are heard. It's all word of mouth. Get on a pirate station, send in your demos. It's not that hard to get in contact with the people running the stations. Try and get a slot. Try and get some club appearances. You just really have to make yourself be seen and heard. I mean for me, I was fortunate enough, not to have to go that route. I was lucky enough to have gone to Horny that night and get a residency at a popular night which attracted a lot of different DJs, MCs and promoters. Being at the right place at the right time, led different people approaching me. That's what happened with 'Twice As Nice'. They approached me and asked me to MC every Sunday at their event at Coliseum. If you're on the scene and people feel that you're good then they'll tell others. It's all word of mouth. The more you're on the scene, the more you're going to make yourself known to listeners and promoters."

THESITUATION: How did you meet up with Masters of Ceremony?

MC DT: "I had MCied with 'Masters of Ceremony' for about four to five years. 'Unknown' and 'Pied Piper' came up to me one day and said they wanna do a tune involving myself and sharky P. I said O.K and we all got together and used the hooks that we had used in raves before."

THESITUATION: How did you find out that your track 'Lovin It' 'reached Number 1, in the UK charts?

MC DT: "I was driving in my car, with my friend when we put on the radio and just happened to hear it. I almost crashed." (Laughs)

THE SITUATION: Does having a Number.1 track mean automatic money in the bank?

MC DT: "Nah, it's a slow process. You get it bit by bit. A number One track means eventually it will pay off. There's a whole lot of things that you have to wait to clear. But it takes about a year before you see any real cash. But when it comes, it's nice. It's more of a satisfaction thing as well. There's a lot of people in the music business and they'll never get a number one tune. So I consider us quite lucky."

THE SITUATION: Do you think Garage will get any bigger?

MC DT: "Yeah it's gonna get bigger cause all the youth are into it now. Everyone one wants to be an MC or DJ, and can remember being like that, saying that's what I wanna do. It's the only form of rap music if you like, that we can do hear with our own style, that we don't have to copy the Americans because it's ours."

THE SITUATION: What are your plans for the future?

MC DT: "Right now, I'm just promoting the single, pushing it as far as it can go. Apart from that, it's business as usual. I just wanna keep on making tunes till I can't talk no more. As long as I'm still MCing, I'm gonna keep on making tracks and bringing new talent. I'm moving more into the production side of things and even helped produce the 'Jump Up' track. I should be working with Hinda Hicks, Shabba, Skibadee and Sharky P. It's just all about making good music."

Watch the video 'Jump Up'